Hours after being named Major League Soccer’s 2024 Athletic Director of the Year on Tuesday, Los Angeles Football Club general manager and co-president John Thorrington said he would gladly trade individual recognition for team success. the team.

“Right now, we’re all very disappointed given that we felt like we had a team that could do more,” Thorrington said following LAFC’s victory. Western Conference semifinal loss to Seattle Saturday at BMO Stadium. “And so right now we’re all disappointed that we didn’t take full advantage of the opportunity that was presented to us to win another trophy – but that doesn’t mean it’s been a disappointing season.”

It depends on how you measure success, but by most standards of American soccer’s elite, LAFC delivered the goods even though the team failed to win a second MLS Cup in three years.

“There is so much to do in a season. We won a trophy,” Thorrington said, referring to the club’s first US Open Cup. “We had some great times. We had the best winning streak this team has ever had. We improved our record and a lot of our stats from last season to this season. Now anytime we don’t win MLS Cup we’ll be disappointed, but I don’t necessarily think that means it’s going to be a disappointing season overall.

Heading into 2024 after an unsuccessful attempt at an MLS Cup repeat in Columbus, LAFC began the season with a restricted roster. Still, he remained very competitive throughout the summer, eventually reaching the Leagues Cup final, earning a berth in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, winning the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup and rallying over the last month of the season to become the No. 1 seed in the West. .

Most discouraging for Thorrington at the moment was missing what would have undoubtedly been the most important El Trafico in the seven-year history of the LAFC-Galaxy rivalry.

Instead of preparing for a first 100% Los Angeles conference final against the Galaxy, which advances to conference finals with win over Minnesota On Sunday, LAFC goes through a post-mortem period before fully turning towards the 2025 season which begins the first week of February with the Champions Cup.

“It changes our decision-making a little bit in preparation for preseason,” said Thorrington, who led player exit meetings Monday and Tuesday alongside head coach Steve Cherundolo. “It lends to the idea that we want to find the right balance between continuity and new faces. We think we have a really good group of guys that are a really good foundation to build on, and we think with the right pieces we can go further next year.

To that end, several roster changes were made official at 10 a.m. Wednesday, when LAFC faced an MLS deadline to exercise contract options and submit good-faith offers to the league office.

LAFC retained goalkeepers Hugo Lloris and David Ochoa, defenders Sergi Palencia and Eddie Segura and forward Adrian Wibowo.

Meanwhile, the club declined an option on club legend Carlos Vela, who joined the group in August as a free agent and saw the field for four minutes.

“I’m grateful Carlos got the chance to play again,” Thorrington said. “I think he had a positive influence. It was great to be in the building in the lead up to these games. We’ll have to sit down with him and see what makes sense for the future for him and for LAFC,” which does not rule out a return for Vela in 2025.

The club’s options on forwards Kei Kamara and Luis Müller, midfielder Thomas Musto and defenders Marlon Santos and Diego Rosales were also declined.

Kamara has scored eight goals and six assists while appearing in 40 of the club’s 50 matches. The 40-year-old striker became the second goalscorer in MLS history during his time with LAFC.

Defenders Aaron Long and Jesus Murillo as well as midfielders Ilie Sanchez and Kamara are free agents.

Local midfielder Erik Dueñas is also out of contract, but as he is not yet 24 years old, he is not eligible for free agency.

LAFC confirmed it was in talks to retain Long, Murillo and Santos in an effort to keep its team of defenders together, as well as Dueñas and Sanchez.

Playing at LAFC on loan in 2024, midfielder Eduard Atuesta is expected to return to Brazilian club Palmeiras.

Lewis O’Brien’s loan from Nottingham Forest in the English Premier League has also expired, although LAFC is in discussions to retain the midfielder who played heavy minutes in the final third of the season.

Additionally, LAFC transferred local midfielder Bajung Darboe to German giant Bayern Munich.

By failing to reach a third consecutive MLS Cup final, LAFC is not saddled with the player bonuses that have crippled the team financially over the past two offseasons, providing more space and flexibility to build the roster. manpower than Thorrington and his team were used to. recent years.

The returning group includes the first full season in black and gold of 38-year-old French striker Olivier Giroud, who has been slow to contribute since his arrival in August during the summer window.

Both Thorrington and Cherundolo said that with time off and a full pre-season under his belt, more would be expected of Giroud.

Talented striker David Martínez, who is 20 years younger than Giroud, and midfielder Timothy Tillman will return, but there remain several unknowns because “midfield is a key area for us and we know we have to add quality and depth,” Thorrington said. .