LAFC head coach Marc Dos Santos criticized Major League Soccer for not helping the club succeed in the Concacaf Champions Cup by adjusting their regular-season schedule, calling the situation a “scandal.”
LAFC triumphed 2-1 over Toluca in the first leg of the CCC semifinal at BMO Stadium on Wednesday night, playing their fourth match in 11 days.
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“We’re arriving at the second leg of a semifinal without a loss. It’s hard. It’s very hard,” Dos Santos said in his post-match news conference.
“We played twice against Real España, twice against Alajuelense, twice against Cruz Azul, once against Toluca. To think that we arrive here undefeated, that it’s easy? No, this is not Championship Manager. It’s hard”
“The schedule is a scandal. It’s a scandal. I don’t understand, who is the guy in the office that says, yeah, this is a good idea to have them play in San Diego. They don’t want us in the final? Like MLS has to help MLS teams.”
Dos Santos pointed out that other leagues have helped their teams by rearranging domestic fixtures during the latter stages of continental competitions.
“I see it in South America when Palmeiras, Flamengo arrive in the quarterfinals, semifinal, they get help. They change the game,” he said. “They put another in the schedule. PSG, many of their games in France have been moved.
“We’ve been playing for 10 weeks, Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday, and sometimes Saturday at 1 p.m., 3 p.m. Guys, who is the genius in the meeting that says, I have a good idea? I wanna meet that guy.”
ESPN has reached out to MLS for comment.
LAFC will now travel to San Diego to play San Diego FC on Saturday night before heading to Toluca, Mexico, for the second leg of the CCC semifinal series on Wednesday.
“Because at some point it’s enough, like I’ve been keeping a lot inside, but Saturday we have to go to San Diego and you have to go there to win,” Dos Santos said. “And then we have to go at home against Houston, then St. Louis, then Nashville.
“And people think it’s like a PlayStation that they run. When I play PlayStation, my players run a lot all the time. They’re never tired, but life is not like that.”
Dos Santos added that he expects to rotate the team against San Diego, resting players in preparation for the second leg against Toluca.
“Mikey Varas, head coach of San Diego. if you are listening. Mikey, don’t worry there will be rotation because we have to give everyone rest and we have to be ready for Toluca,” he said.
LAFC currently sits in third place on the Western Conference table with 20 points in 10 matches.
