The coach's decision to bench captain Jelle Van Damme midgame sent a big message, and his team has responded
HARRISON, N.J. — Before the 2017 season began, Curt Onalfo was asked how he had changed in the years since his last go-round as an MLS head coach. The newly minted LA Galaxy boss thought about it for a second, and begrudgingly admitted that when he was a younger coach he may have been guilty of being too nice.
Last week, with his team steering straight for the kind of ugly loss that just might have cost him his job, Onalfo took the bold step of pulling captain and star defender Jelle Van Damme from the first half of the Galaxy's match against the Chicago Fire.