The LAFC coach talks about his city as a Club World Cup and World Cup destination, plus his memories of playing in the global finals.

• Steve Cherundolo is the head coach of Los Angeles FC
• The former Hannover defender played in two World Cups with USA
• He talked about what visitors can expect in LA during the Club World Cup and World Cup

Stability is not a word usually associated with the soccer world. Players frequently change clubs, while teams often run through coaches often at the first sign of adversity. But both the playing and now coaching career of Steve Cherundolo flies in the face of that.

For an incredible 15 years during his playing days, the San Diego-raised defender called German club Hannover home. That continuity was reflected at international level, with Cherundolo amassing 87 caps with USA and two FIFA World Cups™ at Germany 2006 and South Africa 2010.

After his playing days ended, he eventually found his way back to southern California, taking the reins of Major League Soccer (MLS) side Los Angeles FC in 2022. By the looks of it, Cherundolo will be in the City of Angels for the long haul, having already won an MLS Cup and a US Open Cup, along with reaching a Concacaf Champions Cup final.

Cherundolo’s voice carries plenty of weight in US Soccer circles, and his viewpoint of the current national team is bullish, as is the growing excitement of both the FIFA World Cup 26™ and FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ in his backyard.

---

FIFA: You have just started your fourth season in MLS already. Does it feel like time has gone by quickly?

Steve Cherundolo: I think we’ve been really busy over the first three seasons, now fourth, with the first team. There are so many games, a lot of travel, a lot of competitions. It really just flies by. It’s so much work that we really haven’t had the time to sit back and reflect, regrettably. It’s important in this process to reflect.

You have two FIFA World Cup winners on your team in Hugo Lloris and Olivier Giroud. What stands out to you about those two players?

Hugo’s timing, as far as what he says, how he verbally adds to the group and what he says to the group, is spot-on and a clear indication of his experiences and success. When we need him most, he steps up. His left foot in build-up is world-class and that really calms the team down.

Olivier a guy who has a great personality, is well-liked, is also willing to fight and compete. His competitiveness, ability to score goals, especially in the box, is something that hasn’t come to fruition yet, but we believe it will.

You spent your entire career at Hannover and it’s such a special club to you. Is it a goal of yours to go back there and coach one day?

I wouldn’t go as far as saying it’s a goal. I think I’m more interested in finding the right projects at the right time. If I find one that is really good for myself, my personal growth, but also professional growth and for the club, then I’m all about it. I’m less concerned with the name, the colours, the badge, or the level. But having been a part of an organization or a city for two decades, it would be silly not to say that I can’t imagine that not being another part of my life at some point.

Do you sense a lot of excitement there in LA about World Cup 26?

I’d say that will come in the next month or so when advertising picks up, but the soccer community is very interested and very excited about the upcoming big events in our city. Overall, it’s picking up, and I expect it to pick up rapidly over the next couple months.

As a California native, how special is it to see FIFA staging Club World Cup games at the Rose Bowl?

It’s great. It’s an iconic venue, especially for our sport. I remember watching a game there as a kid in the 1994 World Cup. I’ve played there myself in big matches, like the final of the Gold Cup against Mexico. And then I’ve coached a couple games there as well. It’s a great sign for the traditionalists in our game in the United States to maintain that iconic venue and to keep having the world’s best compete in that stadium, so I’m really looking forward to it.

As a former US men’s national team player, what does it mean to you that the World Cup is coming here in 2026?

It’s incredible. It’s a huge opportunity for us to push the world’s game forward in our country and we need to take advantage of it. I think our domestic league is in a great spot to do that. It has invested continuously over the past 30 years to make the level a lot of fun to watch and I still think there’s plenty of room to grow. Having a World Cup here will help attract attention, attract players and gives us all goals to strive for. I think the Club World Cup also helps that. Seeing the best of the best here gives us all a model to follow.

What can people expect from LA when they go to visit the city during the Club World Cup and World Cup?

There’s so much to see and do that there’s not enough time in the day to do it. Mixing in these top-notch international matches is like icing on the cake. You might go watch a match and then maybe go see other sporting events here, or comedy shows, concerts, the theatre, all the iconic tourist spots, the beaches, museums… It’s an incredible city with so much to offer, so if you’re planning a trip to LA to watch international soccer and you sprinkle in the cultural events as well, it’s going to be a vacation you’ll never forget.

Switching gears to your time with the national team, what was it like playing your first World Cup at Germany 2006, the country when you spent your entire professional career?

Obviously it didn’t go our way as far as results go and performances, but it was very emotional for me. It was familiar because I know that country very well and all of those stadiums. And overall, it was just a very special moment in my life and certainly one that I’ll never forget.

Did you get goosebumps when you debuted?

Absolutely. When you’re warming up, you see your friends and your family in the stands having the times of their lives while you’re working, so it can be emotionally overwhelming, but if you can channel your emotions and use them in a positive manner, it actually gives you quite an advantage.

Do you feel like the group from South Africa 2010 is a bit underrated in terms of USA World Cup teams?

I think we certainly got the most out of our group, we were a very tight group on and off the field and I think that was a big portion of our success. I’m not sure about being underrated, but I do think it was a very difficult team to beat. For me personally, it was some of the best football I played in my life and to do that in that team on such a big stage was very special. It was the high point of my career. I was 31 at the time, so I was physically still able to compete with all of the more athletic players, but emotionally, tactically and mentally, I was at a position where I felt very comfortable in my career.

USA v Algeria | Group C | 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ | Highlights

Watch the highlights from the match between USA and Algeria played at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Tshwane/Pretoria on Wednesday, 23 June 2010.

What are your thoughts on the current USA team under Mauricio Pochettino?

I think you first have to go back to Gregg [Berhalter] and his tenure. Gregg did a great job of preparing a lot of players for this moment and expanding the roster to maybe three teams deep. Mauricio will benefit from that. From what I’ve seen so far, he has upped the intensity and the competitiveness in the group in the short time he’s been the coach and I think that is the last bit that the team needed. I’m really looking forward to seeing them compete at a World Cup with tenacity, with intensity and with the idea that nobody’s going to beat us on our home soil.

Source: FIFA