Los Angeles’ newest MLS team has celebrity backing as well as a vice-president of soccer operations who learned under Sir Alex Ferguson

'Will Ferrell gets us into talks we couldn’t dream of': LAFC gear up for MLS

Graduates of the Sir Alex Ferguson university of football continue to reap the rewards from their education.

Earlier this season, Jaap Stam became the 31st player of Ferguson’s United era to step into management. Fringe players to first-team fixtures have studied under English football’s most successful manager and then gone on to patrol the touchline themselves.

John Thorrington – a youth team player at Old Trafford during the late 1990s – is taking a slightly different route after being named the vice-president of soccer operations for new MLS franchise LAFC just over a year ago. However, Ferguson’s influence and teachings extend to the boardroom, as well as the dugout.

“I look back at my time at Man United as a 17-,18-,19-year-old as my football education,” Thorrington says, as the clock ticks towards LAFC’s entry into MLS in 2018. “Not just as a player, but when I saw how the whole club worked, it was like a classroom for me. I was incredibly fortunate to see a side of him and be exposed to things that I don’t think the public would have been able to see.”

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There is a major caveat, though. LAFC are not going to be a replica of Manchester United. There will be no Ferguson 2.0 in charge when they make their MLS bow next March. Far from it, in fact.

Thorrington foresees a managerial structure with a head coach at the top of the pyramid – a coach who can be replaced without the whole set-up collapsing. There will be no all-conquering, Fergusonesque emperor at the helm.

LAFC are yet to appoint the man to lead that set-up. Bob Bradley – who Thorrington played under for the US – is one name in the running, although the club is open to both homegrown and overseas candidates.

But after being given a blank piece of paper to determine LAFC’s blueprint on the field, Thorrington is adamant that the club will forge a collective effort to bring success.

“There is only one Sir Alex Ferguson, so to take that model and try to replicate that, it’s not feasible,” says Thorrington, who went on to play for English lower league sides Huddersfield and Grimsby, along with Chicago Fire, Vancouver Whitecaps and DC United after failing to make a first-team appearance at United.

“Football and players have changed since then, too,” he says. “The key for us is a guy who we feel can lead a diverse group of players – domestic talent, stars, guys that need to be developed. I am not going to take LAFC and say we’ll be Man United. My recommendations are shaped by a lot of everything, which is what LA is. We’re not going to be led by one man. It’s going to be a group of executives and coaches working together. Our goal is to be sustainably successful. My responsibility to the owners is to set something up that is not tied to one person or one player.”

That sense of collective burden even extends to the boardroom. LAFC are co-owned by 27 big-hitters from the world of sports, entertainment and business. The boardroom list is almost a who’s who of California notables - Will Ferrell, Magic Johnson, and Dodgers and Golden State Warriors co-owner Peter Guber.

Far from being burdensome to have so many voices, Thorrington insists it’s a major advantage to have so many influential figures who can open doors both on and off-the-field.

He says: “There is a core group of owners who operate exactly like a traditional group of ownership. Every owner has a strategic value-add to our group. Will Ferrell – who is very engaged and a big soccer fan – gets us into conversations that we couldn’t dream of being in. It’s not a decision making process that has to go through 27 people. It’s a very streamlined process, but we have an incredible array of resources. The only thing in common is they are incredibly successful.”

Those owners put a daunting remit on Thorrington’s shoulders after tasking him with shaping a club with no history, no fans, no players, no manager, no stadium and no academy.

Far from shying away from that challenge, Thorrington has embraced it. Even after more than a year in the post, he still emits a childlike enthusiasm. “The most exciting thing about this is it’s a blank slate and the most challenging is it’s a blank slate,” says the 37-year-old. “There’s an opportunity here like nowhere else.”

Progress has been rapidly achieved, too.

The club’s new Banc of California Stadium, built right next to the 101 freeway, is taking shape. It’s location could be a big help for a new club looking for fans: hundreds of thousands of cars will pass the ground every day. It will be well-equipped too, with pitch level leather seats and a rooftop corporate sun-lounging level. It’s clearly an appealing prospect, with 14,000 season tickets already sold for a 22,000 capacity arena.

LAFC also have an arrangement with USL sister club Orange County Blues, while Thorrington made setting up an academy system one of his first priorities.

As for first-team players and a manager, the most notable recruits are expected to begin trickling in during the summer. He would ideally like a coach in place before signings are made, although that is not set in stone.

The club – who have been linked with the likes of Wayne Rooney and Cesc Fabregas – are making no bones about their desire to target big names. Thorrington is not being drawn on specific targets, yet admits they are looking at “household names”.

“Negotiations take years at times, so while there was no rush to sign someone on January transfer deadline day, there are certainly seeds we need to plant with players,” he adds.

“What I have found is that there has been a lot of inbound interest. I’ve been in rooms with some of the biggest names in the world and there is a response of ‘Oh my goodness’. It’s been incredibly exciting that people who are exposed to the heights of the global game and play in World Cups get excited about LAFC.”

As the clock ticks down to March 2018, Thorrington is one who cannot hide his excitement for what lies in store at LAFC.