Don Garber helped usher Chivas USA into Major League Soccer a decade ago, so it was not hard to discern a bit of sadness in his voice Monday as he discussed the decision to shut down the team.

Chivas USA, which struggled on the field and at the gate for most of its 11 seasons in M.L.S., ceased to exist Monday. The league announced that the team, based in Los Angeles, would end operations “effective immediately” and that its players would be made available in a dispersal draft, probably before the end of November.

Garber, the league’s commissioner since 1999, lamented the impact of the decision on the team’s players, officials and fans in an open letter posted on the league’s website. But in a telephone interview Monday afternoon, he said, “It’s the right decision for the league.”

The shutdown was not unprecedented; Garber oversaw the closing of the league’s teams in Tampa, Fla., and Miami after the 2001 season. But now, perhaps more so than he could then, Garber stressed the positives in Monday’s somber news. The league has doubled in size since the 2001 shutdowns reduced the league’s membership to 10 teams; next year, M.L.S. will begin its 20th season with 20 clubs.