Mike Munoz said he’s always wanted to be a coach and aspires to be one at the highest level of professional soccer.
But he has another passion, that of developing players. That makes him a perfect fit as head coach of LA Galaxy II, popularly known as Los Dos, the parent club’s reserve side that is busy preparing for its USL regular-season opener on Saturday, March 25 against Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 at 2 p.m. at StubHub Center’s track and field stadium.
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The 33-year-old Munoz, the former LA Galaxy midfielder and Galaxy Academy director who took over for Curt Onalfo, now coach of the Galaxy’s MLS side, said the challenges remain the same for a team that is seeking its fourth consecutive USL playoff berth.
“Just the player movement, the unknown of the first team, the unknown of injuries, suspensions. Who you have on a daily and weekly basis,” Munoz said. “Obviously in a perfect world if everybody’s healthy then we’re going to be good top to bottom.”
But it’s anything but a perfect world, and Munoz figures to have his work cut out for him. Less than two weeks remain before real games begin, and Munoz and his staff continue to shape the roster. Galaxy II, for example, just added 19-year-old defender Jean Engola and 19-year-old midfielder Andre Zanga, both of whom are from Cameroon, and midfielder Miguel Aguilar, formerly with D.C. United.
Munoz is not shy when he said Galaxy II is a “project,” but he almost prefers it that way.
“The first cycle of Galaxy II you could say has been completed,” he said. “Curt (Onalfo) has done an amazing job with his staff on that project. You’re starting to see the fruits now with the first team. The plan now is to begin a second cycle of Galaxy II and hopefully invest two, three, four years for the next group coming through.
“It’s real when we say our academy kids have to be ready for Galaxy II and our Galaxy II guys have to be ready for the first team. That’s what players want, that’s what coaches want, that’s what the club wants. This is our project; that’s why we do it.”
Munoz admitted it can be difficult balancing player improvement with results, but he’d rather emphasize the former over the latter.
“We are going to take the development approach,” he said. “We’re going to be patient. We are going to be OK with mistakes from the start. The players need to have security with the staff that if a player makes a mistake we’re not going to kill them, crush them or hurt their confidence.
“We see this is a long-term project. If the results suffer initially, we’re going to be OK with that. But once again … I say this in the right way because we’re the Galaxy … not winning the USL title is not really the top priority. It’s making sure we get these guys to the first team.”
The Academy, by the way, has produced 14 players who have signed with Galaxy II and the parent club.
“I have a deep, deep passion for development,” Munoz continued, “and I think if the club approaches it the right way in terms of patience we can really do something special with our kids.”
