LOS ANGELES (Friday, July 19, 2024) – The LA Galaxy today announced that the club has hired Mikkel Dencher as its Technical Director. Additionally, the club has promoted Michael Stephens from Director of Scouting to Assistant General Manager, while Tyson Wahl has been promoted to LA Galaxy Academy Director.
“As we continue to build out our Soccer Operations infrastructure and streamline our processes within the club, we are very proud to announce the addition of Mikkel and his extensive experience as a talent evaluator with FC Copenhagen,” said LA Galaxy General Manager Will Kuntz. “Mikkel has played a large role in assembling rosters that have won Danish Superliga titles and have competed in both the Europa League and the UEFA Champions League, and we look forward to his contributions to the LA Galaxy.”
Dencher joins the Galaxy after spending the last eight seasons with Danish Superliga side FC Copenhagen (2016-24) as the club’s First-Team Scout. In his role as Technical Director for the LA Galaxy, Dencher will be tasked with the development of players in the club’s youth and reserve teams, while partnering with Kuntz and newly promoted Assistant General Manager Michael Stephens in global scouting, identification and the recruitment and acquisition of players for the First Team and Reserve Team.
While with Copenhagen FC, Dencher helped recruit players who contributed to five Danish Superliga titles (2015-16, 2016-17, 2018-19, 2021-22, 2022-23) and three Danish Cups (2015-16, 2016-17, 2022-23) and who reached the Quarterfinals of the 2019-20 UEFA Europa League and the Round of 16 of the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League.
Stephens, who has served as the club’s Director of Scouting since 2022, has been promoted to Assistant General Manager. Stephens won two MLS Cups (2011, 2012) and two MLS Supporters’ Shield (2010, 2011) in four seasons played with the Galaxy (2010-13). Before joining the Galaxy technical staff, Stephens spent time as a scout with Chicago Fire FC (2018-19) and the U.S. Soccer Federation (2019-22).
“Mikey has been a key member of the Galaxy front office since joining the club from the USMNT, and the fruits of his considerable work ethic and elevated standards are evident on the pitch for the Galaxy on a weekly basis,” said Kuntz “We are very glad to have his contributions as we continue to expand our domestic and international scouting capacity for the Galaxy, Ventura County FC and the Galaxy Academy.”
Wahl, who initially joined the LA Galaxy as Manager of Domestic Scouting for the Academy, has been promoted to the role of Academy Director. The Newport Beach, Calif., native made 160 regular-season appearances (138 starts) across 11 seasons (2006-16) in Major League Soccer, notably winning three consecutive Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup titles (2009, 2010, 2011) with Seattle Sounders FC. Prior to joining the Galaxy, Wahl spent four and a half years with Austin FC as the club’s Academy General Manager.
“Tyson’s experience in the MLS youth development space and as a Southern California native has been a great benefit to the Galaxy Academy’s player recruitment in his short time with the club,” said Kuntz. “We are excited that Tyson will spearhead the Galaxy Academy and will be a great addition to our strong academy leadership group, which includes Mike Muñoz and Shaun Tsakiris, as we continue to strive to be an elite professional development pathway in the United States.”
