CARSON, Calif. – LA Galaxy head coach Sigi Schmid reorganized his coaching staff on Wednesday by appointing two new members to his staff and dismissing one holdover from the 2017 season.
The Galaxy announced the hiring of goalkeeper coach Ola Nikolov and assistant coach Junior Gonzalez to Schmid’s staff for the 2018 MLS season. Former goalkeeper coach, Daniel Gonzalez, is no longer with the club.
The 43-year-old Nikolov joins the Galaxy after spending two seasons as the goalkeeper coach for the Philadelphia Union. A former Macedonian international, Nikolov played 13 seasons in the German Bundesliga for Eintracht Frankfurt across his 19-year professional career.
“He’s somebody that brings a tremendous amount of experience. Daniel Gonzalez did a fantastic job for us. I just felt we needed to make a change there, you know something different, and I think he’s going to be a great addition,” Schmid told LAGalaxy.com. “I think we have some young goalkeepers who have a good opportunity to advance and improve and learn from his experiences. I think the club’s young goalkeepers are a strength. Now, we just have to be sure we continue to develop them.”
Junior Gonzalez’s hiring will serve as a reunion for the former head coach of USL side Rio Grande Valley FC Toros. A standout midfielder at UCLA under Schmid, Gonzalez brings extensive coaching experience across all facets of the game including the collegiate level (UC Riverside), internationally (the U.S. National Team youth programs), and the pro ranks (Chivas USA and Seattle Sounders FC).
“Junior’s had a lot of experiences as well. Obviously, he played at UCLA. He was a coach at Riverside. He was an assistant coach in Chivas—he was involved with their academy. He was involved in Seattle’s academy. He was involved in scouting as well there,” said Schmid who praised Gonzalez’s organization and tech savvy. “So, I have a lot of faith and confidence in Junior. He’s got fantastic eyes in terms of identifying new players. He’s somebody who played midfield who can help our midfielders as well from a coaching standpoint.
“He’s going to be a good addition to our club. With his experiences coaching, head coaching an MLS team on an MLS squad before, and being involved on the academy side of things, that wealth of experience is going to be really good for us.”
Schmid has not ruled out adding another member to his coaching staff, which includes top assistant Dominic Kinnear, in the coming weeks, but the Galaxy boss believes the technical framework is in place for 2018.
“The nucleus and the groundwork are definitely there,” Schmid said. “We can start advancing, and we can start building out other departments as well. It’s a time of change.”
