View From The Shires: Chivas USA – a club in crisis?

It’s fair to say that 2013 hasn’t been the greatest of years for Chivas USA so far, with poor play on the field and Major League Soccer’s lowest average attendance at 8,811; it is a serious cause for concern.

Despite snapping their 14-game winless streak over the weekend, with a 1-0 victory against fellow strugglers Toronto FC, the club currently sits bottom of the Western Conference (four wins, five draws, and 11 losses) and are already 15 points out of the playoff picture, having sacked the outspoken and flamboyant Luis Sánchez Solá, “Chelís”, after only 12 games in charge.

If all that wasn’t enough, the Los Angeles-based club now face some pretty substantial allegations, in the form of discrimination lawsuits filed by former youth coaches Daniel Calichman and Theothoros Chronopoulos, claiming harassment and retaliation based on ethnicity and race.

On Tuesday night, the HBO programme ‘Real Sports’ aired a segment on these claims being aimed at the club, which, to those who don’t follow MLS, would have no doubt come as quite a shock.

The segment largely focused on changes since Jorge Vergara (owner of parent club C.D. Guadalajara) took full ownership of the club in late-August of last year, with the two coaches, as well as the mother of a former youth player, both offering several examples of what they considered to be “discriminatory practices”.

Such practices included having all employees and players fill out questionnaires asking for information about their parents’ ethnicity, whilst current D.C. United right back James Riley, one of the many players to be traded by Chivas USA during the offseason, also stated his belief during an interview for the programme that he and others were ousted by the club’s hierarchy simply because they were not of Mexican descent.

Although MLS officials declined to be interviewed, Chivas USA’s Director of Soccer, former Mexican international Francisco “Paco” Palencia, did speak on camera to defend the club, in a largely uncomfortable and abrupt interview, which offered little explanation of the accusations put to them.

Again, those unfamiliar with MLS may be shocked by these ‘revelations’, but for keen followers, the segment really only confirmed much of what was already known.

Ever since they entered the league in 2005, Chivas USA has suffered with an identity crisis; wanting to build off its Mexican roots and become Hispanic America’s team, but at the same time constrained by the rules and restrictions of the league.

The danger was always that the club risked alienating non-Mexican Hispanics and also fans of other Liga MX sides by playing under the Chivas banner, however, being in the same city as Major League Soccer’s flagship franchise, the Los Angeles Galaxy, ambitions to attract a major fan base seemed far off.

Torn over its ultimate philosophy for a number of seasons, Chivas USA finally made the first moves to exclusively market the team to the Mexican community when Vergara and his wife, Angélica Fuentes, became sole owners of the club on August 29th last year, buying out former partners Antonio and Lorenzo Cué, while stating their ambition to have the side fully embrace its heritage.

The roster was completely overhauled, with non-Latino players like Riley shipped out and a slew of loans from the parent club in Mexico brought in under Chelís, to create a largely promising but, all the same, chaotic and under-prepared side, which predictably began the season in dismal fashion.

Granted, Chelís’ quirky personality made for an interesting sideshow, while the team’s unique style of play undoubtedly had its merits, but it was clear from the start that this was a project which, though long in the making, was going to face serious struggles.

What certainly hasn’t helped is the organisation’s seemingly clueless and, to some extent, arrogant, approach to the entire process. The club entered the season as the only MLS side without a local TV deal (neither in English nor Spanish), while the decision to allow the obviously underprepared Palencia to be questioned by the Real Sports program, resulting in the interview being ended prematurely, demonstrated a real lack of PR sense in the face of such serious allegations. Chivas USA did deliver a press release on Wednesday afternoon, but one has to question why this was not presented for the program to broadcast on Tuesday night, or why the club did not simply send their captain, American goalkeeper Dan Kennedy, to be interview instead – a player with no Hispanic connections and who the club has placed at the forefront of their marketing campaign.

In addition, Commissioner Don Garber also issued the following statement to the program: “We are well aware of the allegations made by ex-players and employees of Chivas USA. MLS has zero tolerance for discrimination or prejudice of any kind and have been deeply committed to diversity and fairness on our fields, in our stadiums and in our workplace. We are proud of our record in those areas and expect our owners and clubs to live up to the League’s high standards. And although the allegations in this lawsuit raise serious issues, it would not be appropriate for us to say anything more while the litigation is ongoing.”

Certainly, while Ives Galarcep of Soccer by Ives revealed yesterday that Chivas USA has since hired non-Mexican youth coaches and also signed a white homegrown player, it is clear that MLS is taking the allegations seriously. Combine this most recent affair with Ignacio Suarez’s report for ESPN Deportes in May that MLS may force Vergara to relinquish control of the club for “failure to comply with basic expectations required of all team in MLS” and it’s clear that those in the league’s front office are far from happy with what is currently unfolding over on the West Coast.

While we may only be six months into this extreme experiment, it wouldn’t be outlandish to state that Chivas USA’s business model is failing, and badly. Phil Wallace, writing for LA Observed on the most recent Real Sports program, effectively summed up the crux of the matter: “Los Angeles is the nation’s most diverse city, and sports is supposed to be one of the things that brings people of all types together. The Los Angeles Galaxy have a name that symbolizes the many cultures that make up Southern California. It has been the MLS’ glamor team from the start, employing top calibre players from around the world and winning four championships. It has succeeded by being open and inclusive. Chivas USA and Vergara have failed by being exclusive and only going after a segment of the Los Angeles market.”

Many have wondered in recent years whether Chivas USA would be better off rebranding themselves as the old NASL franchise, the LA Aztecs, or even moving away from the city entirely to an open market such as Phoenix or San Diego. Either option would be far from straightforward but as the current model continues to struggle, such arguments will continue to be bandied about.

Chivas USA have arguably looked a better side in recent weeks, under the guidance of new head coach José Luis Real, and the coup signing of former US national team captain Carlos Bocanegra certainly bodes well for the future. Make no mistake however; this is a team in crisis – one which, in trying to bring a unique and fresh approach to the league, has gone about systematically dismantling itself and jeopardising its future.