LAFC Announces Coaching Staff Ahead of Club's Ninth MLS Season
MLS Los Angeles FC

LAFC Announces Coaching Staff Ahead of Club's Ninth MLS Season

Published on January 9, 2026 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Los Angeles FC News Release


LAFC today announced the club's coaching staff ahead of the 2026 season. Andy Rose, Xavier Tamarit, Enrique Duran, and Oka Nikolov make up the technical staff under the direction of Head Coach Marc Dos Santos, who enters his first season at the helm of LAFC after serving as an assistant coach for the last four seasons.

"We've put together a staff that is aligned, complementary, and connected to the way we want to work and compete," said LAFC Co-President & General Manager John Thorrington. "Our goal was to bring together high-quality people with different experiences and perspectives who collectively form the right group to support Marc. That alignment and balance will be critical as we continue to raise our standards every day and push to compete for multiple trophies in the years to come."

"I'm extremely excited about the staff we've put together and the energy they bring," said LAFC Head Coach Marc Dos Santos. "Each brings their own unique strengths and perspectives, and I know they are eager to work with the strong core we have in our locker room as we begin preparations for the 2026 season."

Rose joins LAFC's coaching staff as an Assistant Coach, bringing a decade-long professional playing career and diverse coaching experience. A former MLS midfielder and defender, Rose made over 250 career appearances across the United States and United Kingdom, including seven MLS seasons with Seattle Sounders FC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC, as well as stints with Coventry City (where he won the 2017 EFL League One title) and Motherwell FC. A UCLA alumnus and two-time All-Pac-10 First Team selection, Rose transitioned into coaching following his playing career, serving as an assistant coach with Sounders FC and coaching Vancouver's U-17 squad. He holds a UEFA A License and UEFA Elite Youth A License, along with a master's degree in sports management, and is the founder of Type 1 United, a community initiative supporting families affected by Type 1 diabetes.

Tamarit also joins LAFC as an Assistant Coach with more than two decades of elite international coaching experience across Europe and South America. A UEFA Pro and CONMEBOL Pro License holder, Tamarit is a graduate in Physical Activity and Sport Sciences from the University of Valencia in Spain and completed postgraduate studies in high-performance football at the University of Porto, specializing in Tactical Periodization- a methodology he is globally recognized for and has authored multiple books about. His career includes extensive work at Valencia CF's academy and women's first team, as well as assistant coaching roles alongside Mauricio Pellegrino at top clubs such as Valencia CF, Deportivo Alavés, Southampton FC, Independiente, Vélez Sarsfield, Universidad de Chile, Cádiz CF, and most recently Lanús, where he helped guide the club to the 2025 Copa Sudamericana title. Fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, and English, Tamarit brings a wealth of tactical expertise, player development experience, and international perspective to LAFC's coaching staff.

Duran enters his third season as a member of the coaching staff in 2026 after previously serving as the first LAFC2 head coach for the team's inaugural MLS NEXT Pro season. He originally joined LAFC in 2017 as the Director of Coaching and has since been instrumental in developing the LAFC Academy's training methodology and is responsible for the continued development of all Academy coaching staff. Duran was the head coach of Las Vegas Lights in 2022 and led the team to its best season in club history. A native of Cataluña, Spain, Duran holds a UEFA A License and brings extensive experience in youth player development from around the globe. From 2005-2011, he worked with FC Barcelona as part of FCBEscola, serving as the U-10 and U-12 youth coach in Barcelona, Technical Director in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and as the club's International Projects Coordinator in Europe and Asia. Following his departure from FCBEscola, Duran joined Cruyff Football as the Technical Director of the Mamelodi Sundowns in South Africa from 2011-2015, then worked with Cruyff Football as a project manager from 2015-2017.

Nikolov enters his fifth season with LAFC as Assistant Coach and Head of Goalkeeping. He brings a decade's worth of MLS coaching experience, having previously worked as goalkeeper coach with the Philadelphia Union, LA Galaxy, and D.C. United. Nikolov has also served as a goalkeeper coach for Germany's U-19 team and the Macedonia National Team. A German-born former Macedonia international, Nikolov enjoyed a distinguished 22-year professional playing career, highlighted by a long tenure with Eintracht Frankfurt, where he joined as a teenager and went on to make more than 400 appearances across all competitions, including nearly two decades in the Bundesliga.

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