The Interview: Sacha Kljestan

The LA Galaxy midfielder, nearly 37, wants to play at least one more year and eventually go into coaching or television

Sacha Kljestan tells me he wants to play at least one more season (Photo by Dave Bernal/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

I love this interview with Sacha Kljestan. The LA Galaxy midfielder has had a lengthy and productive career, and he brings a special perspective on MLS as someone who played in the league in 2006 and still does in 2022. Whether he decides to become a coach or a TV analyst, he has a promising post-playing future in the sport as well. We get into a lot in this conversation, and I hope you enjoy it.

The entirety of the written interview below is reserved for paid subscribers. As always, you can still get the entire free audio version of my podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you like to go for your pods.

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Grant Wahl:

Our guest now is right at the top of American soccer players who, when they speak, I listen. Sacha Kljestan of the LA Galaxy is in his 17th season as a professional. He's one of three players ever to have at least 20 assists in an MLS season. He also played 52 times for the U.S. men's national team. Sacha, it's great to talk to you. Thanks for coming on the show.

Sacha Kljestan:

Thanks for having me, Grant. It's nice to be here.

Grant Wahl:

Lots to talk about here, but I'm laughing at myself because I've covered you for years and years and I've never actually asked you the very correct way to pronounce your name, because I've been writing about you, I didn't need to worry about it. But this is audio. How do you pronounce your name?

Sacha Kljestan:

You said it really well. I say Sacha kles-tchen. Although my dad, a proud Serbian man, would say it's klee-es-tan. When I played in Europe, a lot of my teammates said my name the proper way. Especially when I've had Serbian teammates over the years, they're like, "You don't even say your own name the right way." I'm like, "Dude, I'm born and raised in the States, man. I've been here for 36 years, so it is what it is."

Grant Wahl:

It's a little bit like Christian Pulisic. He likes puh-liss-ick, and he's got teammates at Chelsea that do not say it that way.

Sacha Kljestan:

It's exactly the same. We talked about this when we were teammates on the national team.

“For TV, especially, I think we might have a little bit of a lack of some personalities on TV that can explain the game tactically and personnel-wise, like through a coach's eyes, of why decisions are made or why certain things are played in a certain way, why certain things are happening in a game. I think that's something I would be very good at.” — Sacha Kljestan

Grant Wahl:

You're 36. You're about to turn 37 in September, which is young for anybody who's a layperson out there in the world, but isn't so much for a professional soccer player. You're still playing, still getting some important minutes for the Galaxy. What continues to motivate you as a player?

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Sacha Kljestan:

Everything. I still feel pretty much the same as I felt about the sport and about the game that I did when I was 10 years old. Besides being a parent and being a husband, the joy that I get just from playing soccer every day only can compare to that. Every day that I get the chance to step out on the field and train, I'm 36 years old, about to be 37, but I still feel like I can improve something every day. And I feel like I'll be that way till the day I die. I mean, Manny Schellscheidt, my college coach, he's still a player. He’s [81] years old now.. A player is a player, and I've always felt like that. And I know he still plays, and I think I'll still be playing when I'm that old too.

Grant Wahl:

I want to ask you about Manny Schellscheidt, because I don't know how many of our listeners actually know much about him. There is a film, a documentary film, that I have seen about him, I don't know if it's been released yet, which is terrific. And Manny Schellscheidt has influenced a ton of people in the U.S. soccer community. You played for him at Seton Hall. Could you fill listeners in a little bit about him?

Sacha Kljestan:

Well, Manny is probably the godfather of American soccer, or American soccer coaches maybe, in a way. So Manny came from Germany, played in the old NASL, coached in the old NASL, won a few Open Cups over the years with some New Jersey teams back in the '70s, I believe. Then he coached Seton Hall, I think, from 1988 until [2011], so a really long time. He was the one who brought me out to New Jersey and was my college coach and really the guy that I credit with finding me and nurturing my talent and then just giving me the opportunity to play and to showcase myself. That's led me to a long soccer career. Manny's the first coach to ever get the U.S. Soccer A coaching license ever. Then he was close with Bob Bradley, who gave me that connection.

Bob let me train with the MetroStars my last year of college and got to know me a little bit that way. I remember the best story was when I was in college, sorry if I'm rambling. I went into Manny's office one day to have a talk with him after the game. He's on the phone and he's like, "Hold on a second." They're talking about the national team on the phone, the full team, who had a qualifier the day before. He gets off the phone and he's like, "Sorry, that was just Bruce Arena. We were talking about the game." Bruce was the head coach of the national team at that time. They were chit-chatting about the qualifier from the day before. I was like, "Who is this guy? What have I gotten myself into?" I've learned so much from him. We still keep in touch. He's been a special person in my life for many years now.

Grant Wahl:

I hope our listeners get a chance to see this documentary. I will find out if it's out and how to go about seeing it, because it's terrific. I want to jump around a little bit in this conversation, because there's a lot I want to talk to you about, but I'm going to get into this right now here. Recently after a Galaxy game, you began your post-game press conference by saying you weren't going to talk about the game and you were going to talk about the mass shooting that day in Highland Park, Illinois. And what you said really resonated. What goes into that decision that you're going to say that publicly?

LA Galaxy @LAGalaxy

Sacha Kljestan spoke on gun violence in the United States following tonight's match.

Sacha Kljestan:

You know, it just happened to be a long day. My wife and kids were out of town for the holidays. They went on vacation to visit my father-in-law. And so I was home all alone all day. It was the 4th of July, which is supposed to be a day of celebration for our country, and it turns into another day of sadness, which seems like it just happens every few days now. So I was just on my phone, and I was on Twitter. I was just reading about the stuff, and it was just making me so angry. Then I have to shut that off for the game and just play the game, and fortunately we had a good game that night. I came off the bench, I had a nice assist. I should have felt on top of the world.

And I got back in the locker room. I was texting to say goodnight to my family and saw on Twitter, again, just more information, what was coming out about the day. I was just like, "Man." It just put me in such a bad mood. I just feel like that is happening way too often. So I was just like, "I'm so sick of" ... I don't know. I had a platform to speak that night and I didn't want to speak about the game. I wanted to speak about what was really on my mind all day that day, which should have been our Independence Day. And it’s just a place where I could have seen my family at. There was a parade right next to my house I didn't go to that day because my kids were out of town, but it could happen to any of us. It happens way too often and I was just so frustrated.

Grant Wahl:

I'm with you on that, as are a lot of other people. As your career went on and as you got older, have you become more comfortable speaking about things like that, making that decision to speak the way you did that day?

Sacha Kljestan:

Yeah, I think anytime you take a stance on something that is considered controversial, which it's absurd to me that it would be controversial to want some better gun laws in our country, you're going to face some backlash. At this point, I just don't care what people say to me anymore, because I'm old enough and I've done this enough and I've had to speak to the media enough that I basically got to a point where I want my kids to see what I've done and see what I stood up for, and know that it's okay to stand up for what you believe in. 

So I'm always thinking about them and wanting to be a good role model to them. Then sometimes you have a platform, and you should use it to make a difference, if you want to. I'm not saying everyone has to, but I just wanted to speak on what I believed in and what I thought was the right thing to do, and what I want my kids to look up to and be like when they grow up.

Grant Wahl:

In terms of the Galaxy, how much at this point are you a player/coach with the Galaxy, or do you view your role as basically player only?

Sacha Kljestan:

I view myself as basically a player. I think I do spend a lot of time talking to guys and mentoring and giving a lot of time, I think, in trying to help the younger guys and just trying to help everybody. So I don't consider myself a coach. I'm definitely not part of the coaching staff, although I have a lot of conversations with those guys, but I still consider myself strictly a player.

Grant Wahl:

Partly I asked that is because recently I was asked by a reader who are the current players who I think will go on to become coaches? And you were someone I included in my answer, but I've never actually asked you if that's something you want to do, coaching. Do you want to go into coaching eventually?

Sacha Kljestan:

It seems like the natural progression of things. I've thought a lot about the game in different ways. And I constantly feel like I'm a coach sometimes when I'm in training. I'm always thinking of ways, different things in training that we could do that could help in the game and things like that, which is what coaches do. Last year I took my B license with U.S. Soccer, and that was good. I enjoyed that process. That was the first step in the process. I helped out some academy teams with the Galaxy to get my license. It's kind of "to be determined," I guess, right now.

I'm grappling with it as I get towards the end of my career about continuing on, because it's a similar lifestyle as a player, where when you have kids and then they have to start moving around. They're settled right now. They go to a good school. So I guess the answer is, "we'll see," because I do like it. I do think that I would be very fulfilled as a coach, but I've also done some stuff in media recently. I did some stuff with Fox a couple months ago. I've done some stuff with MLS in the past, so it's kind of a, "we'll see," right now.

Grant Wahl:

That was going to be my other question, is when you're making a decision about what you might want to pursue, and I guess you don't have to choose just one or the other, but to some extent you do. I mean, on the media side I think you're a pretty insightful guy. I think you could bring that to a television broadcast or something like that. From your perspective, how do you view that decision?

Sacha Kljestan:

For TV, especially, I think we might have a little bit of a lack of some personalities on TV that can explain the game tactically and personnel-wise, like through a coach's eyes, of why decisions are made or why certain things are played in a certain way, why certain things are happening in a game. I think that's something I would be very good at. I watch all the games. And when I'm watching the games, mostly MLS, I would say I watch a lot of MLS games, but of course I study the national team. I watch Champions League. I keep in touch with Belgium. I watch the Premier League on TV.

Anyway, so when I watch the game, I'm always analyzing the game and asking questions like, "Why? Why are they doing that right now? Why tactically did they set things up?" Sometimes it's easy to figure out. Sometimes it's more difficult to figure out, but I think I'd be able to explain in detail to maybe a not so savvy soccer fan why things are happening the way they are. I think we lack that here in the States. Hopefully, I think, we see more of that in the future.

Grant Wahl:

It's a great point. This came up a little bit when John Madden passed away a few months ago, that I felt like, feel like still, like what you're saying here, we haven't had a coach or a former coach in American soccer television on a national level. I know Thomas Rongen's done some stuff at times, sometimes local, sometimes national. We've even seen Bruce Arena moonlight occasionally, but we're missing that. I realize that part of John Madden was, he was like, BOOM, stuff like that. Not just breaking it down, but he also broke things down and connected with fans. I do think there's a niche for that. If you want to do that, man, that would be awesome.

Sacha Kljestan:

We'll see. Tony Romo is another guy, I think, in the NFL now who wasn't a coach, but was a quarterback for a long time, and the way he explains the game to us common fans, I think, is really cool.

Grant Wahl:

I'm with you on that. I guess I would view you as part of a tree that includes Manny Schellscheidt, who we talked about, Bob Bradley, Jesse Marsch, Jim Curtin, maybe even Michael Bradley. There's probably some others too, I should mention, but is that fair? And how have those people influenced the way you see the game?

Sacha Kljestan:

Yeah, 100%. That's my tree. Those are my group of guys. I would include Ante Razov now, who's been an assistant coach at LAFC for some years, all guys that, those younger guys that you mentioned, that I got to play with and be in a locker room as teammates. Then Bob, I think, is kind of the guy that led all of those guys, and having the chance to play for different types of coaches over my career, more motivational guys, more tactical guys. But those guys, especially, Jesse is probably the one that I'm closest with. Jim Curtin I've kept in touch with over the years, but Jesse and I, we were midfield partners for four years. Then we got back in touch. I played under him in New York and had a very successful time with him.

So he's a guy I've kept in touch with too, and somebody I really look up to in the coaching world because he was the coach that I've had throughout my career who had the best relationship with player one to player 30. He made sure that guys every week knew where they stood within the group, knew whether they were going to be starting on the weekend or not, and what their role was going to be. I think I've learned over the years that's one of the most important things as a coach, is making sure that everyone knows where they stand and that you're honest with them. And he was the best at that.

Grant Wahl:

It's really interesting, I'm going to go visit Jesse next week at Leeds, get a sense of what's happening over there for a written story. You might know I go back a ways with Jesse, went to college together. He's told me some fun stories over the years about how when he was on with his family this around-the-world trip and they were staying at mostly hostels around the world, but they did stay with your family in Belgium. I'm wondering what you remember from that trip and him visiting. He had just left Montreal, so he was his pre-Red Bulls. Would you have thought then that he would be doing what he's doing now in the Premier League?

Sacha Kljestan:

No, definitely not. I’ve got to be honest, because it wasn't that successful in Montreal. Obviously, he had some differences with ownership and left after one season. It was not like he had this crazy start to his coaching career that everyone's going, "That's the next American coach," but Jesse's obviously a very smart guy and a very driven person. So it's no surprise to see where he's gotten and how he's gotten there so fast because he is so driven, but I don't think if you would've told me that back then I would've signed off on that one, but we're all Leeds fans here in the States now, which is awesome.

Grant Wahl:

Now, Jesse did say that he felt like he was worried that his family was spending too much time at your place and overstaying the welcome.

Sacha Kljestan:

No, it ended up being an awesome trip. I mean, they were only supposed to stay one night. I don't know if he's told you the whole story, but he borrowed a car from a friend in Switzerland and they drove to Belgium. He came to watch one training, I think, of mine. Then they were going to leave the next day and go somewhere else. Then the car broke down in my driveway. It took a week to get the car fixed, but I think the kids were so happy because they had been all three to a bed, like sleeping on the ground sometimes. So it was like a five-star resort staying at my place. It was actually really special for my wife and I too, because we didn't have kids yet. I think we just learned a lot about parenting that week and seeing, because they were very free. The one thing that always stuck out with us was, I think their son was four or five at the time, and we were out at a restaurant.

It was a restaurant where you order at the front and then you go sit down. Their son, who was four or five, wanted another bottle of water. They were like, "All right. Here's two Euro, go to the front and order it." We were just like, "Whoa, they're making their kid that young do that?" They were teaching them some independence on this trip. We had a pool at my place, so the kids were swimming in the pool and sleeping in a nice bed and playing with my dog. Our families bonded a lot over that trip, and it was awesome. Then it just so happened that he was there for the last week of the season, and he got to come to the final two games of the year that we needed to win both to win the title, and we did. And he came out to the club with us that night and partied with my team when we celebrated the title. So it was super fun.

Grant Wahl:

That sounds awesome, actually.

Sacha Kljestan:

It was a good time. We had a really good time. And my wife took his wife, Kim, who I'm sure you know, to a Beyoncé concert that week also in Antwerp. They had the best time ever. It was such a fun trip.

Grant Wahl:

That's really cool. It's funny, I will tell anyone who listens that Chivas USA actually produced a lot more memorable things in its 10-year history than most people acknowledge, and that Chivas USA deserves to be viewed as much more than a failed idea. Are you with me?

Sacha Kljestan:

I'm with you. I mean, with the years that we were there, we were pretty good, man. We made the playoffs every season from '06 to 2009. We were one point off the Supporters Shield in 2007. We had some pretty heartbreak playoff losses that could have ended up in MLS Cup runs, but a great group of players, a great group of guys, a lot of all stars, a lot of Best 11 players that played in that time too. I think we had some great memories and I learned a lot. That was such a special time of my career to learn from all these older guys, like Jesse Marsch and Jim Curtin, Ante Razov, Paco Palencia, Ramón Ramírez, Claudio Suárez. For a young player, that was amazing.

Grant Wahl:

It's really cool memories when you actually look back at who was involved with some of those teams. You started playing in MLS in 2006, you're now playing in MLS in 2022. What stands out to you the most about how the league is different today compared to 2006, and what still needs to improve in your mind?

Sacha Kljestan:

The biggest difference is when I joined the league there were 12 teams, and now we're at 28. There was one soccer specific stadium, or two, basically, Galaxy, Chivas and Columbus Crew, if we could even call that one a soccer specific stadium. By that time, it was already getting old. Now you see all these places with these supporter groups and the games that are on TV, just so much more accessible. Everything is so much more professional. We were happy if we got served lunch after training our first couple of years in Chivas. Now it's breakfast and lunch is fully catered. We all have our chefs. We're all spoiled now, you know. Where we need to go from here? I'd love to just continue to see the product keep getting better and some more money spent on players.

I think this TAM era has been really good for the league and bringing in these players with up to this $1.5 million salary level that has really created some very special players in our league. The owners that do want to spend are spending. A lot of them are spending, I think, wiser and better lately. There's obviously still the case where you buy and it's a bust, but that happens all over the world. The scouting probably still needs to continue to get better, and maybe the research on these players that are coming in that you're spending big money on, but I like where we're at this point, whatever we are now, 27 years into our existence, I think something like that. We're on the right direction, but we can still get better.

Grant Wahl:

I want to get your thoughts on two teams. The first team is the LA Galaxy. Big picture, how are you viewing things?

Sacha Kljestan:

Big picture? I think Greg Vanney has good ideas. We just have not had production outside of our strikers. That is our problem, I think, right now, is that we have Dejan Joveljic, who is a killer in the box, and Chicharito, who is a killer in the box, but those are the only two guys that are getting us goals. That has been our problem. All of us in the attack need to pick things up a little bit. Other than that, I feel like we're on the right track. I'm very optimistic about our team because we have a lot of good players, we have good young players, we have a nice balance. And we have a very good locker room, which was not, from what I heard, like in the past at the LA Galaxy.

So things are on the up and up. I mean, we have to make the playoffs because we're the LA Galaxy, and it's just not acceptable. The results that have been with this club for the last five years, this is not the standard that the LA Galaxy set for the first 20 years of MLS. This is far below where we should be. So I understand the frustration of the fans. I hear from the fans, I talk to the fans, I get it. I just hope that they know that I'm doing, and we are doing, our best to try to get things right at the LA Galaxy.

Grant Wahl:

The other team I wanted to get your thoughts on is the U.S. men's national team.

Sacha Kljestan:

I love the U.S. men's national team right now. I mean, I've always been a huge fan of the national team, but I actually think that this World Cup, and the next World Cup, they can surprise, not us, because I think all of us know how good they are, but people from the outside who still maybe underestimate these kids. I shouldn't say kids. They're not kids, they're men, but they're a lot younger than me [laughs]. For me right now, the real strength of the team is the midfield. I really think with Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, and then probably my favorite player right now is Yunus Musah, the way that I think they'll be able to handle the heat and the physicality of what the World Cup is like, they are going to dominate, and I think dominate the midfield.

I'm not saying they're going to dominate the world, but those guys are going to be like the engine and the guys that just grind through the games, that just give chances to our attackers, and keep the pressure off our defenders to be able to win some games. Then Christian Pulisic, always been amazing, was such a fantastic player to play with. I know he can make the difference. I hope Gio Reyna can stay healthy and make the difference. Weah, Aaronson, also one of my favorite players. I hope he can be able to make the difference. Whether he starts or ends up coming off the bench, I know he'll be a difference maker. So I'm very, very excited about our national team.

Grant Wahl:

When you say Yunus Musah is your favorite player, why?

Sacha Kljestan:

He just has this ability to receive the ball under pressure in the midfield and dribble with power and pace and open things up. Like, I don't have that. I wish I had that. He's got this ability to just get the ball with a guy on him anywhere on the field, beat that guy. Then when one guy gets beat and you start dribbling with pace at the back line, or at the midfield, dominoes start to fall because a guy has to step out to you and then you’ve got to find the next pass. He's shown that ability to be comfortable getting the ball anywhere in the midfield, and then using that power and that pace and that technique and control to really open up the game.

When guys start getting tired and, like I said, it's going to be hot in Qatar, and his ability to just beat guys off the dribble in the midfield is going to open up space for the attackers. He's so fun to watch. I think, as he gets a little bit older, he's going to start adding goals and assists, which are going to be really important, because a midfielder who can have goals and assists becomes a $50 million player overnight. And I see him being a $50 million player.

Grant Wahl:

Bob Bradley's name has obviously come up already here, but when I think of Bob, and I go back a long way with Bob, I think of how he likes to challenge everyone. Seriously, everyone: players, coaches, media. And I've gotten used to it and I appreciate it. I get the sense you might like to challenge people too a little bit. Is there a little bit of that in you?

Sacha Kljestan:

Yeah, which I think I got from Bob because, to be fair, when I was younger and he challenged me, I don't know if I was ready for it, but then it made me ready for it. Like I had to. He told me straight to my face one time he didn't know if he could tell that I cared about soccer and really wanted to make this my life.

Grant Wahl:

Wow.

Sacha Kljestan:

I was like, "Are you kidding me?" Yes, I know I like to have fun. I'm like the funny guy and I like to joke around. I like to go out with my friends and I like to have a good time, but when I show up on the training field, this is all I care about. Maybe I needed that at that time, because then it kind of shook me and I had to get back in. I remember then, a couple months later, I scored for the national team. He ended up bringing me to that pre-World Cup camp in Princeton. Unfortunately, I didn't make the team, but I left it all out there. Then I went to Anderlecht and I was back in. Ever since I made that move and established myself at Anderlecht, he brought me back into the national team.

I played every other game under him until he got fired. So I love Bob. I'm glad he challenged me and didn't let me have the easy way out. I guess I took that from him that, yes, I think I have that. I think that's important, to get out of your comfort zone. I don't think I fully, fully knew that until I got to Anderlecht and was far away from my family again and out on my own. I needed that, and I needed that challenge. Sometimes you need to get out of your comfort zone. I love that about him, and I think I find myself being like him a little bit.

Grant Wahl:

I still get text messages every once in a while from Bob about something I've written, or something that he thought could have been better. I get positive stuff, too occasionally, but I'm used to it by now.

Sacha Kljestan:

I think it tests your character, that's for sure. But, I mean, he's got his ways and he's obviously been very successful and has been a very good coach.

Grant Wahl:

I'm trying to think of anything else here. This has been just a really nice, fun conversation. How long do you want to keep playing?

Sacha Kljestan:

I don't know. I guess, at this point, I just take it year by year. Although, having said that, I do plan on playing next season. So I guess you guys are stuck with me a little bit longer, and we'll see. It's all physically at this point, because mentally, I mean, honestly, I think I'm 25 years old, but physically I'm starting to feel the age a little bit, but I still feel really good. I'm able to train every day. I don't like taking days off. I like trying to compete with the young kids in the fitness tests still, and all that stuff. We'll see, but I feel really good.

Grant Wahl:

What are the keys, in your mind, to at least continuing to feel young?

Sacha Kljestan:

Oh, I hang out with a lot of guys that are like 18 years old. I mean, the funny thing that we always have bonded over is I pretty much strictly listen to hip hop music, which is what plays in the locker room. So I'm like, "I know all this stuff. I'm not like this lame old guy with no style." I'm like, "Guys, I'm cool too, you know," [laughs] but other than that, I just love being out on the field. It's like we still play a game for a living. It's just a sport. I don't know. I love bonding with my kids over that, because they're both very into soccer right now. They both play on little club teams in our local area. My son is obsessed. He comes to all the games, he knows all the players on my team. It's been really fun bonding with them over that over the last couple of years. I kind of just don't want to give it up yet. I want them to still see that I was a player, because I know my glory days are past me, but they still enjoy watching me play.

Grant Wahl:

Just to wrap up, I guess I'm curious, because I know you consume soccer broadcasts, I know you read coverage. What would you suggest to the media, especially ... I guess we've talked about it from a television perspective on what you'd like to see, but from a writing perspective, what types of stories would you like to see more of that you maybe don't see about soccer in America?

Sacha Kljestan:

I do think that writing stories, yourself included, about tactical things that happened during the game are important. And I think that part has been pretty good in the last few years. I think there are a few guys now that write about the game in the States that know what they're watching and have a good way of explaining it. So I guess I'd just love to read and see more of that. I'm a big fan of yours, so keep doing what you're doing. I appreciate you and what you do for American soccer.

Grant Wahl:

Thanks! Sacha Kljestan is in his 17th season as a professional. Looking forward to season 18 now that I know that you're aiming for that. Thanks so much for coming on the show, Sacha.

Sacha Kljestan:

Thanks for having me. That was fun.