Vanney & Zavaleta make history with LA Galaxy and the league | OneFootball

At the time, the feat had never been seen or done before in Major League Soccer. Seven years later, the second installment of this family feat happened.

On Saturday, when the Los Angeles Galaxy won their sixth MLS Cup, it was the second time that the uncle and nephew duo won a championship on the same team together. Greg Vanney and Eriq Zavaleta made history in Carson, California last weekend.

As a player, Vanney debuted in MLS with the LA Galaxy. He also retired from professional football with the same team ending his career on the field.

Vanney took to the sidelines as a member of Chivas USA in 2011. He began as an assistant coach with the now-defunct soccer club. He spent two seasons on their staff before taking the 2013 season off.

In 2014, Toronto FC announced Vanney as their new head coach. They would make the postseason for the first time in franchise history a season later.

Before Toronto won their first and only title, the team lost out in the Finals the year before. However, Vanney and his nephew, Eriq Zavaleta, would win in the rematch against the Seattle Sounders FC in 2017.

San Jose Earthquakes v LA Galaxy - Leagues Cup 2024 / Bob Drebin/ISI Photos/GettyImages

That was the first time any family duo of coach and player had won an MLS Cup together. The two were split up when Vanney stepped down from his position on December 1, 2020. Zavaleta would remain with the team until 2021.

Vanney became the head coach of the Los Angeles Galaxy for the 2021 MLS season. The team failed to qualify for the playoffs that year but would make it in the 2022.

Zavaleta was reunited with his uncle that season. He appeared in just four games for the Galaxy his first year but appeared in 11 for the Galaxy in 2023.

The LA Galaxy finished the 2023 MLS season second-to-last in the Western Conference and missed the playoffs again. The team, under General Manager Will Kuntz, got aggressive in reshaping the roster.

This year, Zavaleta was joined by Gabriel Pec, Joseph Paintsil, John McCarthy and eventually Marco Reus. The roster already boasted the likes of Dejan Joveljic and Ricard Puig.

The 2024 season saw the LA Galaxy end a ten-year title drought as they dominated the first two rounds of the playoffs as the West's second seed. Two more postseason wins later, Vanney and Zavaleta each won their second MLS Cup, and together.

Vanney's contract is automatically extended into next year. It remains to be seen if Zavaleta will remain with the Galaxy. If he does, dare we say it, a trilogy?