San Diego FC: How a new MLS franchise is making history

In Varas’s first job as men’s head coach, he led UCLA to the top of the Western Conference with a record tally of points, wins and away victories for an expansion team.

And he did all this while popularizing a style inspired by Pep Guardiola and Barcelona’s Tito Vilanova.

“I love football. I think the best thing in life is to play football. If you can’t do that, the next best thing is to work in football. If you can’t do that, I think the next best thing is to be a passionate football fan,” Varas said.

“I know there are many ways to play football and I respect them all, each one has huge value and you can win any way.

“But deep in our hearts and in our DNA, we are feel “This is an exciting type of football, and it makes the trip even more special when we play like this.”

It is this style that has bonded a group of 30-odd players and helped them edge out MLS giants such as the Seattle Sounders, Vancouver Whitecaps and both Los Angeles clubs in the Western Conference.

But even though everyone had to develop relationships with teammates during the preseason, often through card games and the odd trip to watch the Major League Baseball team the San Diego Padres, the fresh start for the staff and players felt like an advantage.

Midfielder Anders Dreyer said: “It was nice to walk into the dressing room as every player wants to be in the same place.

“Sometimes you come to a club with history, and there are things from last season where people want to leave because they didn’t play enough or were unhappy.

“But here, there was a group of players who just wanted to be part of this journey.

“I’ve been on a lot of different teams that have a lot of history, and then trying out a whole new team that had no history was something I wanted to do.”