LANCASTER, Calif. – USL Antelope Valley today announced that Southern California native Brian Kleiban has been named the inaugural head coach for its men's professional soccer team. Kleiban, who holds a USSF Senior A License, joins the club after serving as head coach of Chivas USA, LA Galaxy and LAFC So Cal Youth academy teams. USL Antelope Valley will kick off its 2025 inaugural season in USL League One and play at Lancaster Municipal Stadium, which will be converted to a 5,300-seat, soccer-specific configuration.
"Our mission is to create civic pride and opportunity for the entire Antelope Valley," said the club's founder and president, John Smelzer. "But make no mistake, we plan to win. Brian is a world-class coach, and we're lucky to have him. As the USL grows the beautiful game in new markets across the country, more opportunities for players and coaches will arise, and new stars will be born. We believe that Brian is one of those stars."
Kleiban brings 20 years of coaching experience to the club with an expertise and track record for identifying and developing young talent. Early in his career, he held internships with the Argentina men's national team (2004) along with Spanish clubs FC Barcelona and FC Barcelona Atlètic (2008-13).
"After my internships with Barcelona, I did not want to reinvent the wheel," said Kleiban. "Copying a successful formula for player development and applying it stateside was what my staff and I set out to do. I simply brought those ideas and adapted them to fit the needs of player development in the United States."
Kleiban has held roles at the Chivas USA Academy as head coach (2013-15) and Total Futbol Academy as director (2011-13). Most recently, he served as head coach of the LA Galaxy Academy for the U-14, U-17 and U-18's (2015-19) and LAFC So Cal Youth head coach for the U-15 and U-18's in 2022.
"We want to build a team that the Antelope Valley community is proud of and reflects the same character and culture that makes this place so special," said Kleiban. "We want players that share these community values and have the same ambition – to grow and play to win."
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