Ivan Pierra is an LA Galaxy original.
The Director of the Sports Medicine Department at the LA Galaxy, Pierra is the first athletic trainer in club history. Pierra worked with the Galaxy from 1996-2008 before departing on an eight-year stint with the U.S. Men’s National Team. In 2014, Pierra returned home to accept the role as the head trainer. The Galaxy are a labor of love for the Pierra family with Ivan’s brother Eric serving as one of the club chiropractors and brother Igor working as an equipment coordinator assistant.
Ahead of #GalaxyThrowBack Night on Thursday against Sporting Kansas City, Pierra tells his story about his 21-year tenure with the Galaxy.
LA Galaxy Insider: How did you join the club?
PIERRA: I worked with [first LA Galaxy coach Lothar Osiander] when he ran a camp with the U.S. U-23s back in 1993-1994. I also worked with [Galaxy assistant coach] Octavio Zambrano when he was with the L.A. Salsa. When the job came up, and they were given the position as coaches, they asked me if I wanted to take the job.”
INSIDER: Why was it important to come back to the Galaxy?
PIERRA: Even though I worked with the U.S. team, I never left. The LA Galaxy has always been part of life. My family and I still came to most of the games and my heart was still here with the LA Galaxy since 1996. When the opportunity came to come back, it was an opportunity where the timing was right, and I shouldn’t pass up.
INSIDER: What makes the Galaxy special?
PIERRA: Since the beginning, we had a great group of guys, coaches, and staff who had that family bonding right away. There was an aura of success that started off with that, and we’ve always had a chip on our shoulders. I think ever since the first year, everyone brought their A-game to play the LA Galaxy. Everyone always hated the LA Galaxy. For whatever reason, there was always a special aura about this club and being the best, and everyone bringing their A-game to play us
INSIDER: What is your favorite moment with the club?
PIERRA: There’s not one, but the top three that come to mind: First, our first game, they predicted that we’d only have 20,000 fans, so they prepared the Rose Bowl to only hold 20,000 fans and only had security for that many. Needless to say, they had a massive walk up, and it was just nuts. It was so cool. It was something so big and so early in the season. Secondly, was the first final which was a nightmare finish. We had it in the bag, and it slipped away. I still remember it clear as day. Number three would be finally getting the monkey off our back when we finally won the MLS Cup in 2002.
INSIDER: Favorite MLS Cup win?
PIERRA: The first one because we got the monkey off our back and because it was so emotional. To finally get that win after always going to the playoffs and going to four finals out of the first six, and to finally get that win was special.
INSIDER: Who is your favorite player of all-time?
PIERRA: There is no one favorite player. There’re too many great memories with so many different players. I could never answer that question even if I wanted to.
INSIDER: Favorite Galaxy win of all-time?
PIERRA: The one game that always stands out is the first MLS game that we paired up with the national team. The national team played Mexico first, and we played the Tampa Bay Mutiny after that. It was over 100,000 fans in attendance, and that was the first time that we had played in such a big crowd. We thought after the USMNT game that everyone would leave, but no one left. Everyone stayed for our game. To play in front of that crowd in a game like that was special and stands out for me. It was a pretty cool experience.
INSIDER: What is your greatest accomplishment during your time with the Galaxy?
PIERRA: Being able to stick around! Having luck and doing all the right things. Being able to watch this league grow and our profession as trainers grow. To see where it is now, compared to where we first started is amazing. I always like telling the story that even though we played at the Rose Bowl, we trained in the parking lot in 1996, and I’d have to pick up glass before training so guys wouldn’t get hurt. I would tape guys in the back of my truck before training when we moved to Occidental College. Things like that were crazy and to see now that we have things like our own stadium, our own practice field, our own training room. My training room was half of a locker room in the Rose Bowl for so many years.
INSIDER: How important is it for you to have other family members working within the club?
PIERRA: What makes this job bearable is that your family supports you and is part of it. One of the reasons that you last in a sport like this or a job like this is because you have the support of your family, and you have a real support system. You have family members that work within the organization as well. Words can’t describe it because you know that every day that you come to work, it’s not really work. You just come in, and you look forward to coming in every single day.