Midfielder pitched in midseason.
Danny Crisostomo returned with LAFC in 2022, in a sense.
Out of contract with the black-and-gold after the 2021 season, the midfielder re-signed with Las Vegas Lights FC after trialing again with LAFC in the 2022 preseason. The familiarity with new LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo seemed to give Crisostomo another look, and he ended up finding his way back to the first team on a temporary basis.
With LAFC facing fixture congestion in May, Crisostomo was signed on a temporary loan from Las Vegas and ended up making two appearances off the bench this season.
Here’s Crisostomo’s competitive stats with LAFC in 2022:
The sample size on MLS level is pretty small, so there’s not a great deal to break down from his appearances with LAFC. Both of them were wins for the black-and-gold and as ever, he fit in with the squad as they took care of business.
Beyond that, Crisostomo was a key player for Las Vegas this year. He made 33 appearances and had a career year, scoring two goals and seven assists at USL Championship level while captaining the side. While he has previously told this very site he has some experience in a few different roles in midfield, it was a shift for him this season, as the normally defensive-minded midfielder had never notched an assist prior to this season, and then he really started racking them up to help set up the likes of Danny Trejo and Cal Jennings. It was a very strong campaign for him, and I think he’s demonstrated he can be a key player at USL Championship level.
Since he wasn’t under contract to LAFC for more than a handful of days, he’s obviously not under contract for 2023, and it will be interesting to see what he does moving forward with LAFC moving their reserve team to MLS Next Pro next season. He would clearly be a good pro to help mentor LAFC’s youngsters there, but it probably would not be ideal for his own career. He’s only 25 now (he’ll turn 26 in January) and I think MLS Next Pro will be a big step down next year competitively compared to the USL. It may be a better option for him to sign with a USL Championship team, with no easy path to an MLS roster, or maybe look for a trial in preseason with an MLS side. I don’t think he can be a consistent MLS starter, but to play 500 minutes, especially with Leagues Cup starting up in earnest next year? That may prove to be a huge opportunity for the likes of Crisostomo.
So we’ll see what happens, but I definitely think there’s more left in the career of Danny Crisostomo. Time will tell where it goes from here.
What do you think? Leave a comment below.