Nkosi Tafari’s patience is being rewarded with LAFC
After a decade of college and professional soccer, Los Angeles Football Club center back Nkosi Tafari found himself in familiar territory this preseason.
New LAFC head coach Marc Dos Santos did not include the 28-year-old free spirit from Manhattan in several of his early starting lineups. As Dos Santos tweaked the defensive formation to send more players forward and support the attack, Tafari did what he could to give himself a shot.
Show up daily. Do the little things right. Practice self-belief.
Tafari’s playing career existed “always kind of on the cusp,” the player said this week. He was never a surefire starter for UConn, Seattle University or FC Dallas, which selected him 14th overall in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft. He was perpetually preparing and waiting for the universe to do its thing. Along the way Tafari felt “coaches were maybe a little bit unsure about where I would lie.”
How he factored into Dos Santos’ plan was unknown as the coach took initial steps toward honing an identity following four successful seasons under Steve Cherundolo.
While they tried different things, Dos Santos described Tafari’s mentality as “exceptional.”
“Unfortunately, but I guess fortunately, that’s kind of the position I’ve been in for the last 10 years,” Tafari said.
The 6-foot-4 center back played in spurts after being acquired in a trade with Dallas last year for $300,000 in general allocation money and an international roster slot.
Stepping on the field for two minutes through a 14-match stretch from April to June, Tafari stayed locked in before admirably stepping up once captain Aaron Long suffered a knee injury in mid-July, starting 20 of the club’s last 21 games.
Moving away from Cherundolo’s back five (two wingbacks plus three center backs) as well as the traditional 4-3-3 that Bob Bradley used with LAFC, Dos Santos opted in training camp to employ three central defenders alongside a fullback, Sergi Palencia, who would push high up the field on the right side.
Situated between Ryan Porteous and Eddie Segura, Dos Santos immediately liked what he saw from Tafari, especially on the ball and finding certain passes.
Through four competitive matches, all victories by a combined score of 12-1, Dos Santos rewarded Tafari with every available minute.
Highlighted by back-to-back “Man of the Match” honors – a shutout of Inter Miami when Tafari threw his body around and disrupted dangerous moments in the team’s MLS opener, and a 1-0 victory thanks to his breakthrough goal for LAFC in a first-round CONCACAF Champions Cup series sweep – it’s been a “very good beginning of the season for him,” Dos Santos said. “He’s doing a lot of the things we’re asking him to do, so it’s positive.”
“The players that do well and grow in training and show, they’re going to get important chances,” the coach noted. “Nkosi is a player who took that chance.”
Saturday against Dallas (1-0-1, 4 points), for whom Tafari made 107 regular-season appearances in four years, LAFC (2-0-0, 6 points) is tasked with neutralizing a pair of forwards he knows well.
Petar Musa, 28, and Logan Farrington, 24, scored three times during Dallas’ season-opening win at home, spearheading a sort of physical challenge up top that LAFC has not faced yet in 2026.
“Being a defender, you train against them every day, so I know what they can do,” Tafari said. “It doesn’t mean you stop it every time but I have a good feeling about where we are. I think defending, our back four, we’re in a good place at the moment. So it should definitely be a good test.”
FC DALLAS AT LAFC
When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: BMO Stadium
TV/radio: Apple TV/980 AM, 1230 AM, Sirius XM Channel 157