Chelis Sanchez in Las Vegas - What Kind of Coach are we Getting?

There are still a lot of things we don't know about the team. Its players, for example. Or the date of its first game (though we do have some friendlies against MLS teams upcoming in February).

The one thing we do know that will affect how the team plays is the identity of its manager.

"Chelis" Sanchez was announced as the first manager of the Lights a few months ago. At first glance, he looks like a great fit for a Las Vegas club - he is outgoing, speaks his mind, a little eccentric, and has a background in the Mexican game that will help him connect with the city.

But how will his team actually play?

The ownership group is declaring that the Lights will play an exciting, attacking brand of soccer. That's good talk, but then again, what else are they going to say? Have you ever heard an ownership group announce that they are looking to play a stodgy, boring brand of soccer?

Actions always speak louder than press conferences, so let's take a look at Chelis's past performance to see what exactly he is going to bring to the table.

Chelis's first management job was in Mexico with his hometown club, Puebla FC. He took Puebla FC up from the Mexican second division, and used quite a few academy players in the process. And he managed to keep them up as well.

I'm not sure he was ever some kind of managerial genius, though. First of all, it wasn't exactly a story of a tiny underdog staying up against the odds - Puebla has a storied history in Mexico, and has a stadium that holds almost 50,000 people. Also, Chelis was fired twice and re-hired once by the ownership group during that spell (yeah soccer is weird that way). Overall, however, the stint was probably his most successful in management.

The big concern here is that after his first job, his record looks a bit patchy. He took over another Liga MX club (Estudiantes Tecos) in 2010, and led them to a mediocre finish. His team had the 2nd worst defense in the league - but on the other hand, it also had the 2rd-best offense in the league (helped by a certain Hercules Gomez). He was fired in June 2011, and popped up back in the 2nd division in Mexico in 2012 at Correcaminos. He only stayed about six months before resigning.

He then popped up at the infamous Chivas USA franchise. He started like a house on fire with a 3-1-1 record - but then the form took a nosedive, and he was fired at the end of an 0-6-1 run. He lasted only five months at the helm.

To be fair, we have no idea how much of that performance was because of Chelis, and how much was simply because Chivas USA was a dumpster fire at the time. There were discrimination lawsuits, the attendance was abysmal, and the team completely folded very soon after he left. I'm not sure Pep Guardiola could have saved that franchise.

Since 2013, Chelis has popped up in very short stints at Veracruz in Mexico (3 months); back at Puebla (4 months); and most recently at Venados in the Mexican second division (6 months).

Overall, it seems like the Lights ownership group has put their money where their mouth is by hiring a coach that focuses on attacking play - sometimes to his own detriment. Chelis has gone on record as saying "Games should be 7-5 or 6-4 and hopefully we’re the ones scoring six and the rival with four. People like that.” It seems like that philosophy is backed up in his teams' performance.

So we should see some goals in the Lights' inaugural campaign next year. Who knows which team will be scoring them, but at the very least, a season of 0-0 bore draws seems unlikely to be on the table.