Season Five in Los Angeles Football Club history begins Saturday with a new head coach, nine new players and the same lofty expectations that have followed the Black & Gold since its inception.

After failing to qualify for the MLS Cup playoffs for the first time, LAFC made the most of a short offseason to address areas of need, acquiring several top-flight MLS veterans who have placed the focus on winning immediately inside the league.

Here are some questions facing the club heading into the season:

Is Steve Cherundolo the next Sean McVay?

This question reflects the high hopes people affiliated with LAFC have in regards to their first-time head coach.

Young, bright and ambitious, yet light on experience leading a team from the sidelines, Cherundolo apparently hit the right notes in his first camp.

Players affirmed that they appreciate his tone and the fact that so far he has done everything he said he would.

What matters most, of course, are results. Once the schedule commences Saturday, it will be worth paying attention to how much time Cherundolo, who stepped in for Hall of Fame coach Bob Bradley, gets to implement his vision before the pressure mounts.

Where on the field offers the most room for improvement?

The answer is in Cherundolo’s wheelhouse: defense.

More to the point, defending in the last quarter hour through the final whistle.

An inability to do this wrecks seasons, demoralizes locker rooms and enrages fan bases.

These sorts of self-inflicted lapses during the past four years seemed to occur at the worst moments. If any post-Bradley part of LAFC requires some sage to be burned, it is here, where the energy must improve if LAFC is going to live up to its massive potential.

To that end, the competition for starting center back and outside back positions was intense throughout camp and the preseason, which is exactly what the club wanted from its deep roster.

How will they play?

We know LAFC is keen on retaining that high-octane style that became its calling card from Day 1.

Where it may look different under Cherundolo is in areas of transition and intensity.

Carlos Vela described his role in 2022 as more of a facilitator, a playmaker who can set up others in the attack.

Newcomers like Kellyn Acosta and Ilie Sanchez could combine right away in the middle or take time to sort out their roles.

“There’s not just an 11,” Cherundolo said. “There’s certainly 14 to 16 players who will get the brunt of the minutes this season, and those are the players we are focusing on and most clubs would focus on in preseason, making sure they’re all understanding their roles.”

With key players continuing to arrive as the season approached, it would be an impressive statement about Cherundolo’s ability if they jell and get off to a strong start.

Would Carlos Vela really leave in the summer?

If Vela performs at or near his peak as the season gets underway, then this question will be forefront in every LAFC backer’s mind until he is re-signed or lost in the primary transfer window when his contract ends.

Vela has been the smiling face of the club since it first stepped on the field. He was the best player MLS has ever seen in 2019. To have him playing anywhere near that level after a dreary past two seasons would be an accomplishment for everyone involved, and, clearly, a significant boost to LAFC’s season – or at least through the first half.

Team co-president John Thorrington said this week that contract negotiations are “continuing and picking up steam.” LAFC is hopeful Vela will return, but there is the matter of making sure he’s capable of contributing on a regular basis, and that answer requires time.

What’s up with a new Designated Player?

There was talk from the club that it intended to sign a designated player before opening day, but that has not come to pass.

With Vela’s potential departure, plus the fact Diego Rossi is still on the books as a loaned player to Fenerbahçe in Turkey, that offers time to sort out high-profile signings by the summer.

The club expects Rossi’s transfer to be made permanent in the coming weeks as it continues searching for a replacement.

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While there are upsides in either making a quick move or waiting on the market, the club is planning on at least one high-profile signing this season, which falls on LAFC’s reshaped front office soccer operations team, led by the new director of football operations Marco Antonio Garces, to hash out.

“LAFC has a lot of important and interesting players,” Garces said. “We are constantly getting offers from abroad and other places. This is something you can’t really do reactively. You have to be proactive.”