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The 2023 NWSL Championship match, set to take place this Saturday in San Diego, will pit OL Reign against Gotham FC. The NY/NJ based side snuck into the playoffs in sixth place before beating two of the league’s best—North Carolina Courage and Portland Thorns FC - to reach the final. What’s even more surprising is that last year, the Bats finished dead-last in the league with just four wins on the season. Now, fast forward to present day, and they’re competing in the NWSL Championship game. The first step in the club’s dramatic turnaround was tapping Juan Carlos Amorós as head coach, who then undertook a revamp of the beleaguered team’s roster and built a new culture and on-field identity. Total buy-in from his players allowed the Spanish manager, who had served as an interim head coach for Houston Dash in 2022, to implement a fluid, possession-based style few other NWSL teams have attempted. <script type="application/json" data-placement="fcplayer-semantic">{"type":"fcplayer-semantic","data":{"embedCode":"//cdn.fcp.codes/embed-code-template/embed-code-template.js#SEMANTIC_5704afb8-c10b-4ba5-9cb4-d7fb6098ef90"}}</script>GOAL digs into how Amorós and his team completed the turnaround.

How Gotham FC went from rock-bottom to one game from the NWSL Championship: Hiring 'one of the best coaches,' boasting the league’s meanest defense and star signings Lynn Williams and Jenna Nighswonger

Amorós, who was appointed in November, has been one of the best coaching hires in the NWSL in recent memory. After taking charge of the Houston Dash midway through the 2022 season and leading the team to their first-ever playoff appearance, the Madrileño got to work immediately at Gotham, hiring an almost entirely new technical staff and working with General Manager Yael Averbuch to overhaul the roster. In addition to the new tactical system Amorós masterminded, he instituted a cultural shift that’s gotten the most out of every individual on the team—one where every player knows their role and everyone from the first to the 27th player on the team sheet gets a fair crack at the starting lineup each week. “Even the day before the game, matchday-minus-one training, somebody can play really well and they could be in the starting lineup,” says defender Ali Krieger. That dynamic both gets the best out of players by making them feel valued and raises the level of competition in training, and the buy-in from the team has been complete. Forward Taylor Smith calls Amorós “one of the best coaches I’ve had,” saying, “he's instilled so much discipline into the team.”

Appointing a new coach with an identity, a vision and a dream

The NWSL has long been a fast, physical, transition-heavy league where pace and strength tend to be rewarded above technique. Amorós has implemented a more European-style possession-based system arguably with more success than any previous coach, although North Carolina—who finished in third place but were beaten by Gotham in the playoff quarterfinal—employed a similar style this season. It’s only North Carolina, in fact, who outranked Gotham in three key stats over the regular season: total passes, successful passes, and average possession. The team plays with a high line, an aggressive press, and a fluid attacking style that often sees forwards Lynn Williams and Esther González drop deep to connect with Yazmeen Ryan or Delanie Sheehan in the midfield. That’s a style that takes time for a team to build into, and it was only possible due to Amorós’s clear vision and player-centric philosophy. “For [the coaching staff] it’s about making sure that [the players] understood that we had a plan, that it was going to be a journey,” he says. “And from day one, we wanted to be, you know, defensive, solid, aggressive, versatile. So we started giving them the foundation they needed to be successful, because we knew what we wanted. From day one, they said, ‘okay. We’ll try it.’” “We don’t really have positions, we have roles,” explains Smith. “Watching the [semifinal against Portland] I think one thing that was really noticeable was the organization. Like, there's a throw-in and we're immediately ready and shifting, everybody knowing exactly their role.”

Implementing a system for success

Obviously, it’s only possible to employ a given style with the right players on the field, and Amorós made big moves in the offseason. The splashiest signing was bringing in two-time NWSL champion and three-time Shield winner Lynn Williams, one of the top forwards in the league, at the beginning of the season. Williams was a staple for North Carolina during the 2017–2019 stretch where they dominated the NWSL, as well as winning the Golden Boot and MVP awards in 2016 with the Western New York Flash. The club had a successful 2023 NWSL Draft as well, bringing in midfielder Jenna Nighswonger—the eventual Rookie of the Year winner—from Florida State with the fourth overall pick. Nighswonger, an NCAA champion in 2021 with the Seminoles, was moved to left back at Gotham, a position she thrived in. “She subbed into the [season opener against LA] because Krieger went down,” says forward Midge Purce. “I was on the left wing and had not seen her play a lot of left back. And I said, ‘oh, my god. Here we go.’ And since then, she just took the league by storm.” Midway through the season, Amorós made more moves, bringing in Spanish center back Maitane López in June, and 2023 World Cup champion Esther González at forward after that tournament ended.

Acquiring an NWSL superstar and the eventual Rookie of the Year

Ending a season in last place is obviously dispiriting, but—provided necessary changes are made in the offseason—it can also be freeing, allowing a group of players to head into the following year with nothing to lose. “We jokingly say from worst to first,” says Purce, “but I don't think we ever really looked at ourselves as the worst.” Purce, who has been with Gotham since 2020, adds that this season felt like a fresh start. “This is a new group,” she says. “It's a new coaching staff. It's completely new. So we feel like we have nothing to lose and something to bring.” Gotham’s current group has brought a range of different experiences with them, from youngsters like Nighswonger to veterans like Kelley O’Hara and McCall Zerboni; some have no playoff experience, while Williams has been on the roster for playoff teams in seven different years.And then of course, there’s USWNT legend Krieger, who will hang up her cleats after this match. For her teammates, Krieger’s upcoming retirement has been one more reason to push for victory Saturday. “I think Ali's been an extra motivation, not because of who she's been, but for who she is for us,” says Amorós. “She's taught me a lot. She showed me what a true leader of a changing room is. She is a role model for all the players, for coaches, and for us to be able to tell her goodbye in this last game, in the Championship, was our target, but our target now is to win for her. Nothing would make me happier than seeing her lifting that trophy on Saturday.”

'From worst to first:' a veteran-led squad reinvented

How Gotham FC went from rock-bottom to one game from the NWSL Championship: Hiring 'one of the best coaches,' boasting the league’s meanest defense and star signings Lynn Williams and Jenna Nighswonger | Goal.com

In 2022, Gotham finished bottom of the NWSL table, now, they&apos;re competing for a Championship title one year later courtesy of an offseason overhaul.

How Gotham FC went from rock-bottom to one game from the NWSL Championship: Hiring &apos;one of the best coaches,&apos; boasting the league’s meanest defense and star signings Lynn Williams and Jenna Nighswonger