Maybe in a future world, where women’s sports teams get big blockbuster films made about their successes, the 2023 season for NJ/NY Gotham FC will be on some producer’s list of stories to adapt for the screen. It has all the elements: a last place finish the year before; a new head coach hired for his tactics and leadership; the addition of big, key players; drafting a promising rookie; the return of two players who had previously retired after experiencing the worst of the league; the team’s captain, a legend of the game, announcing her retirement ahead of the season; adding a World Cup champion to the squad for the final push.
And the big finish? A championship win in front of a record crowd.
Admit it, if you went into a movie like that, you’d think it was maybe too much. But while it’s a great story, none of it was fiction.
Gotham FC is The Athletic’s pick for this year’s American soccer team of the year. From general manager Yael Averbuch West backing up her promises to turn the team around, to Juan Carlos Amorós’ coach of the year run, to a roster that was stacked with incredible individual stories that performed as a true team, it was a remarkable group effort from Gotham this year.
“All of these special things came together really nicely,” Averbuch West…
