The Reinvention of Vlatko Andonovski With the Kansas City Current

Vlatko Andonovski has been around the game of women’s soccer for quite some time now. He’s a well-respected coach, but his time with the USWNT didn’t go as expected. After resigning from USWNT duty, Andonovski was picked up by the Kansas City Current, coming off a subpar 2023 season. Let’s take a look into the coach’s journey from USWNT disappointment to rising to greatness with the Current.

Playing Professionally and Beginning Coaching

Andonovski is from Skopje, SFR Yugoslavia. He played professionally in North Macedonia for three clubs before coming to the United States and playing professional indoor soccer. While in the U.S., he played for clubs in Wichita, Kansas City, California, and Philadelphia until 2006.

His coaching career began as an assistant with the Missouri Comets, an indoor soccer team before he became the head coach in 2013. During this time, he was also hired as the head coach of FC Kansas City. He had a very successful tenure with FC Kansas City, which included back-to-back NWSL Championships in 2014 and 2015.

He stayed with FC Kansas City until the 2018 season when he became the head coach of the Seattle Reign. With the Reign, he led them to an 11-5-8 record, which was good enough for a third-place finish and a playoff berth.

USWNT Head Coach Tenure

His impressive tenure in the NWSL led him to be a candidate for the USWNT head coaching position after Jill Ellis retired. In October 2019, he was officially hired as the next head coach of the USWNT.

There was a lot of optimism when Andonovski was hired, but the national team was going through a mass number of roster changes, and they were faced with the pressure of finding a new identity quickly with the Olympics fast approaching.

The 2020 Olympics didn’t go as planned for the USWNT, but Andonovski did lead the club to a third-place finish and a Bronze medal. It was a disappointing finish from a team that was coming off winning its second straight Women’s World Cup.

He had four difficult years with the national team and was never able to build that team to its full potential. His club coaching success didn’t translate to the international stage. At the 2023 Women’s World Cup, the USWNT were knocked out of the tournament in the Round of 16, which was their worst finish at the tournament ever.

Rise to Success with the Current

After his tenure with the USWNT was over, he was named the head coach of the Kansas City Current. There’s no denying that Andonovski is a very good club coach, and he’s showcasing that with the Current right now.

Last season, the Current finished in 11th place with just eight wins. They’ve completely turned that around this season and are currently sitting in first place with eight wins. They have yet to lose a match through their first 13 games.

They’ve completely revamped their attack, including adding Temwa Chawinga, who leads the team in goals with eight so far. Last season, Kansas City scored just 30 goals through 22 games, but for the 2024 season, they’ve already scored 33 goals through the first 13 games. Andonovski added a handful of other key additions to the team, including Bia Zaneratto and Claire Hutton.

Andonovski has managed to turn this Kansas City squad into a Championship contender in just one season.

Featured image via Getty Images

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