Photograph Copyright: Amber Searls for USA TODAY Sports activities
On Sunday, Aug. 25, the Washington Spirit executed a dominant and decisive 4-1 victory over the second-best crew within the NWSL, the Kansas Metropolis Present. For anybody questioning if the Spirit would be capable to bounce again from an underwhelming few weeks in the course of the Olympic break, they acquired their reply – a convincing sure.
The crew that confirmed up on Sunday to tackle an enormous opponent was constant, versatile, and hungry for a win. The profoundly dominant efficiency begged the query – how has the crew turn into so assured so rapidly below a brand new head coach?
When head coach Jonatan Giráldez joined the Spirit after wrapping up his tenure with Barcelona Femení within the spring of 2024, gamers and followers alike have been excited that one among girls’s soccer’s most profitable leaders would deliver his abilities to the NWSL facet. The Spirit was notably excited for Jona, as he’s typically referred to as, to deliver his “subtle method and soccer IQ,” as Jackie Gutierrez wrote for The Equalizer earlier this summer season.
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And Giráldez’s method, influenced by his intelligence of the sport, is working. The Giráldez methodology, which incorporates prioritizing sustaining possession and urgent with strain, has confirmed to achieve success, particularly so when the crew’s greatest gamers are on the sector. And whereas it’s taking a number of the youthful gamers just a little longer to regulate, the truth that Sunday’s scoring was damaged open by the 23-year-old Paige Metayer proved that, below the Giráldez methodology, the educational curve for the youths is fairly fast.
Moreover, Giráldez has made some government choices as coach which have helped spherical out the crew because it heads into the second half of the season. The Colombian star Leicy Santos began and scored in her debut with the Spirit on Saturday, and the crew’s latest star, Rosemonde Kouassi, received some minutes on the sector as effectively. Santos was notably helpful within the midfield, working with veteran Andi Sullivan and younger phenom Hal Hershfelt to push the Present out huge and dominate down the center. In slightly below two months, Giráldez has not solely formed the Spirit into a very harmful facet, however he has additionally proven he’s able to lifting them again up after they undergo slumps.
Nevertheless, Giráldez can’t take all of the credit score for the turnaround. The primary three months of the season have been led by interim head coach Adrián González, who laid a lot of the groundwork for Giráldez to inherit. Underneath González, the crew was just a little shakier, however they improved on essential areas of their sport, like scoring early and stopping early targets from their opponents, that helped solidify the crew’s basis.
González additionally emphasised the significance of rapidly fixing errors, a price that has clearly been carried into the Giráldez period. González helped the crew be taught some essential classes, and now, when absolutely staffed with their greatest and healthiest expertise, the Spirit are able to taking part in on the highest stage within the league.
Sunday’s outcomes moved the Spirit into second place, leapfrogging over the crew they simply beat. With the common season winding down and the playoffs looming across the nook, the already-successful Spirit appear to be activating their true potential on the actual proper time.
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