2023 NWSL coach of the year Juan Carlos Amoros: ‘Live the journey’

“We are not superheroes, head coaches,” he says. “We need people around us. It’s a very difficult job, where you have to prioritise and delegate a lot of things.

“Every detail matters when it comes to high-level soccer and it’s important to have people on point in their jobs to make sure the machine is working, and players and coaches can be focusing on what is most important - the on-pitch performance.”

It also gives each coach the chance to concentrate on their own tasks and their own progression.

“We are all different and have different strengths and weaknesses,” Amoros says. “It’s a question of maximising performance and effectiveness. 

“There are not enough hours in the day to do absolutely everything: to give every player the individual attention they deserve, to have their individual plan be better, to meet with the players individually, to be scouting new players, to be preparing sessions, to be preparing analysis. 

“You need people you trust. When you have them, work that normally takes you two and a half hours takes five minutes to talk about preparing it and another five minutes to review it.

“I look at it and oversee it, but having people I trust is massively important because you can maximise your time as a head coach. But be sure your players and support staff are being helped, maximised and happy because they feel like they get the attention they need.”

 

“Head coaches aren’t superheroes. We need people around us. It’s a very difficult job...”

One of the most important days of the week for Amoros as a coach in the intense environment of the NWSL is the one after a match, especially for those who did not play. 

He explains: “I’ve focused a lot this last season on making sure every player feels we’re giving them our absolute best. You win tournaments not with one player or 11 - last year, we used something like 29 players.”

That means putting together a plan for the week that ensures everyone feels involved and appreciated.

“The day after a game, if we’re at home, we give individual attention to every player. That’s one of the most important sessions of the week,” said Amoros.

“For the players that didn’t play, we prepare a session where we individualise what they need to do to be better, what they need to do to be in the team, so they think, ‘OK, I didn’t play yesterday, but the head coach and coaches are really helping me to be the best I can be’.

“We’ll then have a day off. I take those two days to prepare in detail the week that is coming. We’ll do a couple of days of training, one in smaller spaces and one in bigger spaces.

“The next day we might [have the day off] or use it for travelling, because in America, when you have to go from east coast to west coast, it’s a six-hour flight and three-hour time change, so that takes one day. 

“Then we have another day of training, then we play again. There’s really no breaks here and it’s a very demanding league.” 

 

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‘I LIKE TO STUDY PEOPLE WHO HAVE EVOLVED AND CHANGED THE GAME’ – AMOROS ON ROLE MODELS LIKE BIELSA, HAYES AND HILLS

Those working in women’s soccer are often asked to pick out their idols and role models. For his part, Amoros has been inspired by many high-profile figures on his rise to the elite level.

Those he admired as a boy growing up are drawn from the men’s game. He names former Argentina head coach Marcelo Bielsa, Spain bosses Luis Aragones and Vicente del Bosque, plus Dutch legend Rinus Michels and Italy’s Arrigo Sacchi, as some of the greatest coaches ever.

“I always liked to study people that through history were evolving and changing the game,” he explains.

In the women’s game, he is a fan of Emma Hayes, saying that competing against her and her Chelsea side in the WSL was an important career milestone for him.

He is also quick to note that coaches in the women’s game may not get the same recognition, publicity or celebrity, but their dedication is certainly no less. He points to his former Tottenham colleague Karen Hills (right) – now head coach of Charlton Athletic in the second-tier FA Women’s Championship – as an example.

“Seeing how much effort and commitment she put in every day...she might not be as famous, but there are people whose passion [for soccer] is as much of a motivation as some of these famous coaches in the men’s and women’s game,” he says.

 

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Of course, every league has its challenges. He points to where he was a decade ago, when he was co-head coach, alongside Karen Hills, of Tottenham Hotspur, before they were promoted to England’s top-flight WSL. It was a workload he describes as “crazy”.

“There were so many things that Karen and I did, especially in the early days,” he says. “Every coach starts their career and needs to do everything – strength and conditioning, analysis, tactical, everything on the pitch. Then you get a strength and conditioning coach, an analyst, another coach - you get more people as you grow.”

Seeing Tottenham’s progress in recent years has given him a great deal of pride, particularly when he got the chance to return to north London in December 2023 and see the team he built get their first-ever victory over local rivals Arsenal.

Not only did he enjoy the 2-1 win, he also caught up with some of the players he had worked with during his decade at the club.

“I was thinking, ‘Wow, I put 10 years of my life - sacrificing time away from my family and friends - to build something like this’.

“To see that there was a legacy from Karen and myself – and a lot of other people, some of whom are still involved but some who aren’t any more – and to see what it’s grown into...it’s a daughter that has grown into a successful brand and [an important club] on the women’s side, which was always our target.”

Sacrifice is still an element of Amoros’ life as a coach and he admits finding a balance between home and work continues to be a challenge. 

He is a husband and father, and spent Christmas and the new year in Spain visiting family and friends before returning to the USA for the 2024 player draft, knowing he would not be able to return to his native country for 11 months while the season is in progress.

“It’s very important to take care of the human side first,” he says, explaining that he encourages and supports his players and staff to do the same. 

“I have to perform as well and I have to be the best I can be. [But] it comes with a cost. There is always a sacrifice behind the scenes.”

Looking back over his coaching career to date, he jokes that the most important piece of advice he could have given his younger self would be buying a car earlier when he lived in London, making it easier for him to transport kit and equipment for training and matches. 

More seriously, he says he might have done a lot of things differently had he known about them in advance, but they have all been learning experiences.

“It’s about embracing your own journey,” he says. “Live that journey. Embrace the day to day. 

“In this world of continuous performance and results, it’s sometimes difficult to enjoy the day. 

“Enjoy the time you have. You never know when something might happen – you never know what’s around the corner.”

And that is what he intends to do in the seasons ahead.

“I think as a coach I’ve grown [since arriving in the US], and I hope I’ll grow even more this year,” he says. “I just try to be better every day.”  WSC