Gotham FC head coach Juan Carlos Amorós was named NWSL Coach of the Month for October/November on Thursday after the Bats finished the regular season atop the NWSL standings and claimed a first NWSL Shield in the club’s history.
While the affable 42-year-old Spaniard is fully deserving to be recognized for his key role in the club’s accomplishments, he is often quick to point out that Gotham’s success wouldn’t be possible without a collective of trusted technical staff members.
“It’s not only me,” Amorós said after last Sunday’s NWSL Shield-clinching victory. “It’s not only Shaun [Harris] like we got there, Zoë [Mattheson] and Sean [Nahas] and Brody [Sams] and Will [Guillermo Amorós] and Ak [Lakhani], and JD [Juan Coste Delvecchio] and Eric [Gorman] and Michelle [Betos], you know, everyone that really do that work.”
Why Gotham FC’s Success Is a Collective Effort
While Amorós stepped aside from his head coaching duties for roughly seven weeks total during the season to fulfill parental duties, Harris, who served as acting head coach, and the entire technical staff stepped up to ensure that Gotham remained in contention to finish first overall.
“One thing that really fills us with pride is that we set up a target at the beginning of the year to be consistent, to be always ready to win, to play our way, and I think against everything, and against everyone, we were able to do that,” Amorós said.
“Whether we were missing players because of injury, we had situations that weren’t ideal; we even had two head coaches. I think everyone that was wearing the Gotham badge was able to step out there and make sure our fans were proud. The people that we love and that sacrifice their time are proud. It’s a very special moment because this shows what this football club is, not only the 11 players but everyone that represented us, and I couldn’t be any prouder of the achievement, to be honest.”
Lead Assistant Coach Harris on Gotham’s Culture: ‘It’s Always About the People’
Harris and Amorós have a working relationship that first started over 15 years ago during their days at Tottenham Hotspur Women. The duo and Gotham as a whole have cultivated a people-first environment at every stop of their respective coaching careers.
“It’s always about the people,” Harris said. “You surround yourself with good people that want to work hard, and every single day is where these trophies are won. It’s always about the process, about how we take each day as it comes and never forget what our principles are and the way we want to go about it.”
Lakhani is one of several staff members whom Amorós leans on, and like Harris, he’s known Amorós for over 15 years through a bond forged at Tottenham.
So it was little surprise that Amorós sought the expertise of Harris and Lakhani to help build a lasting winning culture at Gotham.
“When we came to this club, and I kind of convinced Shaun and Ak, at that time, we had the plan to build something special long-term,” Amorós recalled.
Amorós, Staff Focused on Leaving a Lasting Legacy at Gotham FC
The two-time NWSL Championship-winning head coach recognizes that there will come a time when he is no longer patrolling the technical area as Gotham’s head coach.
When Amorós took over as Gotham FC head coach in November 2022, he inherited a club that had finished bottom of the NWSL in 2022. Amorós and his staff’s meticulous work on the training pitch and in the film room propelled Gotham from a team that finished dead last to NWSL champions in the span of a single season.
“It wasn’t always about just winning one thing; it was about building our legacy, and at some point we will be gone,” Amorós explained. “That’s the reality of life, and we just want to make sure that they really remember us for changing the history of the club, and the more we can change it, the better.”
Gotham Have a History-Making Treble in Their Sights but Are Entirely Focused on Seattle
This season, Gotham have already captured the NWSL Challenge Cup and NWSL Shield. This Sunday, the Bats will begin the NWSL playoffs at home against eighth-seeded Seattle Reign FC.
If Gotham can repeat as NWSL champions, they will be the first NWSL club to complete a single-season domestic treble, but as long as Amorós is in charge, he won’t allow his players and staff to lose track of the day-to-day focus that’s guided the Bats to new heights.
“If we can make more history, fine,” Amorós said. “At this point, what we think [about] is how to beat Seattle already. That’s the mentality, that’s our process. Until we do that, we can’t think of the semifinal and the final, and then we can answer the question. For us, it’s believing in ourselves, believing in our work. It’s never easy. I think we have to go through the ups, through the downs, and for us it will always be about what we leave behind. But what you leave behind is built on the everyday, and what we build on Sunday is built on what we do from now till then. So that’s what we are always focused on, and that’s what we will do again.”
The NWSL Media Association and the league’s on-air broadcast talent are responsible for selecting the NWSL Coach of the Month Award.
Sunday’s quarterfinal meeting against Seattle is scheduled to kick off at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The match will be broadcast nationally on ABC and ESPN Deportes. It will also be available to stream on the ESPN App for ESPN Unlimited subscribers.
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