One of the NWSL’s new expansion teams has a head coach. Utah Royals and USWNT legend Amy Rodriguez will be the team’s first manager in their new era. Rodriguez is the first former NWSL player and NWSL champion to become the head coach of a team in the league.
ARod’s resume
Rodriguez does not have much coaching experience, as she officially retired from professional soccer in 2021. Since then, she has been an assistant coach at her alma mater, USC. As a professional athlete, Rodriguez scored 64 goals in 160 appearances and won back-to-back NWSL Championships with FC Kansas City in 2014 and 2015. In addition, she won two Olympic gold medals in 2008 and 2012; she won the 2015 World Cup with the USWNT. She is also one of nine players to score five goals in one match with the USWNT, which she did against the Dominican Republic in 2012.
While Rodriguez does not have much coaching experience, fans are excited to see a former player get the chance to coach an NWSL team. Only four women are coaching in the NWSL (including Kansas City’s interim head coach) at the moment, so it’s also nice to see another woman get an opportunity to coach in a women’s league. Additionally, the fans in Utah love her from her time with the Royals, where she scored 15 goals in 51 matches and captained the team in 2020. She was also named the 2018 Utah Royals Humanitarian of the Year for her charitable work around the Salt Lake City area.
Are you excited to see Amy Rodriguez return to the Royals? Who do you think she’ll add to her coaching staff? Let me know in the comments below. Tune into Paramount+ to watch the 2023 NWSL season. Follow me on Twitter and check out Beyond Women’s Sports for more sporting news.
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