“I ASSURE you all, we are NOT okay with being at the bottom of the table,” said Yael Averbuch West, the general manager of NJ/NY Gotham FC at the end of the 2022 NWSL campaign.
“This position is all too common for this club. Here’s why you can have faith in the future of what we’re building.”
Averbuch West was speaking after Gotham finished the 2022 season winning just once at home in all competitions.
They won just for games in the NWSL regular season, the top level of women’s professional football in the United States, losing 17 and drawing one.
Among the list of improvements listed by the GM were a new head coach and a new identity on the pitch.
Off the pitch, the club had already rebranded from its original name, Sky Blue FC, to the NJ/NY Gotham FC moniker in April 2021.
“We are working alongside ownership on our on-field club identity, just as the club rebranded off the field about a year and a half ago,” Averbuch West added in that 2022 statement posted on Twitter, now known as X.
“As we work to identify our next head coach and look at our roster for 2023, we recognise the need for an identity that goes beyond who is currently here.”
Fast forward to this week and the head coach they went on to hire for 2023, Juan Carlos Amoros has been named NWSL Coach of the Year and has guided the team to this weekend’s Championship game.
Gotham finished sixth in the league this season with a much more respectable record of won eight, drawn seven, lost seven.
That position was enough to see them sneak into the playoffs where they went on to upset the odds, defeating North Carolina Courage, who finished third in the table, before knocking out second-place side Portland Thorns in last weekend’s semifinals.
It means Gotham are an unexpected presence in Saturday night’s final, where they will play the side from Seattle who topped the regular season league table, OL Reign.
From being the worst team in the league, it now has a chance to be called the best.
In the US, the team winning the post-season playoffs is generally the one considered “champions” for that particular year, as opposed to the league winners.
The goal that got Gotham to this final stage was an outstanding strike from former Liverpool forward Katie Stengel in extra time against Portland.
Speaking after the game, Stengel had plenty of praise for head coach Amoros.
“He comes with a lot of energy and he’s a great coach,” said Sengel, as reported by Jenna Tonelli for The Equalizer.
“He wants the best for every single player and makes sure everyone’s on the same page.
“He has a very specific training style and playing style he wants every day.
“He’s an incredible coach who I think has taken this league by storm. This team has turned it on its head. So it’s very fun to be a part of and work under him.”
Gotham play their home games at Red Bull Arena, a stadium they share with men’s side New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer, and one which is occasionally used by the other MLS side in the area, New York City FC.
Unlike those professional men’s teams, Gotham, with their full name NJ/NY Gotham, have embraced both sides of the Hudson River, representing both New Jersey and New York.
Especially in the men’s game, branding and rebranding in US soccer can often be unimaginative, which is disappointing given the wonderful wacky names attached to many teams in the past.
MLS is now full of Uniteds and Citys, but NWSL seems to have stuck with the more traditional, unusual and characteristically US names.
Houston Dash, Washington Spirit, and the aforementioned Thorns and Courage, are examples of unique soccer names, but Gotham is arguably the best of the bunch.
It is also one of the best in the New York metropolitan area as far as professional soccer teams go.
Firstly, NJ/NY Gotham represents New Jersey as well as New York. Sports teams such as New York Jets and New York Giants of the NFL, and New York Red Bulls, all technically play in New Jersey rather than New York City, but still use the New York name.
Secondly, the word Gotham itself evokes a certain character from its historic nickname for New York City, and due to its association with the city via the DC Comics Batman character and subsequent films.
A sense of wily cheekiness, a dark mysterious side, and a truer representation of the cities on either side of the Hudson River.
The black, white and sky blue colour scheme, the clever and clean badge incorporating NY and NJ, and the Lady Liberty crown make it one of the more passable branding exercises in US sports because it is based on real things, not made-up marketing spiel.
Regular consultation with fans has helped the club along this path.
Gotham FC’s 2023 season has reflected this character as the club began to turn itself around following some troublesome years, reaching the NWSL final despite being the lowest-seeded team in the playoffs.
Gotham don’t need to win this weekend’s final in San Diego for this season to be considered a success, it is already a massive improvement on what came before. But now they are in it, they may as well try to win it.
“We feel very hopeful as we create this blueprint and we are grateful for those of you who have stuck with us to support up until this point,” Averbuch West encouraged back in September in 2022.
“We urge you all to see this time as the beginning of a journey!”
2023 has shown the Gotham FC journey is already a much more pleasant experience.
