Alexander Straus was fewer than two weeks from his first coaching session as Angel Metropolis FC coach. But, Angel Metropolis president and co-founder Julie Uhrman needed to see her new supervisor at work.
She flew to Portugal, the place Straus was finishing his three-season stint as FC Bayern Munich coach — a membership the 49-year-old Norwegian led to 3 consecutive Frauen-Bundesliga titles and a 57-7-2 league document.
As Uhrman watched Straus coach Bayern Munich on the inaugural World Sevens Soccer event, she already was acquainted with his technical acumen that was on show en path to a championship victory over Manchester United. That was not a shock.
However what caught Uhrman’s consideration was Straus’ relationships along with his gamers.
Angel Metropolis coach Alex Straus speaks to reporters throughout his first information convention whereas membership president and co-founder Julie Uhrman seems on and laughs Wednesday in Thousand Oaks.
(Al Seib/For The Instances)
“What I saw was something that you don’t get in an interview process and you don’t read on the [curriculum vitae,]” Uhrman mentioned. “The connection he had with his teams was palpable. The way that they would celebrate him, the joy that they brought him, and vice versa, was just something you can’t learn in an interview process and it’s something that’s so critical to Angel City.”
How Straus desires Angel Metropolis to play on the pitch, is identical as how he desires to work together along with his gamers within the locker room — and the state-of-the-art efficiency heart on Cal Lutheran College’s campus.
“My philosophy is centered around people,” mentioned Straus, who requested the media to “bear with” his English after spending 4 years in Germany. “I’m here to facilitate for our players to be able to go out on a pitch, have a clear plan and know how to execute it.”
Straus continued: “I need to know people, and I need to know what makes them tick. So how can I get the best out of Sarah Gorden or Christen Press or Riley Tiernan or Alyssa Thompson? How can I get the best out of them?”
Earlier in his profession, Straus mentioned he overly cared about trophies, medals and success. In 2018, he mentioned his worldview shifted. Straus — who mentioned he thought-about earlier teaching alternatives in America, however didn’t really feel the timing was proper — realized he wanted to craft bonds and relationships along with his gamers to domesticate a constructive workforce tradition, one that would result in championships.
Uhrman noticed the bonds on show in Portugal whereas Straus was nonetheless with Bayern Munich and Parsons has watched the child steps Straus is taking with Angel Metropolis in his first few days as official coach.
“Through this process, Meeting 1 to Meeting 3, I just didn’t think this person existed,” Parsons mentioned, including that throughout the teaching search he spoke to Straus’ former gamers and employees. “I really mean that I didn’t believe this type of quality existed, and I couldn’t be happier that we’ve got him here.”
What stood out to Parsons, he mentioned, was that even gamers who didn’t play a lot underneath Straus — who might have left for higher alternatives — would nonetheless converse positively concerning the readability, confidence that Angel Metropolis’s new coach supplied them.
Straus — and the Angel Metropolis backroom employees — are properly conscious that successful isn’t an in a single day course of. The membership sits in seventh place in NWSL standings with a 4-2-4 document. In some matches, Angel Metropolis has exerted management and performed the fashion Parsons mentioned he desires to see asserted. However in different matches, comparable to latest defeats to Bay FC and Racing Louisville, Angel Metropolis has faltered — typically shedding regardless of controlling possession. Uhrman confused she needed a coach who may assist the workforce bounce again from defeat, or setbacks. She and Parsons imagine Straus can try this.
He doesn’t take falling brief flippantly. When pushed on his UEFA Girls’s Champions League document since 2022 on Wednesday throughout a aspect media session, Straus spent six-and-a-half minutes breaking down why Bayern Munich fell brief within the quarterfinals or group phases, including what he realized from every shedding expertise.
Straus mentioned he’s all the time open to speaking. Angel Metropolis gamers, nonetheless, may have only some extra days to get to know the brand new coach earlier than Straus takes the touchline Saturday at BMO Stadium in opposition to the Chicago Stars.
“One thing is to win one year, one game,” Straus mentioned. “But it needs to be consistent, and it needs to be built on a foundation where you are always the ones that have been spoken about when it comes to challenging for winning the championship.
“That’s why we are here, and that’s what we want to do.”
