“Jonatan’s commitment to excellence and performance is unmatched. His leadership, tactical acumen, and dedication to player development will propel our club to the next level, both nationally and internationally.”<\/p>Michele Kang<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The position at OL opened after the sudden departure of Joe Montemurro, who became the coach of the Australian women’s national team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n OL Lyonnes won their 18th league title in the last 19 seasons in France, but were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League in the semi-finals by Arsenal.<\/p>\n\n\nGir\u00e1ldez, 33, will look to bring his former rival back to glory. He won consecutive UEFA Women’s Champions League titles with FC Barcelona in 2023 and 2024 before joining the Spirit.\n\n\n “I am honored and excited to join OL Lyonnes. The club’s history, ambition, and talented squad represent a fantastic opportunity, and I look forward to building on the club’s successes as it enters a new chapter.”<\/p>Jonatan Gir\u00e1ldez<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Gir\u00e1ldez’s arrival in Washington was seen as a great achievement for the club and the NWSL. He leaves the Spirit after having coached half a season in 2024 and 2025. He led the Spirit to victory over the Orlando Pride in the NWSL Challenge Cup in March.<\/p>\n\n\nKang thanked Gir\u00e1ldez for “the foundation he built” at the club, and Gir\u00e1ldez said he was “deeply grateful for the opportunity to have been part of the Spirit family.”\n\n\n Gonz\u00e1lez compiled a 10-4-1 record as interim coach in the first half of the 2024 season, helping the Spirit finish second in the race for the NWSL Shield and runner-up in the playoffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I am excited and honored to become the coach of the Spirit. Our focus remains on continuing to deliver performances that make our fans proud. I want to thank Jona for his leadership and friendship over the years, and I look forward to continuing to build on the foundation we have established together.”<\/p>Adri\u00e1n Gonz\u00e1lez<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Before joining Spirit, Gonz\u00e1lez was a coach for RCD Espanyol in Spain, leading the team to promotion to Liga F.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Adri\u00e1n has shown that he is ready for this role. He knows the team and has earned the trust of this organization through his hard work and dedication. I am looking forward to seeing what this team can achieve this season and beyond under his leadership.”<\/p>Michele Kang<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The Washington Spirit is in fourth place (6-3-1, 19 points) in the NWSL with three games remaining before the league’s summer break.<\/p>\n\n\nKang also owns the London City Lionesses, who were promoted to England’s top flight before the next season.","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jonatan Gir\u00e1ldez Will Coach Olympique Lyonnais Women’s Team An unexpected change shakes the world of women’s soccer. Jonatan Gir\u00e1ldez has been announced as the new coach of Olympique Lyonnais (OL) Femenino, marking the end of his time as head coach of the Washington Spirit after less than a year. Adri\u00e1n Gonz\u00e1lez, Spirit’s technical assistant, will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8800,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[3120,798,2529,2511],"class_list":{"0":"post-8799","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-soccer","8":"tag-jonatan-giraldez","9":"tag-nwsl","10":"tag-ol-lyonnes","11":"tag-washington-spirit"},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8799"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8799\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Jonatan](\"https:\/\/a4.espncdn.com\/combiner\/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2025%2F0602%2Fr1501569_1296x729_16%2D9.jpg\" "\\"\\"")