LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – It probably doesn’t make much sense at best, or seems homeristic at worst, for someone in my position to say that Racing Louisville Football Club is a franchise on the rise. The results on the pitch this season aren’t exactly screaming in my favor.
But it is, without question, a club whose numbers are not yet equal to the sum of its parts. And that, in the end, falls to coaching.
It is no surprise, then, that when second-year coach Kim Björkegren informed the club that he wouldn’t seek an extension to his 2-year contract, the club didn’t exactly twist his arm on the way back overseas.
“We’re excited for him to get back to Europe and spend more time with his family,” was how Racing general manager Ryan Dell phrased it, and I managed not to chuckle.
He wasn’t being mean, and it wasn’t a backhanded complement. For context, it was preceded by, “We want to take the time to thank Kim. For two great years he came in and has made this organization better,” and ended with, “and of course, start his pro license to continue that process.”
Forgive me if I prefer to read between the lines. I can’t help it. Occupational hazard.
It wasn’t hard to read between the lines late in the season when defender Abby Erceg responded to a question about midfielder Maddie Pokorny starting at right back, “That's tough, isn't it? I mean, I was coaching her through the warmup because she didn't know what she was doing. She's not a defensive player. . . . I feel for her a little bit, but like I said, she's stepping in to do a job that's not hers.”
That’s not a ringing endorsement, nor was Jaelin Howell’s statement after a season-ending loss to San Diego that, “I think when we came out and played like we knew how to play and we were tactically prepared and we understood what needed to be done and came out with the right mentality, we were able to beat any team in this league. But obviously, then we show up as a different team sometimes, and it hurt us.”
She added, “I think if we're going to be a high-pressing team, we have to know when to high press and when to drop off. And kind of the balance of that and recognizing both because, honestly, I think a lot of times, we're high pressing, high pressing, we run ourselves into the ground, we run our midfield in the ground, the forwards, and then when we go to attack, we don't have legs. So, I think it's finding the balance of that. And obviously, we want to be a high-pressing team. But at the same time, it's just kind of still learning our identity.”
After the same game, Erceg said, “It was a chess match and they just beat us and we didn’t have a lot of answers to their problems.”
Checkmate.
Those weren’t direct criticisms of coaching as much as informed statements of fact. But in the end, things weren’t fitting together, and that led to the kinds of things that happen when nobody feels a cohesive vision for a club – breakdowns into individual play, improvisation that may not be the best thing for the club, less out of selfishness than frustration, or a desire to make something good happen.
Whatever the case, it’s a team that tied too much (tying, appropriately enough, for the NWSL lead of 9 last season) and which failed to fire when it was within striking distance of a playoff spot, even after regaining some key international pieces after the World Cup.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that this franchise, despite the scars of its own part in the league-wide sexual misconduct scandal that rocked the sport two years ago, has developed a reputation for being a place where players are treated well. They are provided first-class facilities and support. They are treated as they should be, like professionals. It’s not a perfect organization. There’s no such thing. But its reputation is good. And it has worked to build a diverse and talented collection of players – as evidenced by six different players on World Cup teams for six different countries.
And Björkegren, to his credit, was part of the healing process. He was good for the club, if not, in the end, a good fit.
“I'm now happy to leave the club in a better position from when I came to Louisville,” Björkegren said in a statement. “. . . After many years abroad, it's now time to go back home to Sweden with my family.”
Racing Louisville FC general manager Ryan Dell.
Dell, who joined the club before this season, wasn’t a part of previous searches, but he said he expects this one to attract an impressive list of candidates.
“I think this is a this is a club that can be the best club in the world,” Dell said. “Our goal is to be the best club in the world, not just in the NWSL, not just in the United States. And I think that the candidates that have already expressed interest since 11 o'clock today speak volumes to that. So, we're really excited by what we can do here. I'm excited to be here in Louisville and build something really special. And I know we're on the pathway to that you look at our core of players, you look at our staff, we're completing exit interviews, and our staff just got unbelievable reviews from our players, just rave reviews. And I think that speaks to the volume of those individuals and what they've brought to the table here in Louisville, and how our players feel supported.”
The search process, it should be said, could well begin very close to home. Bev Yanez, an assistant coach, was highly popular among the players and likely could have head coaching options elsewhere in the NWSL or other professional leagues if she isn’t retained by Racing. Beyond that, expect Dell to look at options from interested names reaching out to his office.
“Bev is an unbelievable person. Unbelievable human, for starters, but a great coach, the players really loved what they saw from Bev,” Dell said. “I think the candidate pool is very diverse. It's very large in this first wave, kind of what we're looking for. So, we'll kind of go from there.”
And despite its record this past season, I expect the franchise to go up.
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