Vlatko Andonovski – Rising from Player to Champion Coach of US Women’s Soccer:
Vlatko Andonovski, born on September 14, 1976, is a Macedonian-American former football player and currently serves as the head coach of the United States women’s national team.
In his earlier coaching career, Andonovski led FC Kansas City and Reign FC in the National Women’s Soccer League, along with the Kansas City Comets in the Major Arena Soccer League.
As a player, he was a central defender and spent six seasons playing for various European clubs, including FK Rabotnički, Makedonija GP, and FK Vardar.
During his playing days, he participated in competitions like the First Macedonian Football League, European Cup, and Intertoto Cup.
Andonovski’s indoor career saw him signing with the Wichita Wings of the National Professional Soccer League in 2000.
Later on, he played for the Kansas City Comets, California Cougars, and Philadelphia Kixx in the Major Indoor Soccer League.
An interesting event took place on February 8, 2015, when Andonovski and Wichita coach Kim Røntved came out of retirement to play against each other for their respective teams in one game.
He began his coaching journey by signing a contract to become the head coach of FC Kansas City on December 5, 2012.
Later, on August 29, 2013, he was hired as the head coach of the Kansas City Comets after serving as an assistant under Kim Røntved for three seasons.
In 2014, Andonovski achieved remarkable success by winning both the MISL Championship with the Comets and the NWSL Championship with FC Kansas City.
On November 7, 2017, Andonovski moved to Seattle Reign FC, taking over from Laura Harvey as head coach.
During his tenure, the team relocated from Seattle to Tacoma, Washington. This was after the 2018 season and was rebranded as Reign FC. Later, undergoing another rebranding in 2020 as OL Reign.
Andonovski holds a USSF Pro License and a United Soccer Coaches Goalkeeping Diploma. He has been actively involved with numerous youth teams and clubs in the Kansas City area.
His coaching abilities received widespread praise during Reign’s 2019 season. He had faced several player injuries and absences due to the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Still, he led the team to a 4th place finish in the NWSL and a second consecutive playoff berth.
On October 28, 2019, Andonovski was appointed as the head coach of the United States women’s national team.
He was born in Skopje, SR Macedonia, SFR Yugoslavia (now North Macedonia), and obtained U.S. citizenship in 2015.
Andonovski graduated from Park University in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts in business administration/management and earned a Master’s in Soccer Coaching Education from Ohio University in 2017.
Currently residing in Kansas City, Missouri, Andonovski lives with his wife, Biljana, and their three children, Dragana, Luka, and Daria.