Former USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski is taking charge of Chicago’s sporting rebuild, just days after leaving the Kansas City Current.
The Chicago Stars have made one of the most significant front-office moves of the 2026 NWSL season, hiring former U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Vlatko Andonovski as their new Chief Soccer Officer.
The appointment comes at a critical moment for Chicago.
The Stars currently sit at the bottom of the 16-team NWSL table with a 5-17-2 record and 17 points after 24 matches. The club has also already undergone major changes in its sporting department, including the departures of general manager Richard Feuz and head coach Martin Sjögren.
Now Andonovski has been tasked with helping build what Chicago describes as a new sporting structure.
And he is not arriving as a traditional coaching hire.
Instead, Andonovski will oversee the club’s broader sporting operation, including roster construction, scouting, transfers, player development and collaboration with the eventual head coach. Chicago also plans to add further leadership positions within the sporting department.
For a club searching for stability, the move represents a significant shift in direction.
Why Chicago turned to Andonovski
Andonovski became available only 10 days before his Chicago appointment after mutually parting ways with the Kansas City Current.
His departure from Kansas City came after he transitioned from head coach to sporting director following the 2025 season.
That transition lasted less than a year.
Before moving upstairs, Andonovski had overseen one of the most successful regular seasons in recent NWSL history.
Kansas City won the 2025 NWSL Shield while setting league records for points and wins, among several other statistical marks. Chicago’s official announcement also highlighted his previous NWSL championships with FC Kansas City in 2014 and 2015.
That background made him an unusual candidate for a club attempting to rebuild from the bottom of the standings.
Andonovski told ESPN that he had conversations with several NWSL clubs about potential roles before choosing Chicago. His preference was not necessarily to return immediately to coaching.
Instead, he said he was attracted to the opportunity to build a club.
“Chicago will very much be a project,” Andonovski told ESPN.
That description may be the most important part of the appointment.
The Chicago Stars need more than a new coach
Chicago’s problems go beyond the sideline.
The Stars have already changed key pieces of their front office and coaching structure this year. The club has also been reshaping its roster through player transactions.
The Athletic reported that Chicago transferred Jameese Joseph to the Utah Royals for $750,000 in intra-league transfer funds and loaned Japanese midfielder Manaka Hayashi to Juventus. Earlier in the year, the club transferred Brazilian forward Ludmila to San Diego for $800,000 in intra-league transfer funds.
That makes Andonovski’s role particularly important.
He will not simply be asked to improve results with the existing squad. He will help determine what the squad should look like next.
The Stars already have players with significant international experience, including USWNT forward Mallory Swanson. Chicago’s roster also includes players such as Jordyn Huitema, Julia Grosso and Sam Staab.
The challenge will be constructing a team around those pieces while establishing a consistent sporting identity.
A reunion with a familiar USWNT figure
The appointment also brings Andonovski back into a familiar professional circle.
Chicago president Karen Leetzow previously worked with him at U.S. Soccer.
According to ESPN, Leetzow and the Stars had already brought in former Kansas City personnel Kate Cohen and Garga Caserta before Andonovski became available. The strategy helped create an environment familiar to Andonovski and contributed to his decision to join Chicago.
The club’s official announcement said Andonovski will work closely with the head coach on roster building, tactical strategy, scouting, transfers and player development.
That means one of his first major decisions will be finding the coach who will lead the team on the field.
Who will coach the Stars?
That question remains unanswered.
Andonovski said he needs to confirm the coaching situation, while ESPN reported that Kansas City assistant coach Milan Ivanovic is among the candidates who has been connected with NWSL openings.
Ivanovic has worked with Andonovski for more than a decade, although no final decision has been announced.
Whoever gets the job will inherit a club that has struggled significantly in 2026.
Chicago has scored only 20 goals while conceding 60 through 24 matches, according to the team’s reported league record. Its minus-40 goal differential is another indication of the scale of the rebuild.
The next coach therefore faces a substantial task.
But Andonovski’s appointment means that the Stars are now putting the sporting structure ahead of simply searching for a quick fix.
Andonovski’s USWNT chapter still matters
For American women’s soccer fans, Andonovski’s name naturally carries another layer of history.
He coached the USWNT from 2019 through 2023 after succeeding Jill Ellis.
During his tenure, the United States won the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics, captured the 2022 Concacaf W Championship and won four consecutive SheBelieves Cup titles from 2020 through 2023.
His final major tournament with the national team was the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, where the United States exited in the Round of 16.
He subsequently stepped away from the position.
Three years later, Andonovski is back in the NWSL — this time with responsibility for building an entire club.
What comes next for Chicago?
The Stars’ immediate priority is structural.
They need to appoint a head coach and technical leadership, evaluate the existing roster and begin planning for 2027.
The club’s next match is Sunday against the Washington Spirit, meaning Andonovski’s arrival comes with almost no time for a short-term sporting transformation.
The more significant test will come during the offseason.
Chicago will have to decide which players fit its long-term identity, where investment is needed and how the club can build a sustainable competitive structure.
Andonovski has already said he believes the team can be competing next year.
Whether that happens will depend on the decisions made over the coming months.
But one thing is already clear: Chicago is no longer simply looking for another coaching change.
The Stars have put one of the most experienced figures in NWSL history at the center of their sporting rebuild.
For a club that has spent much of 2026 searching for answers, Vlatko Andonovski now has the job of helping determine what those answers look like.
For Chicago, the rebuild has officially begun.