How the ‘stars aligned’ for Kansas City’s own Vlatko Andonovski to coach KC Current

In the raw aftermath of the U.S. Women’s National Team’s loss — by mere millimeters on a penalty kick — to Sweden in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, coach Vlatko Andonovski blinked back tears as he spoke of how soccer can be cruel sometimes.

As for the future implications for him with the program so accustomed to the pinnacle, he was so consumed with the devastation of his players that he said, “I don’t even want to think about me.”

If you know Vlatko, the adoptive Kansas City treasure, you know that was sincere.

But in the days to come in August, he was forced to address his own status and resigned..

Back in Kansas City, his home since a whim and happenstance led him here in 2001 by way of Wichita from Skopje in North Macedonia, he initially “didn’t want to do too much” or even think about his future. Over the next few weeks, though, “the itch came,” he said, and he contacted his agent to see what might be out there for him.

Not surprisingly for the two-time NWSL coach of the year with two championships to his credit and years of goodwill capital to his name, there were ample opportunities in the NWSL, MLS and internationally.

Best of all, though, was the one that literally and figuratively struck close to home: And the Kansas City Current might as well have been serenading Vlatko considering all the chords they struck with him.

So much so that from the outside looking in, anyway, this almost feels meant to be for the 47-year-old otherwise at a career crossroads and the franchise revolutionizing women’s sports with such unprecedented commitments as its training facility in Riverside and 11,500-seat stadium to open next year on the Missouri River at the Berkley Riverfront.

“We’re really fortunate that the opportunity arose where, timing-wise, the stars aligned to make this happen,” co-owner Angie Long said Monday morning at a news conference announcing Vlatko’s hiring as head coach and sporting director.

No doubt in his more perfect world Vlatko would have guided the U.S. to its third straight World Cup title and a gold medal instead of bronze at the Tokyo Olympics and likely still been on that job.

That would have been great for him, of course, and great for Kansas City in its own way to have a local be such a focal figure — especially as we ramp up for our role as a 2026 FIFA World Cup host.

To me, anyway, it also was too bad it didn’t work out here for interim coach Caroline Sjöblom, a fascinating woman whose career we look forward to following from here.

But there seems to be some greater good to be had in the serendipity of this coming together. Especially at such a fertile-but-pivotal time for both the franchise and Vlatko — who guided Kansas City’s first NWSL incarnation, FCKC, to two NWSL titles.

“We talked many times about our goal to be the best women’s football club in the world, and everything that we do has that ambition in mind,” Long said. “For me, though, it’s even more exciting when the best in the world is right in your backyard. And the perfect fit for the club.”

Such a fit that he went from considering taking some time off to “When do I start?” after meeting with Angie Long and co-owner husband Chris. Couple that with the chance to be home — “in the city that gave me comfort in my hardest times,” as he put it — and there is something about this dynamic that seems ideal.

Symbolically, too: In a sense, Vlatko’s career coaching women traces the arc of the rise of the game that is growing at an increasingly accelerated rate.

Before he arrived in Wichita in 2000 to play soccer for the Wichita Wings, he had never witnessed women playing soccer. When he did, it struck him as “brilliant,” he said in a 2019 interview with The Star.

“Maybe without even knowing,” he added then, “that’s how my love for coaching females developed.”

For one reason or another, it emerged in much of his life’s work after the Wings folded and he moved here to play and coach the Comets and youth soccer — and set in roots as he graduated from Park University and coached FCKC.

Asked about the contrast between those circumstances — including FCKC playing its first season in a high school stadium and its last in Swope Park — and today, Vlatko smiled and said what he really remembers is the two championships. Reflecting what he considers the bold approach of the Current, he added, “I feel like the least that I can do is work hard and bring two championships to this group, to this team, as well.”

With a slight pause and subtle smile, he added, “in the next two years.”

Whether you’d call that setting a tone or saying the quiet part out loud, that sort of approach is part of why the Current hired him. Only time will tell, of course, how it plays out. But the appeal is real.

“Not only does Vlatko understand the league, but he understands how to win in this league,” general manager Camille Ashton said. “And that is invaluable.”

Indeed, after the demise of FCKC, he coached Reign FC of the NWSL and earned a second NWSL coach of the year award.

Meanwhile, his wife and children remained here, so he commuted back and forth to Kansas City so often that he memorized the flight schedule.

For that matter, Kansas City remained home even after he took the USWNT job in 2019.

That meant he had a particular window into tracking everything from the inception of the Current as an expansion team in 2021 to about every momentous development since.

“I remember when they went to start this team a few years back, and they only had a couple months before the season started. We all thought it was impossible; they made it happen,” he said, smiling as the Longs laughed alongside. “And when the (training) complex was built, we thought that was a little ambitious. But it happened.

“And then the stadium (announcement) came, and we’re all laughing.”

Pretty soon on a tour of the work in progress, though, the then-national team coach found himself feeling what he described as “a little bit of jealousy” over the stadium project. He doubted he’d ever get a chance to coach there and wished that at some point he could.

Now that wish has been granted.

Even if it might not have been the way he would have scripted it, sometimes it’s really true that when one door closes, through tears and all, another enticing one opens.

And sometimes it goes right to where you were supposed to be, anyway.