Jonatan Giraldez

In 2024 the Spirit hired a new head coach Jonatan Giraldez. Because he was still under contract with the FC Barcelona Femeni, he did not start until after the NWSL break for the 2024 Olympic Games. Giraldez started at Barcelona in 2019 as an assistant coach, working his way up to head coach in 2021. In his first season as head coach he led Barcelona to a domestic treble (domestic league title: Primera División [Liga F], primary national cup: Copa de la Reina, and secondary national cup: Supercopa de Espana). In his second season, he earned a win in Primera División and Supercopa de Espana and earned a Champions League title. In his final season with Barcelona, he managed to earn a continental quadruple, a domestic treble and a Champions League title. 

 

In Giraldez’s first season as a head coach in the NWSL, he managed Washington Spirit through a very successful season, ending as the runners up of the league For 2024. At the end of this season, he was nominated for the newly established Ballon d’Or for Women’s Team Coach of the Year, losing out to Emma Hayes (former head coach of Chelsea F.C. Women and current head coach for the USWNT).