130 wins in 139 games, a treble, and a quadruple—in every sense, Jonatan Giráldez dominated at FC Barcelona Femení. The Spanish tactician leading a top European side to the pinnacle of the women’s game only reinforces his status as one of the greatest managers. Yet, would it surprise you if we said that Giráldez found Europe less ‘competitive‘ compared to the NWSL?

Already sensing that your mouth is wide open in amazement—but yes, that’s how it is for him. It was just last summer that the 33-year-old joined the Washington Spirit. Considering his experience as little yet vast. That’s because, success almost came within his reach as he led the Spirit to a second-place finish in the NWSL regular season with 56 points, just behind Orlando Pride, before narrowly falling to them again in the Championship final.

So it would be safe to say that by now, Giraldez must be aware of the coaching differences in America compared to Europe. While he believes the distinction is vast, NWSL has the greater edge. Speaking about the league during an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Giraldez said, “Only 25-30% of the games here are won by a difference of two goals.”

“The rest of the games, there’s only one goal difference. That means that the league is very competitive. So this is very difficult if you compare it with my past with Barcelona in Spain because most of the games we won 4-0, 5-0, 6-0, easy, and in Europe other games too, but the level of tactics was very, very high. Here the level of the player is high too but everything is related to entertainment,” explained the Spaniard.

Jonatan mentioned that he often wonders how he can make the game more interesting to watch for the fans. This admission comes even after knowing how the games in America see teams play with more transitions and not having much control. He aims to change it and vows to maintain a balance of both competitiveness and amusement.

Honestly, Giraldez is one of the few coaches who has managed to make such an impact in the NWSL within a short amount of time. This brings up the question of whether he used a different tactical approach at the Spirit compared to what he used at Barcelona.

Jonatan Giraldez eager to take Washington Spirit to ‘highest possible level’ in NWSL

Prepared to be surprised again as Jonatan Giraldez believes he is keeping things the same at Washington Spirit compared to Barcelona. Well, not completely; the key difference is the players and the game plans surrounding themthem. The Spanish coach insists that be it their method of retaining ball possession or communication between the players, everything is the same.

Then again, the nature and depth of the squad forces him to sometimes make changes. Back in Barcelona, he may have had the luxury of using 2X Ballon d’Or winners, Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmati. However, the likes of Trinity Rodman or Croix Bethune are still in their developing stages.

This means he is not required to change his methodology as much as he is required to apply it to a different set of players. In a nutshell, it’s not about ‘better or worse’, it’s more about the overall change in the environment.

“What I have to do as a coach is exploit their level as much as possible to make sure they compete at the highest possible level. But in terms of methodology, my methodology is exactly the same as I was doing in Barca,” he said.

Given the trophy haul that Jonatan Giraldez was able to achieve at Barcelona, one should excited for Washington Spirit. While the opening season was not exactly a success, hope remains for the upcoming one.