‘Warriors and artists’: See the vision for Vlatko Andonovski & new KC Current coaches

The Kansas City Current announced its new coaching staff under sporting director and head coach Vlatko Andonovski on Wednesday morning.

The Star spoke with the staff this week to learn about their vision for the team in 2024 and beyond.

Here is the breakdown of the coaching staff and highlights of those conversations...

New KC Current coaching staff

Freya Coombe

Coombe hails from England and enjoyed a playing and coaching career with the English club Reading. Most recently, she led Angel City FC in 2022 and part of 2023 before being fired after a 2-6-3 start while sitting in 11th place.

While Andonovski and Coombe haven’t worked together on a staff yet, he says the two got to know each other well while he was in charge of the U.S. Women’s National Team.

“Personally, I wanted a head-coaching mindset in the environment,” Andonovski said. “Someone that will have a different idea than me or someone that can challenge the ideas that I have.”

Milan Ivanovic

Ivanovic has been a part of Andonovski’s staff at every turn. The Park University alumnus played for the Kansas City Comets while working up the coaching ranks, eventually joining the FCKC staff in 2015 and following Andonovski to Reign FC and the USWNT.

“Milan and I have worked (together) for eight or nine years,” Andonovski said. “We know each other’s processes and ways and complement each other very well.”

Lucas Rodriguez

Rodriguez has been an assistant with the Current since the NWSL franchise returned to Kansas City in 2021. He is the only coach that was retained from the previous staff.

Rodriguez attended Shawnee Mission Northwest and played at Johnson County Community College and MidAmerica Nazarene before going pro. While he enjoyed a brief outdoor soccer playing career, he spent 10 seasons starring for the Kansas City Comets, scoring 114 goals in 182 games, and even played under Andonovski.

His familiarity with Andonovski and the roster was also a factor in Andonovski’s decision to keep him on staff.

“He has grown into an incredible coach,” Andonovski said. “He is very meticulous in the way he does things, especially with the technical nature. He’s a big asset to the staff.”

Ljupco “Raki” Kmetovski

Kmetovski, who goes by Raki (pronounced rock-ee), had been the goalkeeper coach with OL Reign (who changed their name back to Seattle Reign on Tuesday) since 2017, when Andonovski brought him stateside from their native country of North Macedonia. Kmetovski was the goalkeeping coordinator for the Macedonian Football Association before his move stateside.

Andonovski hailed his work with goalkeepers like Casey Murphy, a veteran who has taken it to the next level in recent years, and Phallon Tullis-Joyce, a young goalkeeper who excelled and moved to Manchester United this summer.

Kmetovski sees the goalkeeper room as one to be excited about with AD Franch, a skilled veteran, and Jordan Silkowitz, who has been exceptional on loan in Australia this winter.

The KC Current’s vision

When asked about the Current’s vision in 2024, each coach had a different word to collectively paint the picture.

“Competitiveness,” Ivanovic said. “Something that this city has been: It’s been a competitive city in every way you look.

Ivanovic added that flair should also be expected. Coombe piggybacked on that idea of being a team that plays attractive soccer “but with a discipline to the way in which they’re gonna play.”

Rodriguez added hard work and discipline to the mix.

These traits or principles align with Andonovski’s longtime philosophy of “warriors and artists.” A team, in Andonovski’s opinion, needs a mix of both. The “warriors” provide the structure and the solid foundation that allow the “artists” and the creative forces to have freedom.

Highlighting the talent of Debinha, Michelle Cooper, and new signing Temwa Chawinga, Andonovski said the staff has to let those players be themselves.

“In a way, we have to accept that they are who they are, and they’re the best when they’re free,” Andonovski said. “So we have to allow them to expose their creativity to be themselves. But we, as a staff and as a team, we’ve gotta create the framework (in which they can thrive).”

Andonovski’s comments are similar to an old jazz adage: You can play anything, but you can’t play just anything.

Freedom within form is how Andonovski is convinced he can get the best out of some of the team’s most powerful creative forces.

“We create the framework,” Andonovski said. “And within the framework, OK, be yourself.”

Who are the warriors?

An example Andonovski gave for the “warriors” was a player like Desiree Scott, who can win the ball with a well-timed tackle in the midfield and play the right pass to spring Debinha or Cooper into a position to create a chance.

There’s just one problem. That type of player isn’t on the roster … yet.

The Current roster has midfield players like Morgan Gautrat and Lo LaBonta, who can be that type of player in the middle but also be “artists” with a different stroke of genius. But after the trade of Alex Loera, there’s an empty hole in the roster for a pure defensive midfielder, an added “warrior” on the field outside of the defenders.

Andonovski told The Star the club is working to get a few more deals over the line, including the return of Desiree Scott after she missed all of 2023 through injury.

“Hopefully we have Desi come back,” Andonovski said. “She is one of those (players who) would be a true example of what a ‘warrior’ in the middle needs to look like.”

Andonovski also hinted at a couple more signings, one from within the league and another, an American who had been playing abroad. The Current could also add through the upcoming NWSL Draft.

NWSL Draft on Friday

The Current traded away the No. 4 overall pick in the draft as part of a deal to receive protection from the expansion draft. So the club has no first-round pick.

KC still has the rest of its natural picks in the second (18), third (32) and fourth rounds (46).

The draft is something Andonovski truly enjoys. He reminded The Star he’d drafted multiple players that ended up winning Rookie of the Year.

“In the first round ... you want to get a starter but also the best possible player,” Andonovski said. “In the second round, you want to get the best player in the position of need.”

While Andonovski mentioned the idea of trading back into the first round, he is happy with KC’s pick situation at the moment. Part of that is the club feels it already nabbed a first-round-caliber player by signing Claire Hutton to a U-18 initiative contract. Hutton was named to the U-20 U.S. Youth National Team roster on Tuesday.

“Claire Hutton, she’s a player that can slide right in and make this team better,” Andonovski said.

Andonovski’s draft philosophy would lend you to believe the club will be targeting positions of need from here on out. But if KC can land a player at a position of need by trading up, and it’s a player that actually matches the value of that draft pick, that idea is certainly on the table.

The NWSL Draft on Friday night starts at 6 p.m. Central (7 p.m. Eastern). It will be televised on ION for two hours. All rounds will be streamed through ION Plus.

Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry.danielkc@gmail.com.