After leading Angel City FC to their first NWSL playoff berth, Becki Tweed dropped “interim” from her title and officially became the team’s head coach on Thursday.
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Tweed was an assistant coach under Freya Coombe but earned the interim head coach role after Coombe was fired in June after winning just two games out of 11 to start the season. The team then went on an 11-game unbeaten run and lost only once in the regular season under Tweed’s leadership. They went on to finish fifth and booked a spot in the quarterfinals, eventually losing 1-0 to the OL Reign.
The England native and first-time head coach went on to earn a nomination for NWSL Coach of the Year because of her success. She is up for the award against NJ/NY Gotham FC’s Juan Carlos Amoros and the San Diego Wave’s Casey Stoney, who led her side to the NWSL Shield this season.
At a press conference celebrating Tweed’s promotion, president Julie Uhrman — sporting a custom tweed blazer in the club’s signature light pink — noted how impressive the coach’s accomplishments were by recalling a quote from midfielder Savannah McCaskill.
“Getting to the playoffs was a huge goal for us,” Uhrman said. “I think Savvy, one of our players, said it best: ‘When we walked into preseason our second year, we had playoffs as a goal but probably had no right to put that on the board’ and this team achieved it so I’m going to be really excited to see what Becki and Ali [Riley] put on the board next time.”
Hucles Mangano added that Tweed was selected from a list of 52 candidates. Though she did not want the coaching search to serve as a distraction during the push for the playoffs, she eventually enlisted the input of players, who very much took a liking to their new boss.
“Becki sees the person before the player and in a line of work where we are very publicly critiqued and judged and evaluated by what we do — and that’s fair, this is the life we chose — it just makes it more important to have a leader who sees you for who you are and your needs as a human being before anything else,” Riley said at the press conference. “Becki is super passionate about the development of every single player on the roster, whether it is an 18-year-old rookie phenom or a washed-up 36-year-old fullback. She gives us the confidence and the resources to improve, to grow, to evolve not only as players but as teammates, as leaders, and as people.”
Though Angel City’s 2023 season is over, Tweed is eager to capitalize on the team’s success in her newfound role.
“The season ended, but it didn’t end for us,” Tweed said. “We feel like we have so much unfinished business and when you sit in meetings and in a room, you just want to move on to what’s next. It’s really important that you have that feeling, that you feel unfinished and that you feel like there’s so much more space to grow.”
Hucles Mangano was quick to note that while Tweed’s role was new, her familiarity to the squad and the club was an asset. The same was true for her success with the current team, which is why the goal for the offseason is to add depth to the squad.
“What’s fantastic about Becki being named this head coach is that it’s not a change,” Mangano said. “I think providing consistency amongst our staff, providing consistency amongst our player group, they have just proven they can do a lot with just the group that we currently have and I think the more that you are able to have a team play together, know and understand what their movements are like, what they’re thinking, the better the performances ultimately will be so right now it’s more about adding depth rather than really making a lot of changes to our roster.”
