Yael Averbuch West spent, in her estimation, about 10 minutes celebrating. Then, it was back to work. It was November 2023, and NY/NJ Gotham had just won a first NWSL championship in club history, rattling off three straight playoff wins after sneaking into the postseason on the final matchday. They really shouldn't have been there. The title winners stumbled their way through the last few months of the campaign, but strung together results when it really mattered. This was the unlikeliest of runs.
In the eyes of Averbuch West, Gotham's general manager, it was a moment for celebration, but by no means the culmination of the project. For months, she had been working behind the scenes to build the roster for years to come. Anticipating a loaded free-agent class, and accounting for the standard switching of talent that comes with the league's landscape, Averbuch West already had a vision of how her squad could look from day one this season.
And after a hectic but meticulously planned few months, her vision has come to fruition. Gotham is not, as she and head coach Juan Carlos Amoros insist, a superteam. But it has pieced together one of the most complete rosters in league history - not only gearing itself up for a strong title defence but also giving itself a platform of success that might just turn a long-struggling franchise into a full-blown dynasty.