Gotham FC coach Juan Carlos Amorós sat in a comfortable Marbella on Sunday on Friday and asked various questions via reporters and Zoom.
Behind the laptop, sitting on the table in front of him, was a picturesque view of palm trees, sandy beaches and the Mediterranean.
It's certainly a paradise.
However, this trip is far from an Amoro and Gotham holiday.
After experiencing heartbreaking losses in the NWSL semi-finals, Gotham will experience roster reform this winter, requiring all the preseason training that the team can restructure for the upcoming season.
Crystal Dunn, Lynn Williams, Yazmeen Ryan and Delaney Sheehan were among the members of last season's team who signed up to play elsewhere this season.
Conversely, Gotham has had several college standouts in the 2025 season with Brazilian star Gabi Portillo, US youth team defender Lily Real and former Seattle reign midfielder Gerlan Howell. Added.
Gotham also re-signed Star Midge Perth, who missed most of last season with a knee injury.
Purce joined the team for some of Thursday's practice.
According to Amoros, she is considered “100% healthy,” but there are still some limitations on what she can and can't do.
It is unclear whether she will be available on March 15th in the team's season opening game during Seattle reign.
Gotham is also not established until Rose Lovell returns after undergoing offseason ankle surgery.
There are two stars in Mendo and introducing many new faces to Gotham's style is part of what makes the team's trip to Spain so important.
“There's nothing that brings together teams like international travel,” defender Mandy Freeman said. “It's like we're all in the same space. We spend a lot of time together outside of training. We just build friendships and relationships.”
The accommodation in Gotham is a short walk from both the beach and the training grounds. That was due to design.
This is because this preseason camp is about preparing for the season with conditioning and training on the field, and it is also about helping the team build chemistry.
Ten days after the trip, things are going well.
“The atmosphere was really positive,” Amoros said. “I think everyone has it [been] Last year we really wanted to make it clear that we lost by inch and this year we want to make sure the inch disappears. ”
Amorós and his staff will get better ideas about where the team will be on Saturday when Gotham performs the first of two closed door scrimmages in Spain.
Gotham will face SK Blanc from Norway on Saturday, then play Denmark's FC Nordsjælland on February 14th.
Announced the full season slate on Friday afternoon, Gotham is scheduled to play a friendly game against Fort Lauderdale United FC before the preseason finale against Tampa Bay Sun FC on March 2nd.
It's hard to know how good Gotham is this season.
Of course, there is hope that the 2023 title-winning team can be picked up from where it was left off at the end of last season.
Gotham's solid core remains the same. Their top three goalscorers Esther Gonzalez, Ravel and Ella Stevens are back with most of the backline, which only allowed 20 goals last season.
Freeman, Gotham's longest player, said this offseason was a kind of “rebuilding.”
I'm not saying that it's a bad thing.
“At this point, the possibilities are kind of endless,” said Freeman, who has been with Gotham since 2017. “We have a new team, but we have a kind of core group and still a lot of experience.
“Last year we had pretty good records defensively, so that's a standard that we really want to continue to support. And offensively, we have a lot of creativity on the top. Because we have an exciting game, our goals for scoring are always top of our to-do list and really hone our style,” Freeman added. “We have a lot of new faces, so we just train a particular style and we like to do high presses so that it's a bit of a learning curve about it, but we I think this year could still be over.
