Richard Feuz was elected general manager

Rebuilding the Chicago Red Stars’ culture has been a major recurring theme for the club since then. change of ownership in autumn.

The Red Stars are embarking on a rebirth, or as new general manager Richard Feuz puts it in his native French, a renaissance. Feuz, who was named to the GM position on Monday, goes beyond piling up wins when she explains what it will take to create sustainable success for the Red Stars when the National Women’s Soccer League season begins next month.

“I think we are facing a renaissance,” Feuz told the Tribune. “We will go through great moments, maybe worse moments, but we have to trust the process. … I promise we will do our best to make it happen and make people happy to come back to the stadium.”

After spending 7.5 years on the men’s and women’s sides at Switzerland’s Servette Football Club in Geneva, 32-year-old Feuz was ready to embark on a new path. She has served as the club’s chief executive officer since 2020, and has served as president and sporting director of Servette’s women’s team since 2017.

“Richard has a proven track record of building championship-caliber organizations, having successfully led Servette Football Club on and off the field over many years,” Red Stars executive chairman Laura Ricketts said in a statement. “His experience will be invaluable as we begin this new chapter for the Chicago Red Stars.”

Job interviews often involve the candidate doing most of the talking and outlining their plans for the role. In this case, Ricketts first shared his vision for the Red Stars and future projects with Feuz.

“When he was talking, I felt like I was talking because I felt like we had the same vision, the same vision, and moreover, the same passion for more than just the game,” Feuz said. “The same passion for empowerment in women’s sport and women’s football and having the same view of putting players first and seeing them as people before seeing them as players, coaches or leaders.

“I chose to come here to Chicago because I know there are many challenges ahead, but this vision and this passion of leadership are the most important to me.”

In this role, Feuz is responsible for all Red Stars football operations, including coaching, performance, training and management of administrative personnel, as well as the construction of the team roster through the recruitment, trade or release of players. Lorne Donaldson named head coach In December and in the last three weeks, Red Star has most importantly added 12 players to its squad. Mallory Swanson re-signed to historic long-term dealShe traded the No. 3 pick in January’s draft for 2023 NWSL defender of the year finalist Sam Staab and signed Finnish defenseman Natalia Kuikka.