The San Diego Wave are set to make a splash.
San Diego is set to hire former Arsenal women's manager Jonas Eidevall as its next head coach, The Athletic reported Monday, citing sources briefed on the deal.
WATCH ANYTIME FOR FREE
 |
>Stream NBC10 Boston news for free, 24/7, wherever you are. |
SOURCES: San Diego Wave will hire Jonas Eidevall as its new head coach on a three-year contract.
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) December 31, 2024
Other NWSL clubs and national teams were interested, but the vision of the new ownership as well as the opportunity for growth at the Wave appealed to him.https://t.co/rpBTUoWRbU
An official announcement of the hire is expected to arrive in the coming days. The Equalizer was first to report the news.
Get updates on what's happening in Boston to your inbox. Sign up for our >News Headlines newsletter.
San Diego's new ownership vision, opportunities for growth and attendance charts appealed to Eidevall, The Athletic added, as he also attracted interest from fellow NWSL clubs and national teams.
Eidevall established his reputation as Arsenal manager after managing multiple smaller teams. The now-41-year-old Swede joined the Women's Super League in 2021, staying until the first few games of the 2024-25 season when his side began to go sharply backwards.
He had signed a three-year extension in October 2023. In his time with Arsenal, the club won two League Cups in 2023 and 2024 as Chelsea had a firm grasp on the league title. Arsenal also reached the 2022-23 Champions League semifinals.
Soccer
Eidevall will join a Wave side that is under new ownership since October, when the Levine Leichtman family made a NWSL-record purchase of the team. President Jill Ellis also left in December to become chief football officer at FIFA.
San Diego finished 10th in the league, missing out on the playoffs with U.S. women's national team icon and team captain Alex Morgan retiring. Casey Stoney was the team's last permanent manager, but she was let go midseason and not properly replaced.
Paul Buckle and U.S. men's national team icon Landon Donovan each had interim stints, but Eidevall will look to bring stability into the side as well as lift the club back into title conversations.
