Chicago Stars FC Media Availability with Midfielder, Maitane, and Interim Head Coach, Ella Masar
NWSL Chicago Stars FC

Chicago Stars FC Media Availability with Midfielder, Maitane, and Interim Head Coach, Ella Masar

Published on July 30, 2025 under National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Chicago Stars FC News Release


CHICAGO - The Chicago Stars held a virtual media availability with midfielder, Maitane, and interim head coach, Ella Masar, today ahead of the team's match against Gotham FC Friday, August 1, at 7 p.m. CT at SeatGeek Stadium.

Who: Maitane, Chicago Stars midfielder

Ella Masar, Chicago Stars interim head coach

Quotes:

What have been your impressions of training in the last month? (from Lesley Ryder)

Maitane: I think we had enough time to prepare for the second half of the season. I think we've been doing team building and just being together, working physically and tactically. So, I think we're kinda ready, and I'm so excited, I cannot wait.

How did you guys take to the task of creating a mission statement that Coach Masar gave you? (from Lesley Ryder)

Maitane: I think just reflecting of the first half of the season, knowing what could have been done better by each one of us, and collectively, too. I think just watching clips and working on our individual things, it's what is going to lead us to... because we are pretty compact and we have a really big union in the in the locker room, so I think it's these individual details that can make us go ahead and win.

With Bark in the Park this weekend for the match, do you have a favorite team dog? (from Lesley Ryder)

Maitane: I don't know. I just actually love absolutely every single kind of dog so I don't know I would be like so excited to see like every single dog that shows up. Hopefully we as players can just pet them and have time with them!

What are some characteristics of Ella Masar as a coach? What defines her as a head coach so far? (from Joe Chatz)

Maitane: So for me, it's so good to have a coach that has been a professional player in our league. She worked so hard for us to have the situation and the conditions [that] right now, we have. It's so good to just be around her, and you know you're learning every time she speaks. I'm so happy, and I think I've realized already, that's due to her. I think more soccer players should become coaches. I'm not going to, but I would cheer for other teammates that want to do it, because I think it applies, what you learn being a soccer player, to a coach and she's helping us so much.

How has it been to have a newer voice leading things after the first half of the season? (from Joe Chatz)

Maitane: I think she knows us so much and she's been there through every single stage that we've have this year, so I think she brings this understanding of the mental part of the situation. She also pushes us so much, so she really wants the best for us, and we know that, so we're really grateful to have her.

How are you feeling about going against Gotham this weekend? (from Joe Chatz)

Maitane: I'm really excited. I think it's one of the games that is marked in my calendar. I play there, I have so many friends there so it's going to be really cool to play against them. And not cool at the same time, because I feel like we know each other pretty much. But yeah, I think it's going to be a really good match and I cannot wait to play.

What sort of motivation exists in the group going into the second half of the season? Are you putting your best foot forward, just trying to do better in the first half or are you aiming for a clear place in the standings? (from Kiril Anastasov)

Maitane: So I would say at the beginning of the season, we had our goal. But now, once we've experienced the first half, for me, it's just like bringing the team together inside of the pitch and working together to get the results. I think we started not really good, then we started playing better, and better and better. Right now, we're actually so close to getting the results, we want the results, you know? [We want to] keep improving the way we're playing, but get the results at the same time, so that would be kind of [the goal].

How did you experience the Euro final and did you talk to any Spanish players about the NWSL and do you think we could see more players from Spain join the NWSL? (from Hernan Espinoza)

Maitane: After the performance Esther had in the Euros, and the example she's set in playing in the NWSL and going to play in the Euros and have the performance she had, hopefully that can show more players from Spain that they can come here and play and perform at a high level on the national team. I watched the final with a lot of nerves. I didn't have a good time watching the penalty shootout and watching my friends taking the shots, but unfortunately losing in penalties just wasn't great. Talking with Esther after the match, I just tried to give her some encouragement and make sure she knows that they had a great performance as a team in the tournament. For me, Spanish football is the best that there is in the world and I think that was clear in the Euros. I'm very proud of them.

For those who weren't able to watch the Teal Rising Cup, what should people expect to see against Gotham? (from Lesley Ryder)

Ella Masar: What I hope? An energized [team]. Again, it's been pretty much the same message we talked about, a tightened up team. Again, we used that [Teal Rising Cup], right or wrong, to allow the players that haven't had the opportunity, an opportunity, and we got some answers there throughout it. But now, with that information, in the 10 days after that, we've really built on the starters and who we believe is gonna help us with the system. But again, I say that in a way of, "I believe in this team, and I believe in this roster." We haven't been consistent as coaches, as I'm the third one, but they have been and I'm just trying to push that little two percent. I believe that, regardless how we start the game, the game changers of the subs will help us finish it out. That's why I believe in the roster that we have and hopefully that's what you're gonna see: a united, good 45-60 minutes. Then, if somebody's not doing their job or they're tired, it's okay, because we have somebody that's gonna come off [the bench] and bring us more energy.

How do you feel the team has taken to the challenge you gave of owning their accountability? (from Lesley Ryder)

Masar: What did Mai say? [laughs] To be honest? It's been some hard conversations, but you always start with me. Again, I am so thankful for this club. I'm proud to be part of it as long as I have. There's two things; I was talking to Alyssa Naeher about it yesterday. You know, there's like this old player mentality about what we've earned and how we got here. Now, you're adding this part of periodization, and when we push, and you're putting in your own training style. But again, I believe in these players, I believe the system that you guys are gonna see on Friday night is what makes the best out of our system. I can talk to you after [about] exactly why, and the details behind that, and I wanna focus on us and not anybody else. I'm doing my masters in sports science, so I'm trying to put all of this together to try to push them, just a little bit, but not over. You know, Serena Wiegman just said, "You know, you make your mistakes as a coach and you own them. Then you just try to say 'Hey, I'm human,' and then we try to go forward." And the girls have, I think 99 percent, have allowed me to coach and to try to make them a little bit better, because I know they know I believe in them. Or that's what I tell myself at night. [laughs]

Speaking of Alyssa Naeher, any updates on her or Jameese Joseph's injury status? (from Lesley Ryder)

Masar: Jameese is still coming back. Alyssa, you guys are gonna have to wait and see for Friday. [laughs] Alyssa's a world-class player, you know? She really is. Any team, if she's healthy and ready to go, they're gonna find a way to put her on the pitch. We are not Chicago without Alyssa, and everybody knows that.

When you were a player, when did you learn about those hard conversations you talk about having and what did you take from those? (from Joe Chatz)

Masar: I think it comes down, first and foremost in the pros, to having that environment, of them knowing why I'm coming at them, or why I'm saying these things. I think in the pros, it's been such a swing, when I came back in the league, of coach and player and not aligning. These players, I think I have a little bit of a, maybe, hope or trust or foundation with them because I've been here three years, so they know where it's coming. Of course, it's also because we know a new coach is coming in and I'm so happy for whoever is coming in, because I know that the choice of whoever that is for the club, it will be the right decision, and I think they know that's why. And the data, or the trainings, or the film of watching training back, I think they see the hard work going into it and they understand where it's coming from. But I don't know if there's an answer to that, because [with] Janet [Rayfield], you don't have to win, you know? You're just growing with this person as you go through 18-22. When you go to pros, I had Rory Dames and I got traded, so that's a whole different saga. When you look at it, it's a coach that you know believes in you and that can connect with you as a human, and I feel like, hopefully, because of three years I've been here, I have a little bit more connection. They know why I'm coming at them and if Sam Staab takes it one way, Ava Cook takes it another. Alyssa [Naeher] one way, and Jenna Bike another. That's the beauty of coaching and why I love it, because you have to figure out which person and how you can get the best out of them.

How is it operating as a head coach when they're looking for permanent head coach? (from Joe Chatz)

Masar: To me, honestly, there's a light at the end of the tunnel. I was up till 3 a.m. last night and I got up at six, because I know no other way than to give it everything that I have. And again, I really believe in these humans that are here. I really believe in the staff that's here. I think we can get better, 100 percent. I think we can always improve, but I will give everything I have, even though that might cost me 10 years looking down the road, to try to help these women. That is my dedication to them, whether they see it or not. I wanna walk away from this trusting my gut, knowing I did everything possible to make them better.

How have you used the good defensive performance from last fixture with Gotham as a teaching tool and motivating tool ahead of Friday? (from Joe Chatz)

Masar: We talked about, earlier, the mission statement. They came up with that, right? The grit of Chicago, with the hard working, the blue collar. Again, it has to come from them. Once they set the standard in who they wanna be, in us tightening up defensively and continuing the high press, once they've said it, then it's easy for me just to help guide them. And that's come from them. So, we're gonna be compact and everybody knows, in this league especially, anything can happen at night in football.

Are we the point with Natalia Kuikka, as both a club player and an international player, where we can start looking at her legacy as a defender who's done you know some of the greatest things, especially for Finland? (from Joe Chatz)

Masar: Oh, it's not even a question. I think you guys all love this game, that's why we're here, that's why you waited for me for 30 minutes, is because we love this. If you wanna talk about defender that just does her job, on and off the pitch, and continues to lead without actually... She's a quiet leader, but because of how she plays and how she is, [Kuikka is] the epitome of a world-class player in every regard. I just hope she finally walks away from this game like a Lori Chalupny and gets what she deserves.

Do you feel like this team is moving towards a place where the second half can be essentially new season, starting all over again? (from Kiril Anastasov)

Masar: Absolutely. Exactly what you're saying, like we used [the Teal Rising Cup] as a preseason. We didn't go in there to win it, and that can be on me, but we wanted to see where we are, physically, mentally, emotionally. I truly believe we took that time to take some [step backs], have some really hard lessons. We continue to have hard lessons, but I would not have changed one thing to get us where we are today. Not one thing.

What's Kathrin Hendrich's status and how do you motivate her as a new player, especially given how her EUROs campaign ended? (from Kiril Anastasov)

Masar: You know, luckily for me, I am with a German. So I understand that mentality and I think that they are, and I say this with the most love, a different breed. In the most positive way. I think [Hendrich] is, regardless what happened at the EUROs, she's a 32 year old veteran. She's played at the top, more than probably most of us in this club. She's touch ground, and it's on her. But she will help the team in any capacity, if that's possible, then we will have her with us on Friday.

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