The Chicago Stars fired head coach Martin Sjögren on Wednesday with the club languishing at the bottom of the NWSL standings.
Assistant coach Karina Báez will serve as interim coach for the remainder of the NWSL season, becoming the team’s fifth coach since the start of 2025. The club also said that former head coach Lorne Donaldson would return to the club as “interim director of coaching” until the end of the 2026 campaign.
Chicago has a record of 4-1-13 (W-L-D) through 18 games of the season, leaving it four points adrift at the foot of the standings. Its minus-24 goal differential is by far the worst of the 16 teams.
As well as Sjögren, the club also announced the dismissal of assistant coach Anders Jacobson.
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“We are determined to make our club a serious contender in the NWSL and have a plan in place to do so beginning now and leading into the 2027 season,” Chicago Stars president Karen Leetzow said in a statement.
“We wish Martin and Anders the best in their future endeavors, and we’re grateful to Karina for stepping into this leadership role, as well as Lorne Donaldson for his disposition to return to our club and help guide the team during this transition period as we rebuild the infrastructure of our sporting department.”
Former Norway women‘s national team manager Sjögren was hired last August following the April firing of Donaldson, although he did not officially coach his first game until 2026 as he finished up his previous job in Sweden. Jacobson served as interim coach until the end of 2025, with the team finishing bottom of the standings.
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Sjögren’s tenure began with a 4-0 loss to Angel City and his exit comes with the team winless in five games, in which it has scored just once.
It has been a tumultuous season for Chicago, which also fired general manager Richard Feuz in May.
