Christiane Lessa
Personal information
Full name Christiane de Araújo Lessa[1]
Date of birth (1982-09-06) 6 September 1982[2]
Place of birth Brasília, Brazil[2]
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1998 Vasco da Gama
1999 Fluminense
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2003 Union Lady Bulldogs
2004–2005 St. Thomas Bobcats
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999 Team Chicago Brasil
2005–2006 Haukar 18 (2)
2006 Fylkir 4 (0)
2007 Plantation FC
2007–2010 Miami Kickers
Managerial career
2009–2011 Florida Memorial Lions
2012–2015 Iowa Central Community College
2016–2017 Young Harris Mountain Lions
2017 Washington Spirit Academy
2018 Avaldsnes
2018 Shandong Luneng U19
2019 Sky Blue (assistant)
2019 Atlanta SC (assistant)
2020 Foz Cataratas
2021 Santos
2022 FC Austin Elite
2022–2023 Pflugerville FC
2022 Prairie View A&M
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Christiane de Araújo Lessa (born 6 September 1982) is a Brazilian football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. She was the head coach of American college soccer team Prairie View A&M.

Career

Born in Brasília but raised in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro,[3] Lessa represented Vasco da Gama and Fluminense's youth setup before playing for Team Chicago Brasil. She subsequently turned down a call up from the under-17 national team in order to move to the United States and play college football.[4]

In 2002, Lessa was in the roster of Union College's Lady Bulldogs which qualified for the NAIA Women's Soccer Championship for the first time ever.[5] She subsequently played for St. Thomas University's STU Bobcats[6] before moving to Iceland with Haukar in 2005.

On 28 June 2006, Lessa joined Fylkir still in Iceland.[7] She returned to the US in 2007 with Plantation FC, being later a part of Miami Kickers' squad before leaving in 2010.

Back in 2008, Lessa helped in the creation of the women's team of Florida Memorial University's Florida Memorial Lions, being their manager until 2011.[8] In 2012, she was named head coach of the Iowa Central Community College's women's soccer programme.

On 21 January 2016, Lessa was appointed the head coach of Young Harris College's Young Harris Mountain Lions.[9] On 20 October of the following year she took over Washington Spirit's Academy,[10] before moving back to Iceland as the coach of Avaldsnes.[8]

In 2019, after a short period as a head coach of Shandong Luneng's youth sides, Lessa joined Denise Reddy's staff at Sky Blue.[11] She later became the first woman to take part of a men's team's squad, after being named Roberto Neves' assistant at Atlanta SC.[4]

In 2020, Lessa returned to Brazil to take over Foz Cataratas,[12][13] but left the club amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. On 25 January 2021, she was named in charge of Santos.[14]

On 9 June 2021, Lessa resigned from Santos despite having seven wins in 13 matches.[15]

In July 2022, Lessa and five other women developed the idea for a women's soccer club based on cultivating a positive experience for their players, staff, fans, and partners, founding Austin Rise FC.[16] Austin Rise FC started play in the Women's Premier Soccer League in 2023.[17]

References

  1. ↑ "Internacional / RS X Santos / SP" (PDF) (in Brazilian Portuguese). Brazilian Football Confederation. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Christiane Lessa". Santos FC (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  3. ↑ "Técnica brasiliense assume comando das Sereias da Vila" [Brasiliense manager takes over the Sereias da Vila] (in Brazilian Portuguese). DF Sports +. 30 January 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Com passagens por Europa e China, Lessa faz história nos EUA ao comandar time masculino de futebol" [With stints in Europe and China, Lessa makes history in the United States by managing a men's football team] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ESPN Brasil. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  5. ↑ "NAIA National Championship Tournament Teams". Union College Bulldogs. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  6. ↑ "Christiane Lessa". STU Bobcats. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  7. ↑ "Lessa til Fylkis" [Lessa to Fylkir] (in Icelandic). Vísir.is. 28 June 2006. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  8. 1 2 "Ela trocou seleção brasileira pelos EUA; agora está na Champions" [She changed the Brazil national team for the USA; now she is in the Champions] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ESPN Brasil. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  9. ↑ "Christiane Lessa named YHC's women's soccer coach". Young Harris Athletics. 21 January 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  10. ↑ "Christiane Lessa joins Washington Spirit – Baltimore Armour staff". Soccer Wire. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  11. ↑ "Sky Blue FC expand technical staff". Women Kick Balls. 23 February 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  12. ↑ "Futebol feminino: Foz Cataratas confirma Christiane Lessa como técnica" [Women's football: Foz Cataratas confirm Christiane Lessa as manager] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Catve.com. 29 February 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  13. ↑ "Técnica quebrou barreiras nos EUA e voltou após 20 anos para desafio no Sul" [Manager broke down barriers in the USA and came back after 20 years for a challenge in the South] (in Brazilian Portuguese). UOL Esporte. 19 March 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  14. ↑ "Christiane Lessa é a nova treinadora das Sereias da Vila" [Christiane Lessa is the new coach of the Sereias da Vila] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Santos FC. 25 January 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  15. ↑ "Chris Lessa deixa o comando das Sereias da Vila" [Chris Lessa leaves the Sereias da Vila] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Santos FC. 9 June 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  16. ↑ "THE WPSL WELCOMES 100 PERCENT WOMEN-OWNED CLUB AS 2023 EXPANSION SIDE". Women's Premier Soccer League. December 15, 2022. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  17. ↑ Becerra, Stephanie (December 15, 2023). "Austin Rise FC latest to join Women's Premier Soccer League, officially competes in 2023". www.CBSAustin.com. CBS. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
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