Esther González Feels at Home Amid Record-Breaking Season With Gotham | OneFootball

When Esther González scores a goal, it’s a feeling, for her, unlike anything else in the world. A surge of adrenaline courses through her, an energy that’s impossible to contain.

She jumps in the air, bringing her left fist to her right forearm, forming a “T” shape in what has now become an iconic celebration for the National Women’s Soccer League Golden Boot leader.

“It’s part of the adrenaline rush when I score a goal. As a forward, I know that my career has always been tied to goals,” Esther tells Sports Illustrated via a translator. “The T is symbolic for me, my family, and my partner to celebrate with, something for them to see and show that I have this energy.”

Since the Spanish international joined the club after winning the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023, she has felt embraced by a team that has allowed her to not only find her stride but to flourish, with her iconic celebration quickly picking up notoriety in the league.

“I’m really excited for it to continue, hopefully, to continue chasing down the Golden Boot,” she says of her “iconic celly.”

In total, Esther has scored 18 goals and notched four assists across 35 NWSL regular-season appearances, which includes 30 starts and 2,702 minutes. She ranks second in scoring in NJ/NY Gotham FC history, and last month became just the third player in NWSL history to score seven or more goals in the first seven games of a season. It is no surprise that Gotham would want to keep Esther at the club, and the two sides have now agreed on a contract extension keeping her with the team through 2027.

“The mentality at Gotham has always been a winning mentality, which is a mentality that I resonate with. I want to win,” Esther says. “I want to continue to improve and win championships. The club makes me feel at home and taken care of—there is no other team that could offer that to me, so I am comfortable and excited to extend here.”

Finding fantastic form

At the age of 32, the Huéscar, Spain, native is performing at the pinnacle of her career—an impressive feat considering she won three Liga F titles and one Copa de la Reina with Spanish side Atlético Madrid and later became Real Madrid’s all-time leading scorer, with 39 goals in 77 appearances. (She has since been surpassed by Caroline Weir who scored her 40th goal for Real Madrid in March). On the international stage, she has tallied 31 goals in 47 appearances, including in the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 and the 2023 World Cup.

Even with all this success, Esther sees her career as constantly evolving, and Gotham has provided her with a unique environment that has allowed her to continue to thrive.

“Gotham creates an environment that isn’t built on individualism, it’s built on team effort,” Esther says. “So whether it’s me today or tomorrow a different player in that race for the Golden Boot, that is what helps me to evolve—being part of a family working collectively to achieve the ultimate goals of the club.”

With seven goals on the season, Esther has become the focal point for Gotham FC’s attack, with a nose for goal and a penchant for headers. At just 5’ 3”, Esther’s dominance with her head in front of net has dazzled the NWSL, but for the seasoned striker, she laughs off questions about her height, explaining that her secret to success lies in player movement.

“It’s that anticipation for me in the box, to create that space for myself,” she says. “That’s something I’ve always been very astute at, finding the spaces to anticipate where the ball is going to go and anticipating how to move between the taller players to be able to head the ball.”

Esther’s contributions to Gotham go beyond just putting the ball in the back of the net. She will often track back, winning the ball deep, and help restart the attack from Gotham’s defensive half, a skill that head coach Juan Carlos Amorós attributes both to the team’s style of play and Esther’s individual drive for success.

“It’s the way we want to play,” Amorós explained. “Our forwards take a lot of pride when we don’t concede goals because it’s one of our targets. If we’re able to do that, then scoring a goal means we’re able to win the game. They’re very committed to doing that, we have a very clear way of defending with our structure, our roles and responsibilities, where to fill in the gaps when a teammate is not there, or when we have to put in extra effort, and I think that Esther is the prime example of that—how she sacrifices herself on the press and coming back to help. That’s very, very important for the team.”

A league like no other

Three seasons in, Esther has become one of the league’s most valuable players. Between her international fame and her contributions to two successful seasons with Gotham FC, both her work on the field and her presence in the league have continued to raise the profile of the NWSL.

Since coming to the United States, Esther has gotten one question more than others, from both media and former teammates across the pond: Is the NWSL truly the best league in the world?

“My reason for agreeing that the NWSL is one of the best leagues in the world is the competitive nature of the teams—you never know what is going to happen between the top of the table and the bottom of the table,” she says. “Every match you play in, you have to prepare like it is a final. That’s the level here and caliber of players on the pitch. There are a lot of international players who are at the top of their game and want to play in the NWSL, and there’s a reason for that.”

Between the economic structure of the league and the technical ability of the players, competition is high. Every team wants to win every match, and this dogged preparation keeps the level of play high and allows players to continue to grow their individual games.

“The rookies here have the capacity both physically and mentally to adapt at a professional level,” Esther says, citing the high level of competition in college soccer. “When Gotham’s rookies come in and step onto the pitch, they are playing at a very fast level which you would not expect necessarily from someone coming from the university into the professional level.”

This season, with the elimination of the NWSL draft, Gotham signed a half dozen rookies, a divergence from previous years in which the club only signed one out of the draft. In particular, Lilly Reale, Sarah Schupansky and Sofia Cook have had an immediate impact on the club, which Esther attributes to not only their individual skill but the coaching atmosphere at Gotham.

For Cook, a midfielder out of UCLA, seeing Esther play and getting the opportunity to train with her every day has been an immediate boon to her young career.

“She’s so smart with the runs she makes and her positioning,” Cook says. “She’s helped me at practice, giving me tips, and when she talks, I listen. I love her, she’s a great person and I can’t wait to see her keep scoring.”

Off the pitch, Esther considers herself a relaxed person. She’s mostly a homebody, but when she does go out, she’s a self-described foodie looking for the best Italian food in the New York metropolitan area.

“It’s a bit of a sin, but I love to chow down on some pasta,” she says with a smile.

For her first foray playing outside of Spain, Esther is pleased with her choice to join Gotham FC, and she believes her happiness shows in the way she plays on the field—and is reflected in her decision to extend her contract with the club.

“A player needs to have a balance to be happy in their personal life as well as on the pitch in order to give them the best versions of themselves,” Esther says with a smile. “I feel that the selection I made to come to NJ/NY was right for me.”