Less than a fortnight before a ball is kicked in anger, Brighton have lost their manager. That's not a reshuffle or a planned transition — that's a gut punch no club wants at the start of a new WSL campaign.

Dario Vidosic is leaving Brighton Women, with multiple sources confirming the 39-year-old Croatia-born Australian is the frontrunner for the Angel City head coach role in the NWSL. The timing, by any measure, is rough.

What Brighton Are Losing

Let's be straight about what Vidosic brought to the south coast. In two years at the club he took them to a fifth-place finish in 2025 and then, perhaps most memorably, led them to their first-ever Wembley appearance in May's Women's FA Cup final. For a club of Brighton's standing in the women's game, that's not nothing — that's a landmark moment. He was popular with the supporters. He had the dressing room. He was, by all accounts, about to go into a third season.

That last point matters. His exit reportedly caught many players off guard. You can talk all you want about professional football being a business, but when your manager walks out a week before the season opener — Brighton host Arsenal on 6 September — it creates a mess that nobody wanted. The club declined to comment, which tells you everything you need to know about where they are emotionally right now.

With the [WSL season fast approaching](/getohedz/football/womens-super-league-2026-27-preview-no-6-chelsea), a squad in limbo and no clarity on who comes next, Brighton's start to 2026-27 just got a lot harder.

The Angel City Pull

None of this is to say Vidosic is wrong to go. Angel City are a club with serious resources and serious ambition, and if they're the ones chasing you, you listen. Their interim head coach Leif Smerud — former Crystal Palace manager — has been in the role since June, following Alexander Straus's departure. Angel City say they're happy with Smerud for the rest of this NWSL season and won't be making a permanent appointment until after it ends, but the direction of travel is clear.

The Los Angeles side sit ninth, two points off the playoff spots. They've publicly confirmed they're working through finalists for the head coach position, and sources have told the Guardian that Vidosic is the leading candidate. That's not idle speculation — that's a done deal moving through its final formalities.

For Vidosic, it's a step into a different market entirely. He's managed Melbourne City Women, he's just rebuilt Brighton's ceiling, and now he's potentially heading to one of American women's football's most high-profile clubs. At 39, this is a calculated career move, not a panic.

Our Take

We get it. Opportunities like this don't sit around waiting for a convenient moment. But the women's game deserves better than managers disappearing on squads days before a season kicks off. The players who were surprised by this? They're the ones left carrying the uncertainty. Brighton need answers fast — and Arsenal aren't going to wait while they find them.

Vidosic did good work at the Amex. The timing of his exit, though, is the part that stings.