Chelsea soccer team breaks up the 'inseparable' Thompson sisters

Filipino American soccer stars Alyssa (left) and Giselle Thompson seek separate career paths.

One of the best soccer teams in the world, the  Chelsea Football Club, gave Alyssa Thompson an offer she couldn't refuse. But that means leaving her sister Giselle and the Angel City Football Club, her hometown team.

The Los Angeles women's soccer team announced Friday that its star forward and US women's national team winger, 20-year old Alyssa Thompson has officially signed with Chelsea FC, an elite British team with a championship tradition.. 

A few hours after ACFC announced Alyssa Thompson's departure, the team announced a contract extension for her sister, 19-year old Gisell,e up to 2029.

After a protracted negotiation between the California and British teams, multiple reports put the transfer costing Chelsea somewhere between $1.3 million and $2 million. The fee marks a new transfer record for both clubs. Alysssa Thompson will be with Chelsea until 2030.

There were so many considerations beyond the business side of the sport for Alyssa Thompson.  “I love LA,” Thompson told Chelsea’s official website. “I love playing there. I love being with my sister. I love my family. But what I also know is that I want more for myself, and I want to experience different things. I feel like Chelsea is such an amazing club.

“It was definitely a difficult decision to make to leave my family, my friends, and my home,” said the Filipino/Peruvian American. “I’ve never left home before, but once I heard about the offer, I really wanted to do it. I knew it would be so good for me. I felt like I’d be able to grow not just as a player, but also as a person.

“I decided now was the right time because I felt in my gut that I wanted to go, and I’ve never felt like that before about other hard decisions that I’ve made in the past.”

Both Thompson sisters had signed contract extensions with Angel City in January that were meant to keep the pair at their hometown professional club through 2028, but apparently, everything, even allowing their star forward leave, has a price, a price salary-rich Chelsea was eagar to pay.

Chelsea admitted that the chmpionship calibre team scouted both Alyssa and Giselle Thompson prior to making an offer.

“I love LA and signing this new contract makes sense for me and my career," said Giselle Thompson. "Everyone at Angel City has been so supportive of me since I joined the club. My teammates are like family, the coaches and staff have my back, the fans are incredible. I love being able to play in front of my friends and family."

“We are thrilled that Gisele will be home in Los Angeles through 2029,” said ACFC Sporting Director Mark Parsons. “At age 19, she is already one of the most exciting players in the world. We will continue to support her as she develops as a pro and elevates her game."

Right after high school, Alyssa Thompson was drafted No. 1 in 2023 by Angel City and even signed a deal with Nike. A year later, ACFC signed Giselle.

The Thompsons scored the first-ever sister-to-sister goal in NWSL history against Washington Spirit in May of this year when Alyssa, a forward, passed the ball to Giselle, a defender, who kicked it into the net.

During her time with the L.A. club, Alyssa Thompson made 62 regular season appearances, scoring 15 goals with 11 assists. She made her first appearance with the US Women’s National Team in 2022 against England and has 22 total caps with three goals. Due to an injury, she was not on the US team at the Paris Olympics.

Undoubtedly, she was LAFC's best player and face of the franchise judged as a middle-of- the-pack team even though they are in the playoffs. Arguably, she was the best forward in the league. 

At Chelsea, she will not be the best player and will compete with established veterans  for playing time and position in the Blues' system.

"I hope I develop a lot as a player, learn from the veterans on the team, and get their insight on things so that I can grow each year and become a better player," said the youthful Alyssa Thompson, who is not even in her peak years.

"Chelsea is such an amazing club, one of the best in the world. Being able to play with players that are the best in the world is an amazing opportunity at such a young age," Alyssa Thompson said in a statement. "I want to learn, grow and develop a lot. I feel like Chelsea is such an amazing environment to do that in."

In their young careers, the Thompsons have been teammates in high school, youth teams and, of course, on Angel City. Alyssa's move to Chelsea will mark the first time they won't be on the same team. Although they will be in different leagues in the near future, the Thompsons will still be teammates on the women's national team and they have another goal coming up quickly

“It’s like an unspoken (dream)," Alyssa said.

“That is the dream of ours: to play together in LA, at the Olympics, in front of all of our family… that would be so cool.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. 

18-year old Filipino American makes her World Cup debut

Alyssa Thompson  takes control of the ball in the World Cup match against Vietnam.

Alyssa Thompson, the teenage phenom on the United States Women's National Football Team made her World Cup debut July 22 playing alongside her soccer idols.

The US women were ahead 3-0 and in control in the second half of its first 2023 World Cup game against Vietnam, when manager Vlatko Andonovski in the 75th minute, called on the Filipino/Peruvian American to go into the game, subbing for starter Trinity Rodman.

And that may be Andonovski's way to get the teams youngest member and budding star valuable international experience in a real-game situation with minimum pressure: when the opponent is tired, put in  Thompson known for her speed and nimble ball-handling.

Now that the young Californian, who plays for the first-year pro team, Angels FC, is over her nerves, no doubt we'll see more of her as an aggressive forward.

"I was pretty nervous just to play my first World Cup game," said Alyssa after the game. "But once I was on the sideline, I was kind of overcome with happiness and excitement, just because I was going into my first World Cup, and I wasn't feeling any other emotion. 

“But once I stepped on,” she said, “obviously all the nerves go away, and I’m just ready to play soccer and win the game.”

“She improvises and you never know what she is going to do,” said  Andonovski. “She can do one-on-one or one-on-two and can use her right or left foot. It is very difficult to mark her because she is so creative.”

Playing without the pressure of having to score is good for Alyssa, who is expected to be eventually become one of the stars of the United States' next generation of soccer stars that includes Rodman and Sophia Smith, both of whom were also playing their first World Cup match. Smith scored two goals in the game against Vietnam.

The three also represent the new diversity emerging in the sport that in the 1990s after the US won its first World Cup. The leagues that sprung up inspired the stars such as Mia Hamm and Brandi Chastain gained a reputation as  a sport for white suburban girls.

Alyssa first began getting attention of the soccer world when she was 14-years old and not only playing on a boys team, but outperforming them. Playing with the boys through high school got her used to the more physical game.

This Spring when she was still studying for her high school finals, Alyssa was the first player picked in the pro-league draft when the Angel City FC drafted her.

She earned a call-up to the national team last year and played in a match in England, subbing in for one of her idols Megan Rapinoe. “Even now, every time I see her I’m starstruck,” Alyssa admitted last month. “I don’t believe that I’m her teammate. It’s crazy to me.”

“I look up to so many people on this team,” Alyssa said.

A former coach said she could be for soccer what Serena Williams is for tennis.

“You’re going to think I’m crazy, but I’m not joking,” said Carlos Marroquin, coach and owner of the semi-pro Santa Clarita Blue Heat. “In another two or three years, Alyssa is going to be the best player in the US and the world.”

FYI: The next World Cup match for the US is against the Netherlands on Thursday, July 27, in Wellington, New Zealand. Because of the International Dateling, US fans can view the game July 26, 6 p.m. PDT on FS1.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me at Threads.net/eduardodiok, @DioknoEd on Twitter or at the  blog Views From the Edge.

Teen sensation is the No. 1 pick in women's soccer league draft

Highschooler Alyssa Thompson was the No. 1 pick in the draft for the National Women's Soccer League.

Remember the name Alyssa Thompson. The Filipina American is a future star for women's soccer. 

At the age of 18, Alyssa made history during the 2023 National Women's Soccer League Draft as the first high schooler to get drafted at No. 1 and the youngest player ever to get drafted by a professional team, the Angel City FC. Additionally, the California native  became the first Filipino American to get picked No. 1 in the draft held in January.

“Alyssa Thompson, for us, is a phenom and generational player,” says LCFC General Manager Angela Hucles Mangano. “She’s a player who can make an immediate impact, but she’s also young and can develop and look to be a player that we're building a future off of, too.”

Alyssa, who is a senior at Harvard-Westlake High School, is an L.A. native who has long been touted as a top youth prospect. She declared for the draft at the last possible moment, opting to forgo a scholarship at Stanford to go straight to the pro level. 

“This was the hardest decision that I've ever had to make in my life,” says Alyssa of choosing to enter the draft. “There were so many back and forths about it, but in the end, I decided that it was the best for me.”

Alyssa, who is of Filipino and Peruvian descent, has been on Angel City’s radar for a while, having trained with the team last year during preseason. “Training with the full team and being in that environment, I thought, 'Wow, I can do this,’” she says.

Many fans will be familiar with Alyssa from the stint the then-17-year-old had with the senior US Women’s National Team this past fall, when she played some late-game minutes against England and Spain—including in a sold-out game at Wembley, her international debut when she was called on to sub for soccer standout Megan Rapinoe. 

It was a brief but potentially momentous look at a player who could one day make a big impact on the international stage.

Teenager Alyssa Thompson, left, made her international debut subbing for Megan Rapinoe.

Over the course of her club career, Alyssa has played across the front line, as well as in the midfield. “As a forward, you obviously like to get the ball,” she says. “When the defenders are forcing you out, I love to play wing to get in those positions and cross, but I also like to play striker and make runs in behind the line.”

Alyssa’s youth career has been unconventional. At age 13, she and her younger sister Gisele joined Santa Clarita Blue Heat, a semipro team whose roster is largely made up of college players looking to stay sharp in the offseason. In 2020, after a few years with Real So Cal, Alyssa and her sister Gisele moved to Total Futbol Academy, a boys’ club in MLS Next, Major League Soccer’s academy system. While it’s not unusual for top players in girls’ club soccer to train with boys’ clubs, the Thompson sisters are full members of the team and play competitive matches with them.

“It’s definitely helped me get to the point where I am,” Alyssa says. “The boys’ game, it's super fast, and they're super physical as well. You have to be able to play the ball quickly off one touch and pass accurately, because if you take one bad touch, they’re on you and you’ve already lost the ball.”

That’s not to say Alyssa isn’t also fast—she ran track the first three years of high school, earning times in the top 10 in California in the 100 meters all three seasons, including the sixth-fastest time in the state in 2022.

Getting drafted by the L.A. team is a dream come true for Alyssa. “Being able to play in front of my family and friends is something that's really important to me,” she says. “L.A. is just such an amazing place, with different cultures and different people.”

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