What do Kobe Bryant, Denzel Washington, Phil Jackson, former President Barack Obama, the New Zealand national rugby union team and Formula One drivers have in common?
All have inspired the coaching philosophy of New York City FC head coach Pascal Jansen.
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“I’ve done everything within my power in order to keep myself educated, and learn more and more and more,” Jansen told The Post about his philosophical approach, while crediting his mother for instilling that in him. “Keep myself interested and very curious to ask questions all the time, and if you don’t get answers, you ask more questions. If there’s somebody else that can inspire you, maybe give you answers to questions that you have, go find them and try to contact them. And that is something in this time of age is possible.”
New York City FC coach Pascal Jansen looks on after a win in a MLS preseason match between Austin FC at Q2 Stadium. Daniel Jefferson-Imagn Images
And after the results of the 2025 season, which saw the first year MLS coach lead NYCFC to the Eastern Conference finals, it’s hard to argue that the eclectic mix of ideas and philosophies hasn’t worked.
Jansen finished 2025 with a .488 win percentage, the second-highest for a coach in club history, and ended the regular season with 56 points in the standings, the highest since 2019.
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Jansen was one of the four first-year MLS coaches to lead their squads to the conference finals last season — the time first in league history for such a feat by a group of rookie coaches. The Dutch soccer coach pointed out that immediate success was a combination of several factors in his mind — including a “competitive roster,” a coachable group and chemistry.
Nevertheless, the NYCFC boss pushed back a bit on 2025 being a successful season.
“I agree for a certain part, but not successful enough,” Jansen said. “We want to be more successful than we’ve been so far. We have to raise the bar again in order to become more successful, and that is the challenge for this season.”
NYCFC hits the ground running against an LA Galaxy squad on Sunday that is looking to regain the form they had when they captured the MLS Cup title just two seasons ago.
Head coach Pascal Jansen and forward Seymour Reid look on dejectedly from the sideline during the second half of NYCFC’s 5-1 loss to Inter Miami in an MLS Eastern Conference final match on Nov. 29, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. AP
Jansen has made it clear that…
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