The new National Women's Soccer League team, created by a majority female ownership group with a slew of A-list investors, is slated to make its debut in the tournament this month.
Tennis legends Serena Williams and Billie Jean King, Winter Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn, actresses Eva Longoria and Jennifer Garner, TV host James Corden, former US soccer stars Abby Wambach and Mia Hamm, and a number of entrepreneurs, YouTubers, pop stars, and other former sports professionals are among the many high-profile backers.
"I remember thinking to myself, 'don't look at them, look at your notes and the presentation, and do your best to deliver as best you can.' And they loved it," Aluko said.
After finishing her professional career at Juventus, Aluko was working as the director for women's football at Aston Villa when the opportunity arose to join the franchise in California, though it was not a straightforward decision.
She explains, "You're moving to the opposite side of the world." "The entire objective of retiring and returning home was to spend more time with my family and friends, making up for the time I lost while playing professional football, so it wasn't a no-brainer at all."
"It was more of a case of if I don't do this, if I don't seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to establish a club from the ground up, I'm probably never going to get another chance."
"It felt strange meeting them," Aluko says. "I remember seeing Mia Hamm for the first time in Los Angeles and thinking to myself, 'Wow, it's Mia Hamm, this is absurd.'
"I watched Julie Foudy win the World Cup, Abby Wambach win the World Cup - and now they're my colleagues.
"Natalie Portman is my boss. I have met her several times, spoken to her kids about football and what training session we are doing - it is a privilege to be given the responsibility to try to build something that is the idea of all these amazing people."
"I am keen on gender balance, I think it is healthy," explains Aluko. "But for Angel City we are very intentional about female leadership, female ownership, female empowerment.
"So Freya was the candidate who best fitted all of that, but her gender was not the leading requirement - she is a competent coach.
"We are very careful as women not to patronise ourselves. If you are the best, competent candidate then you can go up against anyone. We need to back ourselves that whatever the competition we are confident enough and do not create comfort zones.
"Because you don't get to choose who you play against when you enter the world of football."
'Now we want to see some action on the field,' says the coach.
Aluko describes her work as "sitting between the board and the football side of the club," establishing tactical and technical tactics, as well as recruiting and managing the team's finances.
"It's a separation from the coach needing to do everything," Aluko explains. "I oversee transfers, foreign and domestic club ties, and league relations.
"There was a lot of stuff that coaches and managers used to do. There is now a division of responsibilities between coaches who are only responsible for coaching and all of the administrative work that goes along with it.
"We know there's a lot of churn among coaches," the 35-year-old continues. "So, if you provide them with the task of recruiting all of the players, what happens if that coach goes after a year?
"It's a tactic that's far too hazardous to be limited to just one coach."
Despite the club's heritage and the competitive roster Aluko has assembled, Aluko understands that Angel City may struggle to find their feet in the NWSL this season.
"We have to strike a balance between being ambitious and realizing how difficult it is to enter and win right away," she says.
"We've heard a lot of chatter, and now we want to see what's going on on the field. We want to see goals, defense, great assists, and a team that is truly gelling on the field. That is why we are acting in this manner."
