TERRIGAL – Outside Wembley, the statue is already in the works. Sarina Wiegman could lose the World Cup final and remain one of the most successful international managers of all time, but that is not in her psyche.
Ahead of this tournament, it did not feel as if the Lionesses head coach’s stock could soar any higher. It is her resilience, her tactical wisdom and above all, a winning mentality that has already won her two major international trophies that got her side here. Almost single-handedly, she has transformed the game in England and now stands on the edge of making even more history.
Wiegman has lost none of her competitive edge as she seeks to avenge her 2019 World Cup final defeat to the USA, when she was still in charge of her native Netherlands. Yet once you have achieved the ultimate highs, how do you keep going?
“What I really love is to work with people and work with very ambitious, talented people. That gives me energy,” she says.
“What’s really nice, for example, is Katie Zelem. In April, I wanted to try out other things and then she came back into the squad, she makes the World Cup squad. She plays a very good game against China. That gives me energy, when I think she really went on it, she let something go and she played really well and she’s so good in the team on and off [the] pitch. I could give plenty of examples for that.
“Of course sometimes you have [to give players] very disappointing messages too which take a lot of energy but that’s part of the job too. But connecting people, trying to help players to support players and help them a little bit in their development, which helps them in life too. That’s what I love about working with people. And yes I want to win and I want to be the best too but that gives me the energy.”
It is an insight into the mind of one of the world’s best coaches. Rachel Daly considers her “a genius” and says “her knowledge of the game is a joke”. “She’s not bad, is she?” laughs Lucy Bronze.
“This tournament she’s shown a different side to her, had to make changes, and been the last woman standing for a couple of rounds now,” Bronze adds.
“She’s had to roll her sleeves up a little bit, adapt the team. Previously people were like ‘she keeps the same team and she doesn’t change’. She’s put in a lot of work this tournament to get us to the final and her experience has really shown through.”
England have her until 2025 at least, and there are hopes she will extend her current deal. Despite links to the USA job, Wiegman confirmed she has “no plans to leave”, with the World Cup, the Olympics (where she would lead Team GB) and a Euros defence still in her sights.
Though she is not English herself, she knows how desperate the country is to end 57 years of hurt. She recalls starting the job in September 2021, almost a year after her appointment to succeed Phil Neville was confirmed. “I heard again: 1966. Everyone’s talking about 1966. So let’s be at our best on Sunday and try and be successful.
“Football is so big in England. It’s so in the culture. That’s incredible to experience. It’s so big. It’s everywhere. That’s pretty cool too.”
Sadly, Wiegman does not only look back on 2022 as the year it came home. Upon the final whistle at Wembley, she kissed a bracelet on her wrist that had belonged to her sister, who she lost before the tournament.
“I’m a pretty positive person but of course I also have feelings,” she recalls.
“Then of course there are still things in my personal life. When someone passes away who is really close to you, you don’t just say ‘oh it’s two months now, it’s gone.’ I have strategies but of course sometimes that’s still sad and it is challenging for me too.”
Through it all she has leaned on long-time assistant Arjan Veurink, the mastermind behind England’s switch to a 3-5-2 at the end of the group stages after Keira Walsh’s injury. Both coaches are “very critical” to keep each other sharp, and when he suggested the change in system, she replied: “You’re completely right.”
Having a Dutchman in camp has helped England, the nation as well as the team, feel a little more familiar. “English people are very polite,” she points out.
“And sometimes you go ‘OK, are you now being polite, or are you really saying what you mean? That’s sometimes finding a balance, because you don’t have to be rude to be direct, so I ask players and staff ‘you can be honest, it doesn’t mean you’re rude, just be direct’”.
It is a famously Dutch trait but one she says is about remaining “respectful”. Alessia Russo speaks of her how refreshing it is to have a coach who is ready to have “honest conversations”.
When players come into meetings, she insists upon them taking off their coats; there is a sternness there, but as Wiegman was lifted up by Millie Bright after the 3-1 victory over Australia, it was clear how much her players have bought into her approach. They are told they are free to make mistakes, which are “part of football, part of life”.
But there is no room for error now. No one knows how to win finals like Sarina.
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