A new era begins this week as England’s Lionesses start life under their new manager, Sarina Wiegman. A renowned name in the women’s game, the Dutch national brings with her plenty of prestige and experience. Her arrival also brings hope that she will oversee a change in fortunes for the Lionesses side that has won just four of their last 12 matches since the completion of the World Cup in 2019.
The first task is to get England’s FIFA World Cup 2023 qualification off to a winning start. North Macedonia and Luxembourg are the two opponents who, on paper at least, should present little challenge for Wiegman’s side.
The new coach sat down with the media last week to discuss why she took the job, her vision for the team and managing a second home Euros. Here are some key quotes:
On taking the job…
“What triggered me the most was working with the best in the world. Retaining working with the best in the world in such an environment as this with one of the biggest federations of the world… Now the visibility in the commercial parties and the visibility on TV, it’s just growing so fast, and it gives opportunity to the players.”
On taking the Lionesses to the next level…
“Of course, it’s a hard step. It’s very ambitious too and very challenging. When you work in this environment, you want challenges. You know that there are expectations, and you expect from yourself too. We also know that the competition – the Euros coming up – in Europe, the development of the game is going so fast everywhere. And of course, yes, I come here to come to the next level. I’m enjoying it; it’s really challenging.”
On managing expectations…
“Absolutely, I am aware [of the expectation]. That changed in the Netherlands too from not expecting anything to being European Champions, and everyone expecting you to be World Champions too. So, you just need to be aware of that. And I know what I want. I know what my vision is.”
On her vision for the Lionesses…
“First, I’m thinking in growth. Because if we become better, then the chance of winning is greater. And yes, we want results. But what makes the results? Then you have to train well; you have to work as a team; the staff need to operate really well and need to facilitate the players really well. We need to have a very clear vision of how we want to play and what every player needs to do in her task and her role, offence in possession and defence in transition. What we expect from behaviour off the pitch and on the pitch. Who do we want to be? What do we want to explore? So, all those things bring us together and give us a clear plan of where we want to go and, most importantly, how we want to get there.”
On formations…
“I think you should look at what formations are best for players. But the English players have grown up with a 4-3-3 too. So, that’s ok; I like that. But these days, the football game has become so dynamic and you’re talking more about principles. Sometimes if you take the picture, it just looks like a 4-4-2; and when you take the picture at another moment, it looks like 3-5-2, or 3-4-3. And at another moment it’s 4-3-3. It just depends on what happens in the game, you’re not going to just stay in your position all the time.”
On the standard of English football…
“I think it’s developed very well…it’s just all about wanting to have the ball; wanting the possession game; breaking through lines; having depth in the game; being calm even under pressure. I really like that. And of course, you have to defend too when you’re out of possession. But the way they want to be dominant, I like it. Which is good because when players get exposed to that, that’s how I would like to play too.”
On managing the Lionesses for the first time…
“It will be a little different. But that’s just the first time, I think. I’m kind of proud too and very excited. A new team, getting started. And yes, a little strange because it’s the first time but I think that we’ll get accustomed to it very quickly”
On having a short turnaround before the Euros…
“Well, that’s part of being the manager of a country. And it is different because now you only have like six international periods before the Euros start. But how do I approach it? You know you have those six FIFA windows. And within those six windows, you just need to do it. And the players, they play at the club teams and most of them do hear some similar things and we will add things to it. Because they’re good players; they have been playing football for their whole life and they’ve be playing at top level club teams. So, it’s not that they’re coming in and they don’t know anything. What we need to do is bring them together and just add some things in the way I like to play, with the staff and how we give clarity in that.”
On whether having managed a home Euros before is an advantage…
“I think so. In the Netherlands, we were very aware that we had a home tournament. We brought in expertise from people and coaches who had a home tournament before. So, we really had a plan for how we could prepare the team and what they could expect. So, it was about managing expectations off the pitch and on the pitch and we just discussed that. And that’s what we’re going to do now too. We’re just going to plan it all. Because we don’t have much time – we only have six international periods – so, we have to plan it in different windows, in different stages of the group. But I think that’s an advantage.”
On the predicting a winner of Euro 2022…
“I think the level of the countries in Europe has become so high that it’s so competitive. It’s such a competitive tournament that it is hard to say now…But lots of countries are very good. Spain has grown very much; of course, the Netherlands are the European Champions at the moment; Germany is really strong; Sweden have done really well. So, it’s going to be really exciting, especially for the neutrals who are fans.”
