HT Kick Off: Serial success, Sarina style
In this issue, Dhiman looks at the wonder woman and the lessons India coaches can draw from her run of a hattrick of European titles
A question on Sarina Wiegman in a quiz last month and another on Crispin Chettri were but two examples of the growing popularity of women’s football in Kolkata. The poser on Wiegman was her connection with a number Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja — and every other cricketer whose names are not Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Harry Brook or Ben Stokes — would have hated to be stranded on. That on Chhetri was related to his youth debut for India. At the Kolkata Sports Quiz Festival, which kicked off with the football quiz, both were answered.
Wiegman was weeks from notching up her hattrick of European championship titles but among trivia hunters and football nuts, these tribes are not always mutually exclusive, she was already a person of interest. And why not? The 55-year-old former Dutch international had taken teams to the final of four successive majors and won two. After her third, Chloe Kelly, whose penalty-kick in the tie-breaker helped England retain the title, said: “She has taken the women’s game, not just in England but the whole women’s game, to another level.” Does anyone remember where England were before Wiegman replaced Phil Neville?
The tournaments’ boss
Few understand international tournament football like Wiegman and that is why, beyond Kelly’s comment, India can learn from the coach. The club scene in the women’s game is growing daily — there have been references to Arsenal’s win against Barcelona in the Champions League final in how England tamed Spain – transfer records broken but the national teams remain its biggest assets.
Exactly how it is in India. Football’s popularity here hinges not on the success of clubs but of national teams. Celebrating Sangita Basfore (more on her later) and a Chhetri who is not Sunil is proof.
Top coaches like to be in control, visualise every possible scenario and have a solution ready. Wiegman is no different. And yet, she never loses the ability to adapt. Think how she switched centre-backs Jess Carter and Leah Williamson against Sweden. Carter started the tournament as full back but was overrun by France and it was only when she moved to right centre-back that she could add skill and solidity to the team.
That wasn’t the only time Wiegman, the second coach to win the women’s Euros thrice, was flexible. In the final, she deployed inverted wingers and got Lucy Bronze to play down the middle. Against a team that had Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmati pulling the strings in the midfield, the presence of an additional player in Bronze stifled Spain just so.
All coaches have to take decisions, Manolo Marquez told me during an interview while explaining his rationale in not starting Sunil Chhetri against Hong Kong (the reason was simple: Ashique Kuruniyan had played as striker and Chhetri would be more effective against a tiring team, he said). It didn’t work for Marquez just like it didn’t work for Wiegman in the 2023 World Cup final when, chasing the game, she replaced Alessia Russo and Rachel Daly. But as Wiegman has shown since 2017, she gets it right more often than not.
Included in the decision-making process is a clear explanation of roles to all the players, the subs and those unlikely to get any minutes included. Look no further than how Khiara Keating, England’s third goalkeeper, who did not play a minute in the finals, celebrated. Or how Bronze ignored injury and Hannah Hampton did penalty duty against Sweden with a gauze stuffed up her nostril. Players without complete buy-in were free to not come; Mary Earps, Fran Kirby, Millie Bright didn’t and that was okay.
There are coaches whose demeanour mirrors everything that is happening on the pitch. Wiegman is not among them. Her muted celebration of the equaliser and the wan smile when Beth Mead’s re-taken penalty was saved showed Wiegman’s ability to convey a sense of calm. Without that would it have been possible for England to win a tournament they began with a defeat and after leading for less than five minutes in the knockout rounds?
India is likely to name a new men’s team coach on Friday. He will face the same issues his predecessors did: lack of time, not enough depth in all positions and a startling lack of options as striker. In less than two months, he will take the team to the CAFA Cup. A deep-dive review of Wiegman’s latest campaign could help. As could the knowledge that the best teams do not always win.
Play of the week
