‘Feeling loved’: how Wiegman turned Lionesses from also-rans to winners
The England head coach’s laser focus, calm character and human touch have helped to elevate her team to greatness
“Who has got the ability to take us right to the top of Everest? That’s my job, to find that person for the players, they deserve the best.” Those were the words of Sue Campbell, the Football Association’s former head of women’s football, in the summer of 2020 as – alongside the chief executive, Mark Bullingham, and technical director, Kay Cossington – she sought to find a new England head coach to replace Phil Neville, who was to leave his role the following year.
The Lionesses had reached three consecutive major tournament semi-finals, but kept enduring heartbreak and missing out on an elusive final. The FA’s mission was simple: find someone with the knowhow to take the team to the next level. A total of 142 applied for the role, Baroness Campbell said at the time and it was Cossington who first suggested: “There’s this brilliant woman called Sarina Wiegman … ”