A lot of times people don’t even start laughing when someone says things must be more brutal. Sarina Wegman managed it in less than a year as England’s national coach. She constantly insists that English footballers must be ‘ruthless’ and the English cannot get enough of her.
A chuckle can be heard at press conferences as Wiegman always uses the term. The Dutch coach has now also started to smile when she uses the term or is asked about it, but at the same time she keeps insisting that she really needs to be a little tougher. Opportunities are there to be created and competitions to be won.
English journalists can dream of the melody, but also see it in action. Wigman confirmed that English footballers have finally reached the final of the final tournament. They had failed in the semi-finals three times before, and on Sunday they will play Germany for the European title at Wembley. Wegman has turned England into a machine that would be ruthless and would set a good example in this regard himself.
Barbs
Already in 2017, Mandy van den Berg faced how hard Wegmann can be when she finds it necessary. During the 2017 European Championships, she put her captain on the reserve bench after two matches. The decision came suddenly to Van den Berg and she blamed it the most. She said about it in the book: “I hope I never treat people this way.” together strong by Anne Marie Postma. “No one has disappointed me like Sarena.”
Wegman blinks again when criticism was presented to her, it really affected her too. I found it very heavy and painful. “Anyway..” She did not distance herself from her for a moment, difficult decisions are part of her profession. Foppe de Haan, her assistant in 2017, thought Wiegman had waited too long. She could have avoided many problems by taking the championship decision.
Five years later, she was doing just that. Long England’s captain, Step Houghton, looked fit in time after the injury. At the age of 34, the European Championship will probably be her last, but such feelings do not matter to Wegmann. “It was a difficult decision, but she is not ready to play.”
When others, especially women, are portrayed as cruel and insensitive, Wegmann is praised for it. It also helps that her decisions turn out well. If you take out three star players in the quarter-final against Spain, their substitutes with a goal and a good assist to win.
There is rarely an outright criticism of a successful coach. Whether they’re from Holland or England, almost all players say the same: Wiegman is straightforward, straightforward and honest. Sometimes sweet and caring. But above all: the coach leaves nothing to chance, the players know where they are and perform better.
seldom satisfied
In England, its modus operandi lands on fertile ground. Her predecessor, Phil Neville, actually started to fall behind because he had no experience in women’s football. Under his leadership, the England team often played without a soul and failed at important moments. He upset because after a meager 1-0 against weak Portugal he said he was very satisfied.
Dan Wegman. When she was 6 years old, she cut her hair to illegally play football with boys. Arranged by herself that she could play in America, she witnessed the time when international matches were still being played with almost any audience at Hoogeveen. She was always climbing a little higher in women’s football, but there was always something to be desired. The high demands of such a person do not provoke any irritation, but admiration for laughter.
When her team beat North Macedonia 10-0, she said her players could have done more. If Latvia were also defeated 10-0, they would expect them to be even tougher to come back. Then they managed to win 20-0. Sometimes she goes out of her way, for example when her team won 8-0 over Norway. “I think I can be satisfied with it tonight.”
Every now and then I patted the back, but above all kept demanding the maximum. Its players scored 104 goals in nineteen matches under its management, twenty in five matches in the European Championship. It’s not even England getting more chances, the team finishes them off more often. Her team scored 21 percent of all goal-scoring attempts. Germany remains the discount at 14 per cent.
“The last push is the hardest thing in football,” Wegman once said. But she prepared more than her team to finish at Wembley on Sunday.
