Sarina Wigman may become the first female coach of the men’s national team
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According to The Daily Telegraph, England women’s head coach Sarina Wigman may be included in the list of candidates for the position of head coach of the Netherlands men’s team. If appointed, she would become the first ever female coach to lead a men’s national team. An offer to the Dutch woman may also come from the Football Association of England (FA), looking for a replacement for current coach Gareth Southgate. Discussions about Sarina Wigman’s potential appointments began after she led the England women’s team to the World Cup final for the first time.
The Daily Telegraph claims Dutch football bosses have been saying privately for months that Sarina Wigman is “definitely at least on the shortlist”. The current head coach of the Netherlands men’s team is Ronald Koeman. His return to the national team after the World Cup in Qatar in 2022 was unsuccessful. Only one victory in the European Championship qualifying tournament over the Gibraltar national team and a defeat against France, two defeats in the final stage of the UEFA Nations League-2022/23 in matches with Croatia and Italy – this is the result of the Koeman team. If this deplorable trend continues, the coach may be fired in the near future.
At the same time, English football functionaries are already looking at candidates to replace Gareth Southgate. Under the current contract, he must leave post of head coach of the national team after Euro 2024. It is logical to invite a person who is already familiar with English football to such a position. British fans and journalists in discussions on the social network X (formerly Twitter) came to the conclusion that England women’s team coach Sarina Wigman would be an obvious choice.
The press has already dubbed Wigman “a woman who wins wherever she goes.”
The idea to appoint her as the coach of the men’s team was supported by the Executive Director of the Football Association of England, Mark Bullingham.
“Why does the England coach have to be a man? I think this is the best person for this job. We think Sarina is doing an excellent job and we hope she will continue to do so for a long time to come. I think Sarina can do whatever she wants in football. If at some point in the future she decides that she wants to move into men’s football, that will be very good, ”Bullingham is quoted as saying. ESPN.
Sarina Wigman has amazing coaching statistics. She is the first coach in the history of football to lead two different teams to win two European Championships in a row (native Netherlands in 2017 and England in 2022).
In total, these two teams played 12 matches and won all of them. Since she took over as women’s coach in 2021, England have won 30 out of 38 games and lost just 2. Also for the first time in history, Wigman led England to the Women’s World Cup final in 2023, repeating her previous success against the Netherlands in 2019 Sarina Wigman has been named FIFA Women’s Coach of the Year three times.
Although Wigman stated to the English press that she is currently happy in her current position and does not want to leave before the end of the contract, the difference in the salary of the coach of the men’s and women’s national teams may make her think about the transition. According to The Telegraph, Wigman currently earns £400,000 a year, while Gareth Southgate earns around £6m.
By the way, the precedent when a woman was appointed a coach in men’s football has already been created – at the level of clubs, again in England. On 4 July Forest Green Rovers, who play in the English Fourth Division, appointed Hannah Dingley as their new coach, making her the first woman to lead a professional men’s team.
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