Sarina Wigman's unwavering prowess on women's teams has caught the attention of the Dutch Football Association. Credit: PA Wire/Zach Goodwin
Sarina Wiegman could be the coach of the Netherlands men's national team when the position becomes available.
Dutch football executives have privately insisted for months that the well-known manager The Lionesses will likely make at least a short list of candidates. Her candidacy is now considered stronger than ever after her fourth consecutive international final of a major women's tournament.
Never before has a leading football federation or top club offered a woman the position of men's team manager. Ahead of Sunday's 1-0 loss to Spain, Wigman assured the Football Association that she has «no plans to leave» her role with England.
However, after a torrid 2023 in which the Netherlands men's team suffered three defeats in four matches, Ronald Koeman is under pressure to change form during his second spell. reached the final of a major tournament with the Netherlands women's team, has a contract with England until the end of Euro 2025.
Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham said last week that Wigman could make it. whatever she wants in football» as he insisted he was willing to consider a woman to succeed Gareth Southgate.
She has also been touted in the US media as a potential successor to Vlatko Andonovski, who has stepped down in recent weeks from the post of head coach of the American national team.
However, the move by the KNVB (Royal Dutch Football Association) to enlist Wigman's support for a second time could prove even more attractive for the former Hague-born defensive midfielder.
As with England, Wigman won the European title and the final world championship during his tenure. heads the Netherlands women's team.
The Football Association's chief executive, Mark Bullingham, said last Thursday that the governing body would reject any Wigman proposals. He added that the FA hoped that Wigman would remain in power for a very long time, and now she insists on staying in place.
Bullingham also faced questions about the gap between Wigman's reported annual salary of around £400,000 and England manager Gareth Southgate's £6m annual salary, more than 10 times that of Wigman. Bullingham said he hoped both national team head coaches would be paid the same in the long run, but said there was «not yet a market» for each position.
Wigman, who joined England in 2021 and lost her first game in charge on Sunday, has repeatedly expressed satisfaction with her work with the Lionesses. Another option for the Dutchwoman would be to manage Great Britain at next summer's Paris Olympics, if she can secure qualification.
When asked if it was her goal to add an Olympic final to her list of Euro and World Cup finals, she replied: “Yes, of course. The Olympics [in 2021] were also a little disappointing because it was in Covid and my big dream was to go to the Olympics, but the Olympics were not like everyone else… Well, I’ve said this before, it felt like prison .
“And then football also unites, and football unites people, and that connection was not there, so we were not allowed to do anything, we were in a hotel, stuck in a hotel, so the pleasure of connecting and getting all everyone's energy [wasn't there].»
In Tokyo, Wigman led the Netherlands and led the team to the quarter-finals, where they lost on penalties to the United States. It has not yet been confirmed whether the UK team will take part in the competition in Paris, but, first of all, one of the British women's national teams should qualify next season.
A new Women's Nations League competition is being used as a qualifying process for European teams. Only two more European teams can join host France in the women's Olympic football competition.
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