Sarina Wiegman sits down in the chair left for her in a ring of journalists looking remarkably relaxed, the intensity and energy seen during and in the immediate aftermath of the thrilling last-gasp quarter-final and semi-final wins over Sweden and Italy gone. This is her usual state, calm, and as England prepare for a third major tournament final, against Spain on Sunday, and Wiegman’s fifth consecutive major final, it’s what they need.
Asked to look back on her own development during four whirlwind years in charge, she is reflective. “As every person in this room develops, I develop too, with experiences,” she says. “First my English has improved, so I understand a lot more, but also you learn more about the people you work with. You learn more again about yourself and how you respond to things and, while I’m always working on developing the team and developing or trying to help the development of people, I always try to keep developing myself.
“What I’ve really wanted to do over all these years is try to enjoy it all a little bit more. You have to be focused in this job, you have to be focused but you need to celebrate the moments that are good, it’s really nice.”
The midfielder Keira Walsh said the manager has been incredibly consistent during her time at the helm. “She probably shows her excitement a little bit more after games than she used to do,” she said. “When you see on the side she’s dancing and singing and we didn’t see that so much when she first came in. But, in terms of how she delivers tactics and how she manages, I think she is very, very similar.
“She’s probably one of the best managers I’ve played for in terms of trying to make everyone feel loved. It’s a really, really difficult job when you’re in a tournament, and obviously people want to play, people aren’t, but she really, really cares about the human side. Another thing that you notice when you play for her is how calm she is. It makes a massive difference in the 95th minute when you’re losing 1-0, and you look to the side and she’s very calm. That speaks volumes of her as a manager.”
Wiegman smiles at the mention of her celebrations when Walsh’s comments are relayed to her. “That comes from these performances, of course. It’s so intense. Of course I look very calm, but when the whistle goes and we score a goal and we change the game, when you have one minute left or 10 seconds left, of course that is emotional.”
The manager has perhaps had more scrutiny in the buildup to this tournament than at any other point during her time with England. Performances have been questioned and the sudden retirements of Mary Earps and Fran Kirby plus the withdrawal of Millie Bright from selection, was cause for concern.
“In this environment you have challenges all the time,” says Wiegman. “Before the World Cup, we had challenges with players who were injured. Of course, we prepare a lot and we know the players really well. We think of scenarios: ‘Who is the first player to select? Who is the second?’ You’re prepared for challenges. The challenge ahead of the tournament is the same for an injured player or a player who is not available. You have to move on to what you want and who is ready to compete.”
Wiegman’s directness has at times rubbed players up the wrong way, particularly in the Netherlands, but she is pragmatic in her approach: if you add value to the team, you are in, if you don’t or don’t anymore, you are moved on. With time, wins and the authority that comes with them, players are more easily brought on board with her approach on and off the pitch.
And, regardless of some former Dutch players having expressed frustrations in the past, there are many that will speak about the impact of that human approach.
The former Netherlands and Ado den Haag player Rianne Schorel is one of them. Schorel has nothing but love for Wiegman, despite having lost contact with her former manager since she was forced from the game due to a head injury that took 10 years to recover from. Wiegman’s attention to player welfare and her support for Schorel was hugely appreciated by the former player both at the time and still is today.
The chief executive of the Football Association, Mark Bullingham, picked that characteristic out as a key reason as to why she is so special.
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“Generally, her connection with everyone is so special,” he said. “I would say that every single individual member of staff coming into this camp felt valued by her, knew exactly what their role was and how they could be part of an overall team. Really stressing that everyone’s in it together is critical and I think she’s really helped build a very, very strong culture, not just amongst players but the whole support team.”
Often players refer to her as being like a mum. “Yeah …”, says an unsure Wiegman. “Sometimes when people talk about ‘the girls’ I think: ‘Do they mean my daughters or do they mean my team?’ So, that’s tricky, I’m kind of a caring person. I care about them but at the same time I’m the coach, I’m making hard decisions at the moment so sometimes you have to leave that caring and leave it up to them. They’re grown-up women, but a mum should care.”
Regardless of subjective opinions on England’s run to the final, Wiegman’s record speaks for itself and is an objective fact. “She’s just a very special coach and I think there are teams here that have got good players that haven’t made it through to a final,” added Bullingham. “We have got good players but so have some other countries. She’s performed so well at the highest level, keeping that calm composure, keeping the connection with the players and managing the games really well.”
Schorel, having gone to play college football in the US before returning to the Netherlands, remembers Wiegman talking to her about calming down, taking some intensity out of her game and not overworking. This is familiar to those that have covered England for some time because that is the same message she came into the job delivering.
Leah Williamson most recently reflected on that time: “The English are known for having a certain type of mentality – a fight about us. Historically we’ve maybe been quite a defensive team. I remember one of the first things she said was: ‘Just slow down’, she wanted us to focus on the football.” Though Wiegman and the Lionesses stand on the verge of more records and more history, the personal acclaim is something she is uncomfortable with.
“Yeah, I do find that awkward,” she says. “Of course, I find it very special too, but I do believe that everyone plays his or her part in the success. What I’m trying to do is bring people together in the best possible way, players and staff, and the people around me are really, really good. If they perform at their highest level, then the chance of winning a game is the highest possible. That’s what I’m trying to do. I think I’m pretty good at bringing people together, but without the quality, you’re not going to win a tournament.
“So, you need very good players, the support staff, the environment we’ve created, how we can do recovery, how we can do the gym sessions with players, the pitch, which is perfect to train on. There’s so many things that make us who we are now.”
