England and Spain will meet in Sydney on Sunday for the Women’s World Cup final. Beyond the aftertaste of revenge that will coat this match, it will above all be a duel between two coaches who have succeeded, each in their own way, in making their selection very successful in recent years.
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May Earps, best goalkeeper in the world in 2022, Lucy Bronze, Georgia Stanway or Keira Walsh on the English side. Alexia Putellas, Aitana Bonmati, Irene Paredes… Spanish side. There will be a lot of people on the lawn of Stadium Australia in Sydney on Sunday, under the eyes of the 75,000 spectators expected for the World Cup final.
However, two of the stars of the match will be on the bench. Coaches Sarina Wiegman and Jorge Vilda took the spotlight before and during the competition, in two opposing styles.
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Wiegman, final madam
Euro 2017, World Cup 2019, Euro 2022 and now World Cup 2023… England coach Sarina Wiegman is about to experience the final of a major competition for the fourth time in a row, a rare achievement.
The first two times, she officiated under the colors of the Netherlands, her country of origin, with a European title at stake, against Denmark (4-2). But she missed the supreme consecration against the United States, in Lyon (2-0).
Poached by the English Federation in anticipation of the Euro organized at home, the 53-year-old technician transformed a selection often well placed, but never titled, into a winning machine. ” She is a trainer whose results have shown the qualities, she has talent and a staff behind her. Tomorrow will be a tactical and technical battle “, argued Jorge Vilda Saturday at a press conference.
Her successes have made the former international defender one of the faces of the feminization of the coaching position. “ It gives players the joy and freedom to express themselves. There’s a game plan, there’s a pattern, but it don’t restrict ’em “, described to AFP Charlotte Harpur, journalist at The Athletic. In particular, Wiegman allowed families at the resort, rather than isolating his workforce, as some teams can do.
The United States, the first nation in the world, would think of her to replace Vlatko Andonovski who resigned. Response from the boss of the English Federation: each offer for Wiegman, under contract until 2025, will be rejected “100%”.
Vilda, Revenge of the Outcast
When Wiegman built the success of the English on a steel defense, his Spanish counterpart Jorge Vilda opted for an attacking game that befits the technical qualities of his players.
The profile of the 42-year-old coach unfolds like the negative of that of the Dutchwoman. No title since taking office in 2015, and methods deemed divisive which have earned him the resentment of several locker room executives.
Spain experienced an earthquake that threatened the emergence of its women’s team, after fifteen internationals announced last September that they no longer wanted to play for La Roja again. Sources mentioned in the local press referred to the methods deemed ” dictatorial by Vilda.
But the technician, supported by his Federation during this unprecedented crisis, remained. He has retained his legitimacy through a series of exceptional results that bear the imprint of the tactical poker moves he is fond of.
” It’s a learning, it made us all stronger and [nous devons] leave that in the past, think about the future and the fact that what we have achieved is the fruit of the work we have done “said Jorge Vilda, questioned at each press conference on the episode of the sling which he admitted to having suffered. Latest response, Saturday: a very dry “ next question “.
Spain, 19th in the Fifa ranking when he was appointed, is now applying for a first world title. All after failing in the eighth round in 2019, against the United States and especially in the quarter-finals of the last Euro against England by… Sarina Wiegamn. England-Spain, act two, final scene.
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(With AFP)