Coach Sarina Wiegman has won the UEFA Women’s Coach of the Year award following her win at Women’s EURO 2022.
Sarina Wiegman has been named UEFA Coach of the Year for 2021/22.
Wiegman, who led England to victory at UEFA Women’s EURO 2022, was ahead of Lyon’s Sonia Bompastor and Germany’s Martina Voss-Tecklenburg in the vote to win the award. The decision was announced during the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League group stage draw ceremony in Istanbul.
In a video message, Wiegman said: “It is very nice to receive this great award, I am very honored and proud. I would like to congratulate Sonia and Martina for their nominations and their great achievements with their teams.”
“This award really goes to everyone involved with the England team, the FA, the staff and of course, most of all, the players. Thank you very much.”
“Things have fallen into place and have been going very well since I started with the national team in September. We have enjoyed ourselves a lot and we have performed at our highest level. Our fans have also behaved very well, so thanks to all the supporters for supporting us so much.
“Now we look forward again. Hopefully we will qualify for the World Cup and next year we will go to the World Cup and try to improve the game, perform and enjoy the game, of course.”
Wiegman, who led her Netherlands to victory as hosts at Women’s EURO 2017 and also to the final of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, and who has twice been named FIFA Coach of the Year, was named by England last summer. Even before her attempt to lead another host nation to EURO glory, Wiegman had overseen 14 unbeaten matches with 12 wins and two draws, scoring 84 goals and conceding just three, including winning a four-team tournament at home. in which the Olympic champions Canada, Germany and Spain participated.
The final tournament began with a 1-0 victory against Austria in front of almost 70,000 fans at Old Trafford. England then beat Norway 8-0, a competition record, and although Wiegman was unable to attend Northern Ireland’s 5-0 defeat due to illness, she returned to play in the ties, in which the Lionesses beat Spain 2-1 after extra time, thrashed Sweden 4-0 in the semi-finals and beat Germany 2-1 after extra time, before a competition-record 87,192 spectators at Wembley .
England not only became champions, but did so in a brilliant way, with 22 goals, a new record, which took the Lionesses to over a hundred in Wiegman’s first unbeaten year in charge. Wiegman became the first coach to lead two different teams to Women’s EURO glory and, as with the Netherlands in 2017, she did so with a perfect record, again overseeing a run that put women’s football in the host country’s spotlight like never before.
What is the UEFA Women’s Coach of the Year award?
For this award, coaches from across Europe, regardless of their nationality, were judged on their performances throughout the season in all competitions – both national and international – whether at club or national team level. Lyon’s Jean-Luc Vasseur was the inaugural winner in 2019/20, followed by Barcelona’s Lluís Cortés in 2020/21.
How were the coaches and coaches nominated?
UEFA’s technical study group selected an initial list of five coaches.
The first three nominees were voted on by a jury made up of the following people:
• The coaches of the 16 clubs that participated in the 2021/22 UEFA Women’s Champions League group stage
• The coaches of the 16 teams that played at UEFA Women’s EURO 2022
• A group of journalists selected by the European Sports Media (ESM)
The jury members chose their three best coaches, the first receiving five points, the second three and the third one. The nominees or nominees could not vote for themselves.