Flashscore Awards: England boss Sarina Wiegman named Women's Coach of the Year
Wiegman, who is noted for her enormous tactical intelligence and human connection, reinforced her status as one of the greatest coaches in the history of football in 2023 after leading England to the final of the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, where they lost 1-0 to Spain.
The Dutchwoman had to deal with several key absentees before the start of the tournament (Leah Williamson, Fran Kirby and Beth Mead), as well as Keira Walsh's knee problem and Lauren James' suspension when the tournament was underway, but that did not prevent them from reaching the deciding match.
All in all, in a relatively successful year, with seven wins from a dozen matches, they just missed out on qualification for the Olympics, a place they narrowly lost to the Netherlands on the final day of the Nations League group stage, even though they thrashed Scotland 6-0.
"If I can contribute and help someone develop in football, and especially as a person, that gives me a lot of energy. That's what I like, connecting with people, and I also want to develop myself.
"I have to develop constantly because football and the world is always changing. But I like to make that contribution to people, it gives me a lot of joy and a lot of energy.
"And when we get results and victories the joy is even greater because I don't like to lose. But it's also part of the game," Wiegman recently told The Guardian.
A coach for the ages
After a historic triumph at Euro 2017 and silver at the 2019 World Cup in charge of her homeland, Wiegman took over as England coach in 2021 and has not stopped progressing, winning the Euros, finishing second at the World Cup and producing an incredible run of 30 consecutive wins between 2021 and 2023.
In fact, she became the first person to lead two different nations to the final of the most important global competition. It is worth noting that she was a physical education teacher not that long ago and only started on the bench back in 2007. Since then, she has been notching important achievements continually.
"Sarina is a very special and down-to-earth coach. She is prepared for everything, whatever you imagine might happen in a match, she has the solution.
"She is very focused and spends most of her time thinking about football, she doesn't want anything to be a surprise. If plan A doesn't work, she and Veurink (assistant) always have plan B and C," former European champion Anouk Dekker told Flashscore.
"She has a good relationship with the players because she is very clear about what she expects from us individually and collectively. Few coaches are so direct and clear.
"She always speaks with a lot of respect when explaining her technical and tactical decisions, giving due attention to each player. She's not the type to create a big gap between the players," added the defender.
