Latest news with #PiaSundhage
The Star
21-07-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Time to man up
Germany's Lea Schueller (No. 11) and Sjoeke Nuesken (No. 9) vying for the ball with Sweden's Magdalena Eriksson (centre) during the Women's Euro 2025 Group C match at Letzigrund Stadium in Zurich on July 12. At this year's Euros, nine of the 16 teams are coached by men. — AFP FROM tournament stalwarts Pia Sundhage and Sarina Wiegman to international debutante Rhian Wilkinson, the Women's European Championship that kicked off in Switzerland marked an historic high for female coaches. But while women's football is one of the better sports for female representation, male coaches still have a slight edge in terms of numbers with nine of the 16 teams at Euro 2025 coached by men and seven by women. The 43.75% of female coaches is a seismic leap from Euro 2013, where just 18.75% of teams were coached by women. That figure had nearly doubled by 2017 and held steady in 2022 at 37.5%. 'It's clear progress is being made – slowly but surely,' the Female Coaching Network said. 'Of course, there's still a long road ahead. Change takes time.' Switzerland head coach Pia Sundhage stands by the bench before the match against Finland at Stade de Geneve in Geneva, Switzerland, on July 10. — AP Lack of success has not been a factor. Between 2000 and the 2023 Women's World Cup, all but one of the major women's football tournaments – World Cup, Women's Euros and the Olympics – were won by female-coached teams. Norio Sasaki, the man who coached Japan to World Cup gold in 2011, was the sole exception. Wiegman was the last woman standing in 2023 in Australia, where England reached their first World Cup final, losing to Spain. Spanish manager Luis Rubiales was fired and then found guilty of sexual assault for kissing national team player Jenni Hermoso during the World Cup trophy celebration in a case that sparked a nationwide furore. Sundhage is by far the most experienced coach at Euro 2025, having been head coach of the United States and Sweden for five years each, Brazil for four years and now hosts Switzerland. She guided the Americans to gold at both the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. England manager Sarina Wiegman talks to a player during the friendly against Jamaica on June 29. — Reuters Wilkinson, who is coaching Wales in their major tournament debut, Elisabet Gunnarsdottir (Belgium), Nina Patalon (Poland), and Gemma Grainger (Norway) are the four women making their managerial debuts in a major senior tournament. Women represented about 13% of all coaches at last year's Paris Olympics, which was virtually unchanged from the 2020 Games in Tokyo. Women's basketball led the way with 50%, followed by football (33%) and hockey (16%). Among the worst were athletics at 13%, women's rugby sevens (8%) and women's golf (6%). — Reuters
Toronto Star
19-07-2025
- Sport
- Toronto Star
Host Swiss team exits Euro 2025 with respect from Spain and a new passion for women's soccer
Switzerland head coach Pia Sundhage waves supporters at the end of the Women's Euro 2025 quarterfinals soccer match between Spain and Switzerland at Stadion Wankdorf in Bern, Switzerland, Friday, July 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner) SG flag wire: true flag sponsored: false article_type: : sWebsitePrimaryPublication : publications/toronto_star bHasMigratedAvatar : false :
The Star
19-07-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Soccer-Swiss coach Sundhage said historic tournament run about more than winning games
Soccer Football - UEFA Women's Euro 2025 - Quarter Final - Spain v Switzerland - Stadion Wankdorf, Bern, Switzerland - July 18, 2025 Switzerland coach Pia Sundhage on the pitch before the match REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo BERN, Switzerland (Reuters) -While upstart Switzerland's dream run at the Women's European Championship run came to an end on Friday in a 2-0 quarter-final loss to world champions Spain, a proud coach Pia Sundhage and her players celebrated as if it was a victory. In many ways it was. Sundhage's team had already made history by making the knockout round of a major tournament for the first time, and then treated the sellout crowd to a spirited showing, diligently holding off the world's best for more than an hour. "I've been in the football game since I was a little kid, and the fact that it has changed (in Switzerland), people are more interested in the women's game than they were a year-and-a-half ago, that's the thing you love to see happening," Sundhage said. "We lost the game, but I think we gained a lot. Football is so much more than a gold medal." Sundhage was hired in January 2024 to improve the national team ahead of hosting Euro 2025, and she walked off the pitch on Friday with the crowd chanting her name. "I think that's cool. When people shouted my name, I feel they are shouting women's football," the 65-year-old said. "They know my name to begin with, and I'm coaching women's football." The Spanish players held a guard of honour for their opponents. "I want to congratulate Switzerland, it has been amazing, we are playing in stadiums full of people, we see streets full of people coming to the games," said Spain's Aitana Bonmati. "It's something unique that we are living and we wanted to thank them for that." Euro 2025 continues to smash attendance records, with a women's Euros best 78,407 fans -- including 29,734 on Friday -- attending the quarter-finals, with one game still to go on Saturday. Switzerland hopes hosting the tournament is a catalyst for growth in girls' soccer as it was for England after hosting the 2022 tournament. "I hope this tournament helps to push playing football both the young girls and the young boys," Swiss midfielder Smilla Vallotto said. "We are pretty happy even though we lost today." Swiss captain Lia Waelti said the crowd was beyond anything she and her teammates had "dreamed about". "To experience that at home in Switzerland, with a sold-out crowd, with Swiss cowbells, is just something extremely special," she said. "I hope we're going to keep it in our memories forever. "I hope it was a very, very important step to show Switzerland that women can play football really well, and I hope they're getting hungry to watch more women's football." The Swiss defended in numbers on Friday while withstanding waves of attacks before Athenea del Castillo finally broke the deadlock in the 66th minute. Claudia Pina doubled Spain's lead five minutes later, but the Swiss chanting did not let up, and they cheered wildly when Livia Peng stopped Alexia Putellas's late penalty. Fans remained glued to their seats long after the final whistle. "It's been phenomenal, it's been a once in a lifetime feeling, very emotional," Sundhage said. "They didn't leave, they stayed. I was dreaming about this, but this is more than I dreamt of." Asked about her future, Sundhage said she is not looking beyond the end of her contract on December 31. "My future is to sleep," she joked. "I'm a bit tired. (Reporting by Lori Ewing, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
Straits Times
19-07-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
Spain see off spirited Swiss to reach Euro 2025 semi-finals
BERN – Despite being world champions, Spain believed that they did not have it easy in the Women's Euro 2025 on July 18, and will face 'very difficult games ahead'. The team reached the semi-finals after battling past hosts Switzerland 2-0 as they continued their bid for a first-ever European crown. Athenea del Castillo and Claudia Pina scored the goals in the second half in Bern to give La Roja deserved passage to the last four where they will face either France or Germany on Wednesday. But Montse Tome's team did not have it all their own way as Switzerland put up a brave fight in front of a passionate crowd at the Wankdorf Stadium, doing a great job in slowing Spain's usual free-flowing football. 'We expected something like this, we are in quarters with the host team and all the fans. They have been very competitive team, very intense,' said Spain's star midfielder Aitana Bonmati. 'They defended deep and didn't allow us to play our game, but in the end it turned out OK. Now we have some very difficult games ahead. 'We are used to winning from the start but football is not like that, you have to compete for 90 minutes. We did a good job, we were calm and confident in our abilities.' Pia Sundhage's players acquitted themselves brilliantly in their home tournament and were given a loud round of applause from the majority of the nearly 30,000 supporters who stayed behind for some time after the final whistle to show their appreciation to the team. The Swiss, who finished the match with 10 women after Noelle Maritz was sent off in the final minute, had never progressed past the group stage of a Euros before and in the end Spain proved to be too much for the team ranked 23rd in the world. The Spaniards, meanwhile, overcame a test of patience before their superior quality eventually prevailed. It didn't look like it was going to be their night but del Castillo finally made the breakthrough in the 66th minutes, collecting Bonmati's through ball and scoring the goal which ended Switzerland's spirited resistance. Pina whipped home a wonderful second goal five minutes later and that was that for the Swiss. While the hosts' dream run came to an end, a proud coach Pia Sundhage and her players celebrated as if it was a victory. In many ways it was, especially after making the knockout round of a major tournament for the first time, and then diligently holding off the world's best for more than an hour. 'I've been in the football game since I was a little kid, and the fact that it has changed (in Switzerland), people are more interested in the women's game than they were a year-and-a-half ago, that's the thing you love to see happening,' Sundhage said. 'We lost the game, but I think we gained a lot. Football is so much more than a gold medal.' Sundhage was hired in January 2024 to improve the national team ahead of hosting Euro 2025, and she walked off the pitch with the crowd chanting her name. 'I think that's cool. When people shouted my name, I feel they are shouting women's football,' the 65-year-old added. 'They know my name to begin with, and I'm coaching women's football.' AFP, REUTERS
New Straits Times
19-07-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Swiss coach Sundhage said historic tournament run about more than winning games
BERN, (Switzerland): While upstart Switzerland's dream run at the Women's European Championship run came to an end on Friday in a 2-0 quarter-final loss to world champions Spain, a proud coach Pia Sundhage and her players celebrated as if it was a victory. In many ways it was. Sundhage's team had already made history by making the knockout round of a major tournament for the first time, and then treated the sellout crowd to a spirited showing, diligently holding off the world's best for more than an hour. "I've been in the football game since I was a little kid, and the fact that it has changed (in Switzerland), people are more interested in the women's game than they were a year-and-a-half ago, that's the thing you love to see happening," Sundhage said. "We lost the game, but I think we gained a lot. Football is so much more than a gold medal." Sundhage was hired in January 2024 to improve the national team ahead of hosting Euro 2025, and she walked off the pitch on Friday with the crowd chanting her name. "I think that's cool. When people shouted my name, I feel they are shouting women's football," the 65-year-old said. "They know my name to begin with, and I'm coaching women's football." The Spanish players held a guard of honour for their opponents. "I want to congratulate Switzerland, it has been amazing, we are playing in stadiums full of people, we see streets full of people coming to the games," said Spain's Aitana Bonmati. "It's something unique that we are living and we wanted to thank them for that." Euro 2025 continues to smash attendance records, with a women's Euros best 78,407 fans — including 29,734 on Friday — attending the quarter-finals, with one game still to go on Saturday. Switzerland hopes hosting the tournament is a catalyst for growth in girls' soccer as it was for England after hosting the 2022 tournament. "I hope this tournament helps to push playing football both the young girls and the young boys," Swiss midfielder Smilla Vallotto said. "We are pretty happy even though we lost today." Swiss captain Lia Waelti said the crowd was beyond anything she and her teammates had "dreamed about." "To experience that at home in Switzerland, with a sold-out crowd, with Swiss cowbells, is just something extremely special," she said. "I hope we're going to keep it in our memories forever. "I hope it was a very, very important step to show Switzerland that women can play football really well, and I hope they're getting hungry to watch more women's football." The Swiss defended in numbers on Friday while withstanding waves of attacks before Athenea del Castillo finally broke the deadlock in the 66th minute. Claudia Pina doubled Spain's lead five minutes later, but the Swiss chanting did not let up, and they cheered wildly when Livia Peng stopped Alexia Putellas's late penalty. Fans remained glued to their seats long after the final whistle. "It's been phenomenal, it's been a once in a lifetime feeling, very emotional," Sundhage said. "They didn't leave, they stayed. I was dreaming about this, but this is more than I dreamt of." Asked about her future, Sundhage said she is not looking beyond the end of her contract on Dec 31.
