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The Hindu
02-07-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Women's Euro 2025: Five players to watch out for in European Championship
The 14th edition of the women's European Championship is all set to go in Switzerland, with Iceland taking on Finland in the opening fixture on Wednesday. The 16-team tournament will conclude on July 27, with the St Jakob Stadium in Basel set to host the summit clash. England is the defending champion after beating record eight-time winner Germany 2-1 in the 2022 edition's final at Wembley Stadium. Take a look at some of the stars to keep an eye out for: Alessia Russo (England) File photo: England and Arsenal forward Alessia Russo. | Photo Credit: AP England forward Alessia Russo will come into the tournament on the back of a surprise UEFA Women's Champions League final triumph with Arsenal. She scored 35 goals last season, including eight in the Champions League, as the Gunners beat Barcelona to clinch their second ever European title. The Arsenal player was also the joint top scorer in the Women's Super League this season with Manchester City's Khadija Shaw, as Arsenal finished second. Back in the 2022 edition of the European Championship, she came off the bench in all six games and bagged four goals. This time, she is one of the senior members of the group and will be an essential part of coach Sarina Wiegman's title defence. Ewa Pajor (Poland) File photo: Poland and Barcelona forward Ewa Pajor. | Photo Credit: Charles McQuillan For Poland, which is making its debut in the competition, the goalscoring duties will majorly rest on the shoulders of in-form striker Ewa Pajor. The 28-year-old was an important part of Barcelona's success this season, after making a move from Wolfsburg last year. She scored 43 goals and provided 14 assists in 46 appearances last season as Barcelona went on to lift the Liga F and Spanish cup titles. Her performances have also made her a contender for the Ballon d'Or Feminin this year. ALSO READ | Women's Euro 2025: Full schedule, list of matches, time, dates, venues In international colours after making her debut in 2013, she has played 101 games, netting 68 times in that period. Aitana Bonmati (Spain) While Aitana Bonmati joined the Spain squad late after having treatment for viral meningitis, her presence is sure to give the reigning world champion a big boost. Despite having a disappointing end to the season with Barcelona, on a personal level, the two-time Ballon d'Or Féminin winner was sharp in front of the goal, finding the back of the net 15 times while also assisting six times in 37 matches. While the 27-year-old is unlikely to feature in their opening game against Portugal, Spain will hope that she can play a big part in the later stages. Head coach Montse Tome also reiterated her importance ahead of the tournament's start, saying, 'Bonmati is so important for us and we will wait for her, whatever happens, until the end.' Klara Buhl (Germany) File photo: Germany and Bayern Munich forward Klara Buhl. | Photo Credit: Getty Images Last edition's beaten finalists, Germany, will look to go one step further this time and lift a ninth title, and their attack will be spearheaded by the young but experienced Klara Buhl. Bayern Munich forward will seek redemption after she was ruled out of the 2022 final against England after testing positive for Covid-19. This time, she is in fine form and was instrumental in Bayern's maiden domestic double triumph (Frauen-Bundesliga and DFB Cup), and had the most goal contributions in the league with seven goals and 14 assists in 22 games. Despite being only 24 years old, Klara has made 67 appearances for the national team and has bagged 28 goals in that time. Alexia Putellas (Spain) This list would not be complete without mentioning Alexia Putellas, who is one of the greatest female football players of all time. Putellas, who became the first player to win Ballon d'Or Fémininis twice (2021 and 2022), is also the most capped player in the Spanish women's national football team history (130). She has represented Spain in five major tournaments since her debut in 2013. However, she missed the last edition of the European Championship in 2022 after suffering an ACL injury just before the tournament began and will be raring to lead Spain to a maiden title. The 31-year-old's selection in the squad is backed up by a successful season with Barcelona, where she recorded 22 goals and three assists in 39 games across all competitions.
Boston Globe
01-07-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Filipa Patão promises passion, for the ball and for the chance to build Boston Legacy from the ground up
'I think I say this many, many times in Portugal and now I say it in the States: I'm a person that searches every time for a challenge,' Patão told me on a video call from Portugal. Advertisement At Benfica, she exceeded those challenges over and over again — from her start as a club youth coach in 2007, initially with the men and then to the fledgling women's program, to the U15, U17, and U19 women's teams. Patão took over the senior women's team in 2020. She amassed a 156-28-15 record across all competitions, winning the Campeonato Nacional (Portugal's top flight) five years in a row while also taking Benfica to the quarterfinals of the 2023-24 UEFA Women's Champions League, the first Portuguese club to advance that far. That was enough for a Ballon d'Or nomination as Women's Coach of the Year in 2024, and enough to raise the antenna of the Boston Legacy ownership group. Advertisement Their pitch beat out interest from overseas, including at Liverpool. 'When I start to hear about the project, when I start to hear that they're going to want to build everything new, and I can put some of my personality, some of my ideas, my philosophy, my passion . . . I felt at home," Patão mused. 'I felt a lot of passion about the project of Boston, in the football competition, from the supporters, from the city, everyone around. Honestly, it feels like Benfica. A little like this, the supporters here are very very passionate. There's a lot of pressure on everybody, they want to win, but they want to have identity, an identity that represents them. I feel the same in Boston, in this team the Boston Legacy, and I want to build it.' The process has already started, even though Patão — along with her English setter and her cat, named Oliver and Benji in honor of the Advertisement 'Filipa demonstrates all of the qualities that personify this club and the way we want to play: with passion, grit, and style,' Epstein said in the team's official announcement. Related : It starts with relentlessness for the ball, an attacking mindset that led Patão to regularly hear her players described by European opponents 'like dogs' for the way they'd press and fight for the ball. 'I was a player, and the most beautiful thing in football is having the ball,' she said. 'If you want the ball, you're forbidden to lose the ball, but if you lose it, OK, come on and catch it again. Be fast, be happy again with the ball. My teams are like that. One second to recover the ball. Everyone has to run, have a mission to recover that ball.' And when they have it? 'I want players that want to take risk,' she said. 'Football is a risk. You need to take risk. It's impossible to have players afraid to take risk. This is the style I want to see. I want to see brave players, who want to play beautiful football, challenge themselves, go one-v-one if necessary.' Patão compared it to educating a child. 'A young player, they're like a sponge, want to absorb everything. When you build something new, you don't have issues, don't have anything, you're like a white paper. You can write whatever you want and you can create a legacy like the name. You can create a history there,' she said. 'It's a great responsibility to write a good or bad thing. They chose me because of that. 'I love challenge. I love winning. I'm very, very competitive and I love to develop young players.' Related : Advertisement In another time, or another place, Patão would have continued playing, pushing a budding career with the Portuguese national team to a top professional level. She would have focused on her passion for football instead of feeling it drain away as she squeezed in training at night, long after she'd finished her multiple other jobs, teaching at a school and training youth soccer clubs for hours at a time. There just wasn't a high level of support for women's players back then. Times have changed in the decades since, and now she is creating opportunities for others. 'I didn't have coaches that believed in me, worked with me, that thought all day about how I'm going to help my team, help my players to achieve great things. . . . So every time, I say to my players, please enjoy this ride, enjoy this life,' she said. 'Now I'm a really happy person, I feel I'm doing something. 'It's impossible to change the world but you can change the world of somebody, so do it.' Tara Sullivan is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at
San Francisco Chronicle
25-06-2025
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Filipa Patão named coach of NWSL expansion club, the Boston Legacy
BOSTON (AP) — Benfica coach Filipa Patão has been hired as the new head coach of the National Women's Soccer League club Boston Legacy. Patão, 36, will take over the expansion team's preparations for its first season next year in July once her visa is approved, the club announced Wednesday. Patão has led Benfica since 2020, with a 156-28-15 record across all competitions. During her tenure, Benfica has won Portugal's top flight title five straight years. Benfica also advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2023-24 UEFA Women's Champions League. She was nominated for the Ballon d'Or's Coach of the Year in 2024. 'The American league is extremely competitive and that's one of the reasons I accepted this project: I like competition, difficulty, and getting the players to strive for more and better. To transform themselves and always demand more of themselves," Patão said in a statement. "I know that Boston fans are passionate about the city and their teams and I'm looking forward to building a new history with them.' Boston Legacy is one of two expansion clubs, along with a team in Denver, that will join the NWSL next year, bringing the league to 16 teams.
Fox Sports
25-06-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Filipa Patão named coach of NWSL expansion club, the Boston Legacy
Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Benfica coach Filipa Patão has been hired as the new head coach of the National Women's Soccer League club Boston Legacy. Patão, 36, will take over the expansion team's preparations for its first season next year in July once her visa is approved, the club announced Wednesday. Patão has led Benfica since 2020, with a 156-28-15 record across all competitions. During her tenure, Benfica has won Portugal's top flight title five straight years. Benfica also advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2023-24 UEFA Women's Champions League. She was nominated for the Ballon d'Or's Coach of the Year in 2024. 'The American league is extremely competitive and that's one of the reasons I accepted this project: I like competition, difficulty, and getting the players to strive for more and better. To transform themselves and always demand more of themselves," Patão said in a statement. "I know that Boston fans are passionate about the city and their teams and I'm looking forward to building a new history with them.' Boston Legacy is one of two expansion clubs, along with a team in Denver, that will join the NWSL next year, bringing the league to 16 teams. ____ AP soccer: in this topic
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Filipa Patão named coach of NWSL expansion club, the Boston Legacy
FILE - S.L. Benfica women's soccer champion coach Filipa Patao leaves with her award after the Portuguese soccer awards gala in Lisbon, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Armando Franca, File) BOSTON (AP) — Benfica coach Filipa Patão has been hired as the new head coach of the National Women's Soccer League club Boston Legacy. Patão, 36, will take over the expansion team's preparations for its first season next year in July once her visa is approved, the club announced Wednesday. Advertisement Patão has led Benfica since 2020, with a 156-28-15 record across all competitions. During her tenure, Benfica has won Portugal's top flight title five straight years. Benfica also advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2023-24 UEFA Women's Champions League. She was nominated for the Ballon d'Or's Coach of the Year in 2024. 'The American league is extremely competitive and that's one of the reasons I accepted this project: I like competition, difficulty, and getting the players to strive for more and better. To transform themselves and always demand more of themselves," Patão said in a statement. "I know that Boston fans are passionate about the city and their teams and I'm looking forward to building a new history with them.' Boston Legacy is one of two expansion clubs, along with a team in Denver, that will join the NWSL next year, bringing the league to 16 teams. ____ AP soccer:
