Sarina Wiegman isn’t just an incredible manager – she’s a history-maker

Throughout the Euros, there’s been a new song on the lips of the England fans lining the stadiums. Sweet Caroline is still there, as is the myriad of player-centric chants (Beth Mead’s on fire, your defence is terrified). But there’s another tune that may well come to define this tournament: a rendition of The Champs’ 1958 song Tequila, replacing ‘tequila’ in the lyrics with ‘Sarina’ in tribute to England coach Sarina Wiegman.

Since taking on the role of Lionesses’ head coach in 2021, Wiegman has become a national treasure – and for good reason. Her success on the pitch is unrivalled by any coach in history, man or woman: when England overcame Italy to win a place in the 2025 Euro final, she became the only manager, in the men’s or women’s game, to have reached the final at all five of her major tournament appearances (two with the Netherlands, and three with England). And while her two World Cup final matches may have ended in a loss, her Euros win with England earlier this summer saw her claim three consecutive wins at the tournament.

It’s the kind of CV most managers can only dream of, but Wiegman seems to take it all in her stride. The Lionesses’ journey to this summer’s final wasn’t easy, and at times, Wiegman’s decision-making has been called into question. While a slight change in formation and line-up helped England to achieve strong results against the Netherlands and Wales, the team looked disorganised in their early loss against France, and the last-minute goals against Sweden and Italy were enough to send anyone’s heart rate sky high.

But there’s something about England under Wiegman that seems to have that extra something. There’s a reason why the phrase ‘In Sarina we trust’ has become a rallying cry among fans of the Lionesses – even when it seems like nothing is going England’s way and the game is a write-off, Wiegman manages to encourage even more excellence out of her players.  

After all, it was Wiegman who correctly identified Alessia Russo and Ella Toone’s potential impact as ‘super subs’ in the 2022 tournament, leading to Russo’s iconic backheel goal against Sweden and Toone’s historic final goal against Germany. And she’s done the same again this tournament with the belief she’s placed in Michelle Agyemang – a 19-year-old with just over 500 minutes of game time in the last WSL season. Many managers would have been too afraid to take a chance on such a young and inexperienced player, but Wiegman identified something special – and it’s given Agyemang the opportunity to show what she’s made of.

When asked for her secret after the team’s close win against Italy in this year’s semi-finals, Wiegman described herself as “the lucky one”. But time and time again, she’s shown there’s no luck in what she’s doing – it’s talent, leadership and determination.

Yesterday (22nd September), Wiegman was named best women’s coach in the world at the prestigious Ballon d’Or. Find me someone who can argue that she doesn’t deserve it. I’ll be here a while. 

Images: Getty