After three trophy-laden years with Lyon, which included a Champions League title, the former France international has big boots to fill in London
As Emma Hayes prepares to take charge of her first game as the new head coach of the United States women’s national team this week, her successor at Chelsea has finally been announced, with Sonia Bompastor to take the reins after bidding farewell to Lyon with defeat in the Women’s Champions League final at the weekend, that her second appearance in the occasion as a coach in just three seasons.
The arrival of the former France international has been expected for some time, as Bompastor impressed the Blues’ hierarchy with the work she has done at OL since assuming the role of head coach in 2021. In the three years since, the 43-year-old has won a trio of league titles, overseen two triumphs in the Trophee des Championnes, lifted the Coupe de France and reached two Champions League finals, winning one.
Bompastor, the only woman to win the Champions League as both a player and a coach, has quite the CV – but what makes her a good fit for Chelsea as they move into this new era? GOAL picks out six reasons why the Frenchwoman can be a successful replacement for Hayes…