Since the 4th Nov 2023, it is a well documented fact that Emma Hayes has decided to call it on her time at Chelsea WFC. The legend has transformed the club into a winning machine, winning six league titles out of a possible nine and countless other trophies and accolades to go along with it. But the one trophy that has evaded Hayes at her time has been the UEFA Champions League, coming close to winning it 2021 when they lost out to Barcelona Femeni. So, could Sonia Bompastor finally take Chelsea to the dreamland?
Emma Hayes could still finish her story with Chelsea before bowing out as they are currently competing on all fronts. Still top of the league tied on points with Manchester City after their rare defeat on Kingsmeadow, a league cup semi finals, an FA Cup quarterfinals and a Champions League quarter finals against AFC Ajax on the 19th and 27th March to look forward to.
But having said that Todd Boehly and co. need to start working on a succession plan for Hayes. There is a natural preference when it comes to the appointment of female candidates for women’s teams but the issue arises as there are only a handful of top class female managers across Europe. One name that has been making the rounds is Lyon’s Sonia Bompastor. The French coach who is of Portuguese descent and speaks English, and her long-term assistant Camille Abily who is expected to accompany her on any potential move, are both under contract until 2025.
SONIA BOMPASTOR TIME AT LYON
Bompastor became Lyon’s women’s academy director after retiring in 2013—her penultimate game was in the Champions League final at Stamford Bridge. She established a reputation there for developing new talent, and after eight years, she took over as manager of Lyon’s first squad in April 2021, following the resignation of Jean-Luc Vasseur. Following her appointment, the club wanted to integrate Selma Bacha into the senior team, which had a star-studded group of internationals from France and elsewhere, including Renard, Hegerberg, Lucy Bronze, and Alex Greenwood. Bacha, 23, has spent her whole career with Lyon and has risen through the ranks. Similarly, Bompastor has played an important role in the growth of Alice Sombath, who is 20 years old.
WHAT COULD SHE BRING TO CHELSEA?
As a manager, Sonia is very strict and meticulous, as she reminisces her legendary playing career. Her experiences in big games and tournaments will be crucial if hypothetically she ends up joining the Blues. For all the credit Hayes has received during her time at Kingsmeadow, the coach has been accused of lacking big game-managing capabilities, especially on the European knockout stages.
But for all the experience she brings, there are still some questions about her abilities as a manager. Managing a star-studded team that ultimately picks itself on most occasions. Now this is not an ideal correlation but their previous coach Reynald Pedros’, who won two Champions League at the club did not manage to achieve the same levels of success at other clubs also a similar pattern follows for Vasseur who won the treble with Lyon in 2020 but was sacked by Everton after just 10 games in charge. The French media have not been the greatest admirers of her work at Lyon as over the years as was expected the gap between them and the other French sides had come down drastically with both the Paris clubs chasing them. Also, the media has pointed out that the manager has not been able to imprint her own identity on this Lyon side having now managed the club for more than 100 games.
So, Chelsea might manage to get a manager with winning credentials and the experience of managing big games but will that translate into her job at Chelsea remains to be the biggest question mark in this case.