Chelsea Women have announced the appointment of former Lyon coach Sonia Bompastor as the successor to Emma Hayes. Hayes left the club after a lengthy and trophy-laden stint in charge to take over the US Women’s National Team.
Sonia Bompastor Announced as New Chelsea Women Manager
Who is This New Coach?
Bompastor played as a midfielder for thirteen years. She spent the majority of this time competing in the Division 1 Femenine, having two seperate stints with Lyon as well as a run with Washington Freedom and Paris Saint-Germain. She was an eight-time league champion and two-time Women’s Champions League winner and was capped 156 times by France.
Read More: ‘Concrete Possibility’ Chelsea Enter Talks With League Winning Manager
After retiring in 2013 she became an academy coach and spent eight years at the helm of Lyon’s academy. She then took over the first team role in 2021. As the manager, she has won three league titles and became the first woman to win the Champions League as both a player and coach after defeating Barcelona to claim Europe’s greatest prize in 2022.
In 118 matches in charge, she boasts a win rate of 84.75%, with a goal difference of +370 in that time. With this appointment, the Blues have clearly got an elite winner to replace a Chelsea icon.
Can Anyone Really Replace Hayes?
Despite her accolades, the 43-year-old will have a tough task at her new team. She is replacing a manager who just won a ridiculous fifth WSL trophy in a row, a seventh in the past 10 seasons. That’s not to mention 5 FA Cup wins and two League Cup victories.
Read More:
Chelsea Women are one of Europe’s best teams, consistently winning trophies and making deep runs in the Champions League. Bompastor has the pedigree to succeed, but this is a fanbase used to competing on all fronts and they won’t have much patience if she doesn’t hit the ground running.
What the new manager does have over her predecessor, however, is European success, the Champions League was the one trophy to evade Hayes during her stint with the English side. With a new manager who knows what it takes to win the trophy, European success could finally be in reach for the Blues.
