Pia Sundhage hints retirement as women's soccer in Europe faces coaching shake-up
In Sweden last week, the women's national team coach, Pia Sundhage, made a pretty bold declaration.
"If the Swedish Football Association asked me today if I wanted to renew my contract, I would say no. But so far I think it is rather uninteresting to talk about, because they haven't asked me yet," she said.
And now this: One of Germany's most prominent coaches, Silvia Neid, has also given confirmation that she will retire after next year. Neid, 50, who was retained as the German women's national soccer team coach despite a devastating loss in the 2011 World Cup on home ground, will make way for former German international star Steffi Jones.
Does anyone know how to spell "News Alert?"
When it comes to people who think intrigue and plot-lines about big-time sports coaches are better stories than anything usually written about NBA stars, NFL teams, Major League Baseball players or major college basketball programs, count me in.
Zen Master Phil Jackson was always as better a story than Michael Jackson or Kobe Bryant when Jackson coached the Bulls and Lakers.
"Big Tuna" Bill Parcells was always more interesting a story than Phil Simms or Vinny Testaverde when Parcells was the field general with the New York Giants or Jets.
Base-throwing manager Lou Piniella was always better copy than Ken Griffey Jr. in Seattle or Alfonso Soriano in Chicago.
Tara Vanderveer at Stanford and Pat Summitt at Tennessee have always been the most interesting stories in women's college basketball.
It is in this vein that Sundhage's decision to let it slip right now, less than 70 days before the start of the 2015 Women's World Cup, that she would be more than willing to walk away from her current post, this is headline news.
The same can be said for the German federation's confirmation about Neid's imminent departure.
If there was ever a better battle cry for a national team side of players to rally, it sure seems as if the Swedes and Germany -- in addition to No. 1 and No. 4 rankings, respectively -- are now armed with even more ammunition to stake their claims for the 2015 World Cup title.
In Sweden, Sundhage is not just a soccer coach. Nor is the 55-year-old merely a women's sports star in her homeland. Her stature and management style have made her a national hero and based not on sentimentality but on widespread respect and admiration.
In 2013, not long after she returned to coach the Swedish women's national team after leading the U.S. women's national team to Olympic gold (2012) and World Cup silver (2011) Sundhage was named by a prominent Swedish leadership guru as the best candidate to take over the flailing Swedish men's national soccer team.
"Whatever the challenge, the Swedish men's national team has a better chance of success if they get the country's top football manager. That leader is Pia Sundhage, current coach of the Swedish women's national football team," wrote Tor Krussel in Dagens Nyheter.
"Pia has a unique experience. She has nearly 150 caps as a player for the Swedish women's team, has been a professional abroad, and after her playing career she worked as a trainer for both club and national teams. It's just as important for a football coach as it is for a CEO of a construction company or a newspaper to have done the job they ask others to do. It is not essential, but it is no doubt an advantage. It provides a deeper respect for the challenge," Krussel opined.
The people of Sweden agree. Last year, in a poll taken by a Swedish media outlet, Sundhage was voted the best boss in all of Sweden.
So, you get the idea now about just how big a development it would be for Sundhage to say she would quit the Swedish women's national team?
In Portugal last month, Sundhage was equal parts upbeat about the prospects of the Swedish women in the upcoming World Cup. Sweden plays in the same group as the United States, the team she left to return back home in 2013. Group D is called the Group of Death in large part because it pits the No. 2-ranked U.S. against the No. 4-ranked Swedes in the second game of the group play.
The match on June 12 in Winnipeg between the U.S. and Sweden will be one of the main attractions of the group round, and perhaps in all of the tournament if Sundhage's side can deliver a win. We'll discuss later how Sundhage is planning on accomplishing that.
For now, though, the idea that Sundhage will not continue coaching long-term with the Swedish women's national team is definitely a big development.
"I want to lead an active life in the wider society, for example working with 16 to 18-year-olds who have perhaps lost their interest in football or their motivation or what not, to see if my leadership style would work for them and if I could inspire," Sundhage told The Local last week in Sweden.
Likewise for the Germans, who are also facing a new era as aging stars like Nadine Angerer, Celia Sasic and Anja Mittag are being bolstered by youngsters like Tabea Kemme and Sara Dabritz, Neid's announcement is big news.
The face of women's soccer at the international level has always been the players in the pitches. From Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach to Marta of Brazil to Camille Abily and Eugenie Le Sommer of France or Caroline Seger of Sweden or Homare Sawa of Japan.
But when it comes to the people who make sure these stars can shine, it's best to look at the sidelines. The idea that Sundhage or Neid will not be around after the 2015 World Cup is something to get used to.
