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| Hired by Clermont Foot, Helena Costa Sets Major Soccer Milestone | Hired by Clermont Foot, Helena Costa Sets Major Soccer Milestone |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Helena Costa, whose father did not like soccer and who once had to go to neighbors’ homes in her Portuguese town to watch games, will become the first woman to coach a men’s professional team in France. | |
| Clermont Foot 63, a second-division club in Clermont-Ferrand, announced Wednesday that Costa would take over as its manager at the end of this season, later this month. | Clermont Foot 63, a second-division club in Clermont-Ferrand, announced Wednesday that Costa would take over as its manager at the end of this season, later this month. |
| “It’s a historical day,” Costa said in a telephone interview from her home in Portugal. “And I think this is about more than Helena Costa as a football coach. I think it’s very good for all the women in sports, especially in football, of course. It could have been someone else. And I hope this is only the first step. I opened a door today, and more women will walk through on my back. That’s what I hope.” | “It’s a historical day,” Costa said in a telephone interview from her home in Portugal. “And I think this is about more than Helena Costa as a football coach. I think it’s very good for all the women in sports, especially in football, of course. It could have been someone else. And I hope this is only the first step. I opened a door today, and more women will walk through on my back. That’s what I hope.” |
| Costa, 36, has been the manager of the women’s national teams of Qatar and Iran, but she has also been a Europe-based scout for the Scottish men’s club Celtic and a manager for boys’ teams at one of Portugal’s leading clubs, Benfica. She also coached a men’s team that competed at the regional level in Portugal. | Costa, 36, has been the manager of the women’s national teams of Qatar and Iran, but she has also been a Europe-based scout for the Scottish men’s club Celtic and a manager for boys’ teams at one of Portugal’s leading clubs, Benfica. She also coached a men’s team that competed at the regional level in Portugal. |
| But her new appointment is a major step up, in terms of competition and visibility. Costa will be the first woman to be a manager in one of the top two divisions of one of Europe’s five major professional leagues (England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain). | But her new appointment is a major step up, in terms of competition and visibility. Costa will be the first woman to be a manager in one of the top two divisions of one of Europe’s five major professional leagues (England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain). |
| The development hardly passed unnoticed. Among those sending congratulations to Costa was FIFA’s president, Sepp Blatter, who wrote on his Twitter account, “Great news for women in football today.” | The development hardly passed unnoticed. Among those sending congratulations to Costa was FIFA’s president, Sepp Blatter, who wrote on his Twitter account, “Great news for women in football today.” |
| Costa said, “I always dreamed of this. I coached boys and men for a long time in Portugal, and I have had this as my target and my objective. It was nothing new, but I knew it was almost impossible to get it and reach it. I know all the preconceptions and conceptions that all the countries in the world have.” | Costa said, “I always dreamed of this. I coached boys and men for a long time in Portugal, and I have had this as my target and my objective. It was nothing new, but I knew it was almost impossible to get it and reach it. I know all the preconceptions and conceptions that all the countries in the world have.” |
| Claude Michy, the president of Clermont Foot, which is 14th in a 20-team league, said he was surprised by the magnitude of response to Costa’s hiring. | Claude Michy, the president of Clermont Foot, which is 14th in a 20-team league, said he was surprised by the magnitude of response to Costa’s hiring. |
| “It’s surprising because in the world there are lots of women in important positions, heads of government or team managers in Formula One or chief surgeons,” he said. “But because it’s football — something global and still rather conservative — and a provincial French team hires a female coach, it creates a media earthquake.” | “It’s surprising because in the world there are lots of women in important positions, heads of government or team managers in Formula One or chief surgeons,” he said. “But because it’s football — something global and still rather conservative — and a provincial French team hires a female coach, it creates a media earthquake.” |
| Still, Michy made it clear that he was interested in generating buzz. | Still, Michy made it clear that he was interested in generating buzz. |
| “We are in a city where the No. 1 sport is rugby,” he said. “We certainly exist, but this will give us an opportunity to create a sporting challenge and to use something that hasn’t been done before to try to give a different image to our club. I get to choose the manager, and it’s a bit of luxury to be able to decide on my own. Nobody was really aware of my choice. I said, ‘We are going to do it like this,’ as I did with the other coaches I’ve chosen until now. | “We are in a city where the No. 1 sport is rugby,” he said. “We certainly exist, but this will give us an opportunity to create a sporting challenge and to use something that hasn’t been done before to try to give a different image to our club. I get to choose the manager, and it’s a bit of luxury to be able to decide on my own. Nobody was really aware of my choice. I said, ‘We are going to do it like this,’ as I did with the other coaches I’ve chosen until now. |
| “So from this moment forward, it’s a great challenge, and on top of that, I met a person who really wanted to try this experiment, someone with a real will and character and certainly lots of competence. Though I’m not the best person to judge the competence of a manager, I’m an instinctive rural person, and I chose with my instinct.” | “So from this moment forward, it’s a great challenge, and on top of that, I met a person who really wanted to try this experiment, someone with a real will and character and certainly lots of competence. Though I’m not the best person to judge the competence of a manager, I’m an instinctive rural person, and I chose with my instinct.” |