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| Hired by Clermont Foot, Helena Costa Sets Major Soccer Milestone | Hired by Clermont Foot, Helena Costa Sets Major Soccer Milestone |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Helena Costa, whose father did not like soccer and who often had to go to neighbors’ homes to watch games, will become the first woman to coach a men’s professional soccer team in France. | Helena Costa, whose father did not like soccer and who often had to go to neighbors’ homes to watch games, will become the first woman to coach a men’s professional soccer team in France. |
| Clermont Foot 63, a second-division club in Clermont-Ferrand, announced on Wednesday that Costa will take over as manager at the end of the season, which comes later this month. | Clermont Foot 63, a second-division club in Clermont-Ferrand, announced on Wednesday that Costa will take over as manager at the end of the season, which comes later this month. |
| “It’s a historical day,” Costa said in a telephone interview from 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 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 leading 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 leading 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 in terms of competition and visibility. She will be the first female manager in one of the top two divisions in Europe’s five major professional leagues (England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain). Even in the United States, where women’s soccer is firmly established, no woman has been head coach of a top-tier men’s professional soccer team. | But her new appointment is a major step in terms of competition and visibility. She will be the first female manager in one of the top two divisions in Europe’s five major professional leagues (England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain). Even in the United States, where women’s soccer is firmly established, no woman has been head coach of a top-tier men’s professional soccer team. |
| Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, the French minister of women’s rights and of youth and sport, said on Twitter, “Bravo to Clermont Foot for understanding that giving women their place is the future of professional football.” | |
| FIFA’s president, Sepp Blatter, wrote “Great news for women in football today” on his Twitter account. | FIFA’s president, Sepp Blatter, wrote “Great news for women in football today” on his Twitter account. |
| 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, said in a telephone interview that he was surprised by the degree of interest in Costa’s hiring. | Claude Michy, the president of Clermont Foot, said in a telephone interview that he was surprised by the degree of interest in 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 number one 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 number one 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.” |
| Although Regis Brouard, the current coach, will finish the season, Costa’s hiring came as a surprise bordering on shock to Clermont Foot’s players, including Emmanuel Imorou. | Although Regis Brouard, the current coach, will finish the season, Costa’s hiring came as a surprise bordering on shock to Clermont Foot’s players, including Emmanuel Imorou. |
| “Obviously, we all had incredible expressions,” Imorou told the French newspaper L’Equipe. “Afterward we discussed it among ourselves. Some laughed; others a bit less.” | “Obviously, we all had incredible expressions,” Imorou told the French newspaper L’Equipe. “Afterward we discussed it among ourselves. Some laughed; others a bit less.” |
| He added: “Honestly, it was cool. There was no big skepticism. We made some jokes. We wondered how she was going to handle a group of men, if she was going to be able to impose her authority.” | He added: “Honestly, it was cool. There was no big skepticism. We made some jokes. We wondered how she was going to handle a group of men, if she was going to be able to impose her authority.” |
| Fabien Farnolle, a goalkeeper who is leaving the team after the season, told L’Equipe: “She’ll have lots of pressure on her shoulders because she will be closely watched by the world. On a personal note, I feel everything that goes in the direction of progress — away from discrimination against race, gender or religion — is positive. For the club, it’s also good publicity. They’ll be talking a lot about Clermont. The president is clever.” | Fabien Farnolle, a goalkeeper who is leaving the team after the season, told L’Equipe: “She’ll have lots of pressure on her shoulders because she will be closely watched by the world. On a personal note, I feel everything that goes in the direction of progress — away from discrimination against race, gender or religion — is positive. For the club, it’s also good publicity. They’ll be talking a lot about Clermont. The president is clever.” |
| Costa called Michy “a visionary but also a brave man” and said she was accustomed to having to prove herself, beginning with Benfica, where she spent 13 seasons coaching youth teams. | Costa called Michy “a visionary but also a brave man” and said she was accustomed to having to prove herself, beginning with Benfica, where she spent 13 seasons coaching youth teams. |
| “It was hard; of course I cannot say it wasn’t,” she said, adding later: “They were the first ones in Portugal so I cannot criticize, but yes, all the parents, even in the under-17s, they just started to be like: ‘Whoa, what is this? You have a women’s coach?’ It was difficult, but after one or two training sessions, it was normal, a normal team.” | “It was hard; of course I cannot say it wasn’t,” she said, adding later: “They were the first ones in Portugal so I cannot criticize, but yes, all the parents, even in the under-17s, they just started to be like: ‘Whoa, what is this? You have a women’s coach?’ It was difficult, but after one or two training sessions, it was normal, a normal team.” |
| That is also what she expects with Clermont Foot. | That is also what she expects with Clermont Foot. |
| “Completely,” she said. “I think it will be the same, but of course professional football can have a lot of interferences, so it can be different because of that or more pressure because of that. But I’m ready. I sleep well with the pressure.” | “Completely,” she said. “I think it will be the same, but of course professional football can have a lot of interferences, so it can be different because of that or more pressure because of that. But I’m ready. I sleep well with the pressure.” |
| Costa said she did not consider herself a feminist. “Not at all, but really it becomes very hard when you try something and you work so much, and you can’t reach the objective just because you’re a woman,” she said. “That drives me a bit crazy.” | Costa said she did not consider herself a feminist. “Not at all, but really it becomes very hard when you try something and you work so much, and you can’t reach the objective just because you’re a woman,” she said. “That drives me a bit crazy.” |
| Sonia Souid, a native of Clermont-Ferrand and one of the rare women to work as an agent in French soccer, was the key to the connection with the club. She and her colleague Patrick Esteves identified Costa as potential candidate, contacted her and arranged her meeting with Michy. | Sonia Souid, a native of Clermont-Ferrand and one of the rare women to work as an agent in French soccer, was the key to the connection with the club. She and her colleague Patrick Esteves identified Costa as potential candidate, contacted her and arranged her meeting with Michy. |
| “I was very upset all the time because there are few women agents, no women club presidents at all in France, no head coach in men’s football,” Souid said. “And I thought it was not fair, because there are a lot of competent women, so I tried to make it happen. And I think it’s a great day for all women in sports.” | “I was very upset all the time because there are few women agents, no women club presidents at all in France, no head coach in men’s football,” Souid said. “And I thought it was not fair, because there are a lot of competent women, so I tried to make it happen. And I think it’s a great day for all women in sports.” |
| Souid said it took time to find a candidate with as solid a résumé as Costa, who holds a UEFA Pro License, the highest level available to European soccer coaches. | Souid said it took time to find a candidate with as solid a résumé as Costa, who holds a UEFA Pro License, the highest level available to European soccer coaches. |
| Costa, who grew up in Alhandra, does not come from a soccer-playing or even soccer-loving family. “It something that’s born with me; I have no reason or explanation for it,” she said. “There it was since I was young. Even with the dolls, I’d just break their heads off and make them into balls.” | Costa, who grew up in Alhandra, does not come from a soccer-playing or even soccer-loving family. “It something that’s born with me; I have no reason or explanation for it,” she said. “There it was since I was young. Even with the dolls, I’d just break their heads off and make them into balls.” |
| An unaccomplished player, Costa said she gravitated early to coaching and that her coaching role models have not been women but men like Josep Guardiola and her fellow Portuguese José Mourinho. She said her recent experiences in Qatar, where she helped build the women’s national team from scratch from 2010 and 2012, and then in Iran were rich if deeply challenging. | An unaccomplished player, Costa said she gravitated early to coaching and that her coaching role models have not been women but men like Josep Guardiola and her fellow Portuguese José Mourinho. She said her recent experiences in Qatar, where she helped build the women’s national team from scratch from 2010 and 2012, and then in Iran were rich if deeply challenging. |
| “In Qatar, it was very hard because it was at the beginning and the culture was very difficult as well to develop,” she said. “It was easier in Iran, but the personal part was difficult because I had to be covered, all my hair and my arms, and for me it was a new thing. But after a few weeks you can’t remember you have a scarf over your hair or something like that. You just forget.” | “In Qatar, it was very hard because it was at the beginning and the culture was very difficult as well to develop,” she said. “It was easier in Iran, but the personal part was difficult because I had to be covered, all my hair and my arms, and for me it was a new thing. But after a few weeks you can’t remember you have a scarf over your hair or something like that. You just forget.” |
| She said she returned to Portugal in 2013 to help her ailing mother instead of renewing her contract. But her seemingly unattainable goal remained and now, after whirlwind negotiations with Michy, the French soccer establishment will have to adjust to her arrival. | She said she returned to Portugal in 2013 to help her ailing mother instead of renewing her contract. But her seemingly unattainable goal remained and now, after whirlwind negotiations with Michy, the French soccer establishment will have to adjust to her arrival. |
| “I think two things could happen,” Michy said. “One, the involvement of our players could grow because they’ll be drawn in by the challenge. Number two, the coaches on the opposing teams could be destabilized because the coaches will certainly not want that Clermont Foot wins matches when it is led by a woman. That means, in reality, the difficulty will be more for our opponents than for us.” | “I think two things could happen,” Michy said. “One, the involvement of our players could grow because they’ll be drawn in by the challenge. Number two, the coaches on the opposing teams could be destabilized because the coaches will certainly not want that Clermont Foot wins matches when it is led by a woman. That means, in reality, the difficulty will be more for our opponents than for us.” |