5 ways Sonia Bompastor can take Chelsea to the next level

It's no secret that Sonia Bompastor has extraordinarily big shoes to fill as she takes over from Emma Hayes as Chelsea's new head coach. 

During her 12-year tenure, Hayes swept up 14 major trophies with the Blues, including five successive WSL titles since 2020. Her success however, is defined by more than just silverware. 

She has been instrumental in accelerating the growth of women's football the world over advocating for women's health, pushing for research into menstrual cycle patterns and encouraging research studies on the correlation between female footballers and ACL injuries. 

It's likely the 47-year-old will now do even more in her new role as head coach of the United States Women's National Team, perhaps the only job she could take that is bigger than Chelsea.

Despite tears in the eyes of Chelsea fans on the final day of the season as they bade farewell to their trusted leader, it's important to stress that not all change is bad, and can even present new opportunities. Hayes, for example, was exhausted and absolutely ready to go by her own admission.

With Bompastor comes fresh energy and a different kind of experience, bringing to the role various attributes that could potentially take Chelsea on even further, with Hayes' legacy as the springboard.

Champions League winner 

Despite a cupboard bursting with domestic silverware and Hayes' best efforts over several years, Chelsea are yet to be crowned champions of Europe.   

At Lyon, Bompastor became the first person in the history of the Women's Champions League to win it as both a player (2010/11, 2011/12) and a manager (2021/22). She led Lyon to their eighth title in her first season as head coach in 2022, proving her ability to generate success quickly.

Lyon then returned to the final in 2024, ultimately losing out to Barcelona in Bilbao.

Either way, it's clear that Bompastor has the potential to fill a gap in the pages of Chelsea's history book that Hayes couldn't and for that reason, there's a lot to be excited about. 

Young player integration

Hayes was commended during her time at Chelsea for her ability to give younger players a chance on the big stage. Notably, she helped Erin Cuthbert, Niamh Charles and Aggie-Beever Jones thrive in the professional game during the early stages of their careers, and played a pivotal role in helping the Blues mould a talented squad of players. 

Bompastor has also been known to see the same potential in younger players. In 2013, she became Lyon women's academy director, prior to eventually taking charge of the first-team.

During that time, she integrated new talents like as Selma Bacha into the senior team. This same dedication to spotting talent will be needed as she moves to west London and begins developing some of the younger, more recent signings at Chelsea, including 18-year-old Lexi Potter. 

Performing under pressure

No one has had to endure being in the hot seat more than Hayes over the years. The closing stages of the most recent WSL season were some of the most nailbiting we've seen, as Chelsea's chances of being crowned champions again hung in the balance. 

However, Bompastor has also found herself in a number of situations, both as a player and manager where she's needed to keep a cool head to achieve success. 

When Chelsea announced Bompastor as Hayes’ replacement, the Blues general manager Paul Green described her as "world-class with a proven track record of success on the biggest stages that will instantly command respect from the dressing room".

Tactical flexibility

Bompastor took an already impressive Lyon, identified their weaknesses and used a formation switch up to take their success to the next level. 

It tended to be 4-3-3 before she came along, but throughout her time at the club she changed things to 4-3-2-1, 4-3-1-2, or 4-4-2. In doing so, she was able to surprise her opponents and ensure that no rival could ever fully predict their gameplan. 

Now, with some of the most adaptable players in the world at her disposal, there's no doubt that Bompastor will have fun when it comes to determining her preferred formations for Chelsea. 

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