Sonia Bompastor on pressure, squad depth and succeeding Emma Hayes

This new era at Chelsea is brimming with expectation as Sonia Bompastor prepares for her first WSL fixture in charge of the club.

The reigning champions face Aston Villa at Kingsmeadow on Friday evening in the first test of their title defence. However, this season carries an air of uncertainty, with a new manager in the dugout for the first time in over a decade.

Former manager Emma Hayes delivered a fifth consecutive WSL trophy before her departure this summer, leaving behind a legacy where winning is the norm. Bompastor, her successor, is no stranger to the demands of top-tier football, having guided Lyon to three league titles and a Champions League crown during her time in charge.

“The ambitions are the same,” the 44-year-old said at the Barclays WSL’s 2024/25 season launch media day. “I don’t like to compare, but Chelsea is one of the most famous clubs in Europe, as Lyon was, so for me, coming to Chelsea is a big move and a big challenge.

“There is a responsibility and pressure on the result, as it was in my last experience. Maybe the big difference is my job with the media. Even if I was one of the leaders in Lyon, maybe the media was not that much.”

On the pitch, Bompastor is looking for evolution rather than revolution. Her style blends possession-based football with fast transitions and a desire to win the ball back quickly when it’s lost.

“I told the players [before the Feyenoord friendly] something really important: we want to be a dominant team,” she explained. “We have a lot of ambition, and when we don’t have the ball, I want all the players to make sure we recover it as fast as we can.

“When we have the ball, we like to have possession to control the game. I like when my players are able to scan and see when there is space or not. I think in the last game, the fans really enjoyed it, and the players did as well. Especially because we were able to score many goals from different players.

“We just want to enjoy and be efficient, so when the space is not there, we need to make sure we are patient and create the space.”

There have been significant changes to the playing squad over the summer as Bompastor stamps her authority on the team. Experienced figures such as Jess Carter, Fran Kirby, Melanie Leupolz, and Maren Mjelde were among those to depart, while Lucy Bronze, Sandy Baltimore, Oriane Jean-Francois, and Julia Bartel were just some of the new arrivals. Additionally, 19-year-old prospect Wieke Kaptein returned from her loan spell to further boost the squad.

Squad depth has been synonymous with Chelsea in recent years, allowing them to compete on multiple fronts year after year. Things will be no different under Bompastor, who recognises the physical toll on players in the modern game.

“You know now that the players are playing so many games for club and country, they travel a lot,” she added. “We need to have a big squad with a lot of quality because we need everyone.

“If I look at the Feyenoord game, the players who started did really well, and the finishers did the job when they came on – they scored five goals in the second half, so it kept the tempo in the game. This is what I expect from my players: to keep the quality, whoever is on the field. Because we have a big squad with a lot of quality.”

Aside from Bronze, all of Chelsea’s recruits this summer are under the age of 25. Last summer followed a similar pattern, with nine of the club’s 11 signings aged 25 or younger, with only Nicky Evrard and Nathalie Björn falling outside that range.

Chelsea’s focus on youth has been clear in recent years as they aim to build a squad capable of competing in the present while securing some of the world’s brightest young talents. Before taking charge of Lyon’s first team, Bompastor worked with the club’s academy, and her experience in nurturing young players will be crucial to managing Chelsea’s current squad.

“I am really happy with this recruitment,” the manager emphasised. “I was head of the academy at Lyon for eight years, and I loved working with young players.

“The club at the moment is maybe one of the best in the world at trying to find and recruit young talents and bring them to Chelsea. I bring a staff that is able to support them and make them improve.

“My vision is really clear: I think Chelsea is the best club in the world at recruiting young talent, and it’s really helpful for the next seasons. I would say it’s always good for the young players to get someone [specialised].

“Working with experienced players and young players are different jobs. You don’t deliver the same messages. Having the experience and being really interested in working with these areas is something really important for the club and for them.”

One key question Bompastor has faced this summer is how she will build on Hayes’ legacy. Replacing a figure of such high calibre is no easy task, but the French manager is focused solely on what lies ahead.

“I don’t really think about it [replacing Hayes],” Bompastor concluded. “She’s been supportive of me, and I know she will stay a Chelsea fan forever.

“But it’s now my time, and I am just thinking about the present and future, not about the past.”

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