Lucy Bronze hailed England assistant manager Arjan Veurink as the Lionesses’ “unsung hero” after they retained their Arnold Clark Cup crown with a 6-1 win over Belgium in Bristol.
Sarina Wiegman’s side extended their unbeaten run to 29 matches as they thrashed their opponents at Ashton Gate on Wednesday, following earlier victories over South Korea and Italy.
England will hope it is not the last trophy they lift in 2023, with the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand to come in July and August.
Wiegman coached her native Netherlands to European Championship glory in 2017 and then won it again with England in 2022. Veurink, 36, was her assistant for both of those successes.
“Arjan is the unsung hero of the entire team — all the girls will tell you that,” Bronze said. “He can do everything, from coaching to managing. He even writes the software for the videos and clips we do, which is insane. He’s super intelligent.
“I think it’s obvious why Sarina brought him to the team with her. Everyone talks about Sarina and what she’s like, but Arjan is the man behind it all. They work really well together and he’s one of my favourite coaches I’ve ever worked with.”
Chloe Kelly scored twice against Belgium, picking up the tournament Golden Boot with three goals in total, while Chelsea’s Lauren James collected the award for best player.
Lauren Hemp and Beth Mead started out wide for England at the Euros, but Bronze is relishing the strength in depth on England’s flanks now.
She added: “Sarina has given opportunities to more players who are playing in form. LJ [James] has come in because before the Euros she was probably not doing as well as she is now.
“Chloe was out injured with her ACL. Chloe has been doing really well at [Manchester] City recently. I think she’s brought that form into the England shirt. We’re seeing the Chloe Kelly that I think we knew was always there.
“It was unfortunate that she was injured just before the Euros and didn’t get as many minutes. But her performance tonight was unbelievable. It’s a pleasure to play with people like Chloe and LJ. It makes my life a lot easier if they’re doing their job well. I don’t have to run as much.”
