To followers of women’s football in the US, they are the English coaching duo who have delivered unprecedented success to a previously trophyless club. To English football fans with particularly sharp memories, they are the former Middlesbrough and Derby youngsters who left to play in the MLS. To each other, Seb Hines and Giles Barnes are just old mates, stretching back to their days sharing a room on England youth international camps.
“It brings an unwavering trust. We can challenge each other and there’s no ill intent behind it,” is how Barnes sums up the benefits of a head coach and his assistant being longtime friends. Yet the unlikely chain of events that led to their reunion in Florida is almost as improbable as Orlando Pride leaping from 10th place to the title in two years.
