When Emma Hayes left Chelsea to join the USWNT in the summer of 2024, her departure threatened to rock the WSL’s dominant club.
But the Blues managed to replace their greatest manager to date with one of the top rated coaches in the women’s game – Sonia Bompastor.
The 44-year-old former France international has made a flying start to life in west London with the team starting the 2024-25 season firing on all cylinders. But who is Bompastor and why did the Blues choose her to replace Hayes?
Sonia Bompastor’s journey to Chelsea
Before becoming one of the best young managers in Europe, Bompastor was a world class player in her own right.
A midfielder who was equally comfortable in defence, she remains one of the best women’s players in French history.
Winning 156 caps for her national side over a 13-year spell, Bompastor had spells at La Roche-sur-Yon, Montpellier, Washington Freedom and Paris St-Germain.
But it was Lyon where she really left her mark, in two separate spells Bompastor won a remarkable 11 major trophies – including back-to-back Champions League titles in 2011 and 2012.
When she called time on playing in 2013, Bompastor initially stayed at the French champions as director of the women’s academy, a role she held for eight years.
In 2021, Lyon appointed her first team manager with her stock rising dramatically. In her first year in the job, the team produced an invincible season to win the league whilst also beating Barcelona 3-1 in the Champions League final to claim a record eighth European Cup.
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Bompastor delivered two further French titles and a domestic cup over the next two seasons before deciding it was time for a new challenge.
Her final game in charge before making the move to Chelsea had the potential to deliver a fairytale outcome - the 2024 Champions League final in Bilbao. Sadly for the French coach, it wasn’t to be, her side losing 2-0 to the great Barcelona.
By that time a move to Stamford Bridge was all but confirmed. Bompastor’s task of matching , or even surpassing the achievements of, Emma Hayes may appear daunting
But the French coach has the experience, tactical shrewdness and player-management skills to keep the WSL title with Chelsea this season and go one step further?
