Detail-obsessed yet vulnerable — Bompastor’s recipe for success

Succeeding Emma Hayes was supposed to be difficult, yet under Sonia Bompastor Chelsea are flying.

When the Frenchwoman joined Chelsea from Lyon, she said she “hopes to live up to Emma’s legacy”. Eight months on and the 44-year-old has more than made the job her own.

Chelsea have enjoyed a near-perfect campaign under Bompastor so far, taking 16 wins and one draw from 17 games in all competitions.

With such an impressive unbeaten start, Bompastor could be forgiven for basking in the glory and taking plaudits, but she only ever praises the team., external

On the touchline she keeps her emotions in check. She is the epitome of cool, calm and collected.

And in her own words, she is at times “vulnerable”.

“If a manager steps into an interview saying, ‘I’m always 100% confident’ I won’t believe it because that’s not true,” she told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Women’s Football Weekly podcast.

“As a manager of course you are the leader, you have all the pressure on yourself and that’s fine. That is my fuel and my energy every day. Sometimes it is good to make people understand that I am also vulnerable.

“As part of a family, sometimes you need to set the standard, sometimes you need to drive the high expectations. Sometimes it’s also fine to say, ‘I need your support, I’m vulnerable, and it’s good to feel you are holding my back’.”

‘I don’t want my players to like me’

With the pressure to deliver instant success, some managers may feel that showing vulnerability makes critiquing their players that little bit harder, but that’s not the case for Bompastor.

She believes it is important to find the right balance between being “Sonia the coach” and “Sonia the person” for her players, and that it is a strength to let her players see that she too can have her guard down.

“When I’m the coach talking to the player I am direct,” she added. “I always find a way to give constructive feedback and I always tell the truth. This is who I am. I manage with my values and I think that is really important.

“On the pitch and outside the pitch you just need to make sure your players know how to deal with every situation. I don’t want my players to like me, to love me. This is not my goal. If I have respect from them, that’s enough for me.”