Manchester City has won the Women’s Super League (WSL) Championship, a feat that took a decade to build and is a testament to the power of constructing a winning culture over time. Man City defeated Chelsea, who won the previous six titles back-to-back.
Khadija “Bunny” Shaw, the team’s top scorer, told reporters after the game that it all came down to a shift in their mental state, and defender Kerstin Casparij said the fact that the team doesn’t play against European teams in the Champions League “definitely helped” them focus on the WSL.
Andrée Jeglertz, the team’s manager, told Sky News Thursday the win came down to what the team has built on their own. “First of all, there is a lot of great football players, amazing quality in the squad, but they also shown that they understand that that is not the individuals that is winning the title,” he explained.
“So what I think that we’ve built together is a group that the culture is the foundation, how we are doing in training sessions, how we are towards each other, how do we train, how do we play, it is about the culture,” Jeglertz continued. “If you get the culture right, you have possibilities to make results and I think you need to start there and that’s what this group has done.”
Winning is easier when a team wants to win together, he said. “No matter what, they have been together all the time and that culture is, they have created themselves.”
Man City always deserved the win
In a lot of ways, the championship has belonged to Man City from the start. The club has experienced enormous growth over the last 9 months after finishing in fourth place last year, and the decision to replace Gareth Taylor with Jeglertz was a key turning point that helped lead to this moment.
Many fans can recall the keen sense of disappointment they felt when Manchester City dropped out of the WSL race last year following a series of injuries and overall bad play. Taylor was given the boot, and Jeglertz came in to reshape and reform only five days before the team faced Chelsea in the final.
That loss, led by interim manager Nick Cushing, was a low moment. But it was also the point of origin for rebirth; the point in time this winning team can point to and say things began to change. Per reporting from ESPN, Therese Sjogran, the director of women’s football, spearheaded the search for the appropriate replacement.
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“I think he has the perfect strategy of play. It fits perfectly with City and the identity we have,” she said of Jeglertz at the time. “He’s a people’s person; he knows how to handle a very good squad because that’s what we’re going to have and you have to, as a manager, try to keep the players happy as long as possible. And with the team we’re going to have, that’s going to be a challenge. I think he’s [a] perfect [fit] and I really hope we can build something new and reach our goals as well.”
Part of Jeglertz’ approach includes allowing — even encouraging — players to make decisions for themselves in key moments, including in the middle of a game. That’s not something everyone is comfortable with, but when it works, it really works.
“If the players are very happy, I need to be balanced; if the players are very disappointed, I need to be balanced,” ESPN quoted him as saying recently. “That’s the coach’s job: finding the balance all the time.”
A win built match by match
One glance at this season’s WSL stats paint a picture that was inevitable. Man City finished the season leading in goals (58), expected goals (54.4), big chances created (97), touches in the opposition box (849), and accurate crosses per match (7.1).
While it’s easy to chalk the win up to the fact that the team didn’t have to spend the season traveling, that line of thinking sells the entire squad short and undermines what they’ve worked so hard to build. The first true sign Manchester City could contend came in April, when they knocked back Brighton 3-2, and then again during the team’s 1-0 victory over Liverpool.
From there, Man City simply barreled toward a win that they knew was theirs.
Shaw, Vivianne Miedema, and Kerolin have all been key players for the team this season. Shaw and Miedema are ranked first and third in expected goals. Miedema has been celebrated all season for her ability to see the pitch and create opportunities, and Shaw scored seven game winners for the team this season (and a total of 19 out of 21 attempts).
The team’s willingness to adapt this season also pushed them toward the win. “Everyone knows how we want to play football. We put players in positions where they can be at their best and maximise their performances,” Jeglertz told the BBC. “Kerolin and Aoba Fujino have pretty much the same role out wide, but they are totally different players. That is what makes us more unpredictable.”
A strong foundation for the future
This win isn’t expected to be the last for the team. Sjogran has been credited with a fierce and robust recruitment strategy that could keep Man City in the role of contenders for plenty of seasons to come, especially as the team has the youngest average age of any in the WSL.
In addition to Mary Fowler, who is back after tearing her ACL, newcomers Jade Rose and Iman Beney have put in promising performances this season. American Sam Coffey will play for the team in January, and the team has locked in Miedema and Yui Hasegawa.
There is one dark cloud looming: Man City will have to play next season without Shaw, who announced her decision to depart the team this morning. Repeating this year’s win without her will be an uphill battle, but there’s still plenty of talent on the team to work with.
But for now, one thing is clear: this is a moment to celebrate and focus on the present, and what will come next for Manchester City is certainly already on its way.
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