Brazil picks Elias as women’s coach

RIO DE JANEIRO — Three-time Copa Libertadores-winning coach Arthur Elias was named the new boss of the Brazilian women’s national football team, after predecessor Pia Sundhage of Sweden stepped down following a disappointing showing at the World Cup.

Elias, 42, joins from Brazilian women’s club Corinthians.

“I’m sure we can change the reality of women’s football in Brazil in a short space of time,” Elias said in a statement.

“My mission is to bring results in the short term, at the (2024) Olympic Games. The Brazilian team needs to become world leaders again and that’s our goal,” he added according to Reuters.

“This is a dream come true,” Elias told a news conference at Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, where his appointment was announced.

“I’ve been coaching football for 20 years, 90 percent of it dedicated to women’s football in Brazil.”

Elias got the job over two women interviewed by CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues: Rosana Augusto, of Red Bull Bragantino, and Emily Lima, of the Peruvian women’s national team.

The South Americans suffered their earliest World Cup exit since 1995 in Australia and New Zealand, where they failed to get past the group stage.

He has won 14 titles in all with Corinthians, a job he started in 2016.

Sundhage, a two-time Olympic winning coach with the United States, stepped down last week after Brazil crashed out in the group stage of the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

The 63-year-old Swede Sundhage had one year left on her contract and was due to coach the team at the Paris Olympics.

Local media reported Elias will coach Brazil through the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2027 Women’s World Cup.

Elias will remain in charge of Corinthians for the remainder of the season. He arrived at the club in 2016 and has won 14 trophies, including national and international accolades.

The club is also eying their fourth straight Brazilian league title under Elias.

The US Women’s national team, meanwhile, will play Colombia in San Diego this fall in an international friendly on the heels of a historic 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

England’s women coach Sarina Wiegman won the 2023 UEFA Coach of the Year award, but chose to use the big stage to acknowledge a team that defeated her.

In a speech at a UEFA gala that doubled as both an awards ceremony and the Champions League draw, Wiegman dedicated her award to the players of Spain’s World Cup champions.

England fell 1-0 to Spain in the World Cup final, but for Wiegman, the broader issues that came immediately after that game were top of mind.

After thanking her coaching colleagues, players, and support staff with England, Wiegman turned the attention towards Spain’s players. The squad has been on strike since Spanish federation president Luis Rubiales, who among other things kissed attacker Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the World Cup’s medal ceremony, refused to step down. Hermoso has maintained that the kiss was not consensual.

“We all know the issues around the Spanish team, and it really hurts me as a coach as a mother of two daughters as a wife and as a human being,” said Wiegman at the event. “The game has grown so much, but there’s also still a long way to go [in] women’s football and in society.

“I would like to dedicate this award to the Spanish team, the team that played in the World Cup, such great football that everyone enjoyed. This team deserves to be celebrated, and deserves to be listened to,” added Wiegman before starting a round of applause.