It’s no secret that Sonia Bompastor has some incredibly big shoes to fill as she takes over from Emma Hayes as Chelsea’s new manager.
During his 12 years in charge, Hayes won 14 major trophies with the Blues, including five consecutive WSL titles as of 2020.
She has been instrumental in accelerating the growth of women’s soccer around the world championing women’s health, pushing research into menstrual patterns and promoting research studies on the relationship between female soccer players and ACL injuries.
The 47-year-old is likely to do much more in his new role as head coach of the US Women’s National Team, perhaps the only job he can take on bigger than Chelsea.
Although there were tears in the eyes of Chelsea fans on the last day of the season when they said goodbye to their trusted leader, it is important to emphasize that not all change is bad, and it can also bring new opportunities. For example, Hayes was tired and completely ready to go on his own.
Bompastor brings new energy and a different kind of experience, bringing to the role a variety of qualities that could drive Chelsea forward, with Hayes’ legacy as a starting point.
Despite a cupboard full of domestic silverware and Hayes’ best efforts over the past few years, Chelsea are still European champions.
At Lyon, Bompastor became the first person in the history of the Women’s Champions League to win it as a player (2010/11, 2011/12) and manager (2021/22). He led Lyon to their eighth title in his first season as head coach in 2022, proving his ability to achieve success quickly.
Lyon then returned to the final in 2024, only to lose to Barcelona in Bilbao.
Either way, it’s clear that Bompastor has the potential to fill a gap in the pages of Chelsea’s history book that Hayes couldn’t and for that reason, there’s a lot to be excited about.
Hayes was praised during his time at Chelsea for his ability to give young players a chance on the big stage. Notably, he helped Erin Cuthbert, Niamh Charles and Aggie-Beever Jones to success in the professional game during their early careers, and played a key role in helping the Blues build a talented squad.
Bompastor is also known to see the same talent in young players. In 2013, she became director of the Lyon Women’s Academy, before ending up in charge of the first team.
During that time, he included new talents like Selma Bacha in the main group. This same dedication to spotting talent will be needed as he moves to west London and begins to develop other young, recent Chelsea signings, including 18-year-old Lexi Potter.
No one has had to endure being in the hot seat more than Hayes over the years. The closing stages of the latest WSL season were some of the most nail-biting we’ve seen, as Chelsea’s title chances once again hung in the balance.
However, Bompastor has also found himself in many situations, both as a player and manager where he needs to keep a cool head to succeed.
When Chelsea announced Bompastor as Hayes’ successor, Blues general manager Paul Green described him as “world class with a proven track record of success at the big stages who will immediately command respect from the dressing room”.
Bompastor took an already impressive Lyon side, identified their weaknesses and used replacements to take their success to the next level.
It used to be a 4-3-3 before he came up, but every time at the club he changed things to 4-3-2-1, 4-3-1-2, or 4-4-2. By doing so, he managed to surprise his opponents and ensured that no opponent could fully predict their game plan.
Now, with versatile players all over the world at his disposal, there is no doubt that Bompastor will be delighted when it comes to deciding his preferred formation for Chelsea.
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