After a rollercoaster tournament, England manager Sarina Wiegmanwill be going all out for glory on Sunday, hoping for yet another stellar achievement in the sport that she’s dedicated her life to.
Should Wiegman, 55, lead England to victory at St Jakob-Park in Basel, Switzerland, she will become the first manager of the national team to win two major honours.
Watching in the stands will be her husband Marten Glotzbach, who now manages the Dutch women’s team where 55-year-old Wiegman first learned the coaching ropes, and her two daughters, one of whom has recently called time on the beautiful game.
The England boss’s youngest daughter, Lauren, 21, had followed her parents onto the pitch and pursued a career in football.
At 19, Lauren signed a contract for ADO Den Haag, the Dutch club based in The Hague, which once called Sarina gaffer and where her coach father Marten now plies his trade.
However, after her two-year contract ended in May, the 21-year-old has now stepped away from the sport that has made her mother a household name in Europe thanks to Euros victories with both the Dutch and English teams.
While younger daughter Lauren has had a public persona thanks to her short career in professional football, the couple’s eldest daughter Sacha has maintained a more private persona.
Both though will be on the touchline for Wiegman’s fifth consecutive international tournament final in a row on Sunday.
Team Sabrina: The England manager pictured with her two daughters, Lauren, far left, and Sacha, far right, and husband MartenGlotzbach in 2022 following the Lionesses’ Euros win
Sarina’s youngest daughter, Lauren Glotzbach of ADO Den Haag Women, had looked to follow her parents into football, but announced her retirement from the game in May
The Dutch-born manager, 55, is currently one of the most respected coaches in both the men’s and the women’s games and has soared to huge heights since her own playing career saw her win104 caps for her country.
Wiegman and her family are said to have fully embraced English life, despite half of the family working until recently in The Hague for the same football club.
The family uprooted from their home in The Netherlands several years ago, although it’s thought Marten divides his time between England and their former home, where Ado Den Haag is based.
The England coach has enjoyed unwavering support from her family fan club since taking on the England job in 2021, with Martin, Sacha and Lauren pictured by her side for the national squad’s biggest games.
During the last Euros, Wiegman revealed she’d been eating fish and chips and having milk in her tea in a bid to adapt an English lifestyle – but she has always retained her ‘straight-talking’ style on the pitch.
The manager, who was born in The Hague in 1969,was first spotted playing football on the streets near her home alongside her twin brother as a child.
She circumvented a ban on girls playing for boys’ teams by cutting her hair so short she could play with her brother’s team unnoticed when she was just six-years-old.
The 21-year-old now looks set to pursue a career away from the pitch; Lauren pictured on her TikTok account
Close: Sarina’s daughters and husband will be atBasel’s St Jakob-Park when England go for their secondconsecutive Euros title on Sunday (Pictured: Sarina Wiegman on holiday with her daughters and husband MartenGlotzbach)
Sarina pictured playing for The Netherlands; she was the first woman to earn 100 caps for her country. Right:After a successful playing career, which she had to combine with a job as a PE teacher, Sarina went on to work as an assistant trainer for Holland (pictured here during the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015)
Sarina Wiegman’s side have all the resources in their favour as they go for glory in Basel
Wiegman was just 16-years-old when she was called up by the Netherlands in 1986, going on to become the first woman to rack up 100 caps for her country.
The England manager then moved to the States to play for the University of North Carolina while studying.
She has described the experience as being ‘completely out of her comfort zone’, and the mother-of-two followed her US stint with a tenure at Dutch club Ter Leede, during which time the team won two league titles and a Dutch Cup.
The women’s game at the time was not a professional sport in The Netherlands, and England’s future manager had to combine playing with working as a PE teacher.
She retired from playing football in 2003, aged 33, when she became pregnant with Sacha.
The future England manager then returned to Ter Leede as a coach, continuing to juggle her football and PE teaching careers.
Sarina Wiegman is in line to receive an honorary damehood if England retain the women’s European Championship
The Lionesses advanced to the final after a nail-biting semi-final win over Italy in Geneva
It was in 2014 that Sarina starting working for the national team’s coaching staff, first becoming, Netherlands Women assistant coach, before becoming head coach in 2017, leading Holland to glory in a home Euros in that year, before reaching the World Cup final two years later.
Success has seen her scoop some prestigious prizes, including Best FIFA Women’s Coach. She has also been made a Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau in her native Netherlands.
The 54-year-old is said to be in line to receive an honorary damehood if England retain the women’s European Championship, according to a report.
The Dutch manager, who led the Lionesses’ to their third successive major tournament final on Tuesday night, could reportedly nab the honour even if England fall at the last hurdle.
She was reported to be set for an honorary damehood two years ago before the Lionesses’ suffered an agonising defeat in the World Cup final to Spain.
Millie Bright, Mary Earps and Lauren Hemp all received honours in recognition of the team becoming the first senior England side to reach the final since 1996.
According to The Telegraph, failure to reward Wiegman this time around – even if England are defeated in Sunday’s showpiece – risks sparking a sexism row, given that Gareth Southgate received a knighthood even after losing the Euro 2024 final with the men’s squad.
The former England boss was rewarded for services to football in the New Year’s Honours list, having stepped down as Three Lions’ boss following defeat to Spain.
