Lady Boss

Men, beware! Women are entering our territory. They rule little by little. The football world which has been monopolized by men all the entire human history, will be penetrated by women. And those women don't just join for the sake of slotting in, they want to take control.

In France, a little known Portuguese woman named Helena Costa made history by becoming the first ever female manager to manage a professional football club in the top two divisions of major European leagues. Helena was appointed as the manager of Clermont Foot 63 in May 2014. In the women's football scene, Helena was a no stranger. She has an impressive record in football management. People even nicknamed her as 'Mourinho in the petticoat'.

However Helena only lasts for 49 days at the helm before she decided to walk away from the post amidst speculations that she was not allowed to make big decisions within the football club. Helena didn't manage to get a single game for the club before she resigned. If the readers think that Helena's appointment was such a big surprise, just wait a second. The bigger surprise came from the fact that Clermont Foot 63 then decided to replace Helena with another female manager! Corinne Diacre, a french former footballer, was appointed to be the new manager of Clermont Foot 63 later in June 2014. Most of football experts thought that this move by Clermont Foot 63 is just a gimmick to attract cheap publicity. Whatever it is, if Corinne manages to be a success at the club later this season, more clubs will start to take notice of the suitability of a female manager to manage their clubs. Helena and Corinne could be a revolution in football history. 

The presence of women in men's football is not new. Several seasons ago, a small population of female professionals have began their career adventure in this men dominated sport. Most football followers will be familiar with the sight of a female physiotherapist at Chelsea named Eva Carneiro and a female assistant referee in English football name Sian Massey. Both of them showed that they can also do the men's job.

The Writer thinks that this wave of women's influx into football is a positive note that will only bring a healthier competition. However, The Writer has a little doubt on the suitability of female managers to be a success in men's football management. Great football managers have a special characteristic and aura that enable them to gain control of the dressing room. These kind of managers get the players play in the way that they want them to play. And it is rather painful to say that female manager will have a very very difficult task to gain control of a dressing room containing stubborn and egoistic male football players. There is no way that those male will feel that their supposed female manager to have a better decision making than themselves. They are all too big for that...