Sarina Wiegman, the 'finals lady' who cut her hair like a boy to play soccer.

Sarina Wiegman (The Hague, 55) is a coaching legend who has made major tournaments her kingdom. This time, another woman, Montse Tomé , has entered the fray, ready to add a blemish to the Dutch player's astonishing career. This afternoon's final in Basel will be her fifth consecutive final since 2017, making her an undisputed reference in coaching, both men's and women's. No one has achieved a similar feat in the modern era, although she has only won two titles.

Her meteoric career included men's teams like Sparta Rotterdam , where she served as an assistant coach to complete her coaching training and become the third woman in the Netherlands to do so. That experience, in media and competitiveness, was intended to lead her to women's football, a game that began to resemble the one she had experienced as a player in the United States . Sarina obtained her UEFA license just six months before her country's federation handed her control of the women's national team. The 2017 European Championship was half a year away, and Wiegman won it.

She then led the Netherlands to the 2019 World Cup final in France against Megan Rapinoe 's powerful United States. It was in 2020 when she decided to make the jump to England to take charge of the Lyon team and lead them to become Euro 2022 champions and then world runners-up in 2023. Now she faces the challenge of maintaining the European crown while, with 17 matches in European final tournaments, breaking the record of 15 shared by England's Hope Powell and Germany's Tina Theune .

Few changes, but significant

This time it wasn't exactly a walk in the park. Wiegman watched as England lost their opening match against France and struggled to overcome Sweden in the quarterfinals and Italy in the semifinals. "We nearly killed them twice in this tournament. We've definitely aged them," acknowledged Ella Toone . The survival of the British team lies in the competitive nature of the coach, who as a child decided to cut her hair like a boy's so she wouldn't be mistaken for her twin brother and could play football.

She was the first Dutch player, male or female, to reach 100 caps for the national team . Formed under the aura of Johan Cruyff , like her entire generation, she has drawn praise from colleagues such as Louis van Gaal . "I have a lot of respect for Sarina. For men, everything is a given. Hers is more difficult."

As a coach, she's in the midst of rejuvenating a group that's established at the top and, therefore, under extreme pressure. Retired goalkeeper Mary Earps and vice-captain Millie Bright were dropped from the squad in May. Now, the debate is being fueled by the strength of substitutes like Chloe Kelly and 19-year-old Michelle Agyemang , both decisive against Sweden and Italy but who Sarina won't start against Spain. "I have a plan," warns the coach, who moves the players with her passionate dialogue. "The pre-match talks motivate us," says Toone.

Her character, and her results, even propelled her into the FA's top contenders to replace Gareth Southgate at the helm of the Three Lions . It would have been another milestone in her career, but Thomas Tuchel was the final decision. In case anyone thought her time in England was over, FA CEO Mark Bullingham made it clear that they will not allow Sarina to move on, no matter what happens today. Either she or Montse Tomé will become the eighth woman in a European Championship-winning dugout. No man has managed a winning national team since 1997.