French second division club Clermont on Wednesday named Helena Costa as coach, making the Portuguese the highest-level woman in charge of a men’s team in the major European championships.
Costa, 36, has been the coach of the women’s national sides in Qatar and Iran.
She learned the managerial trade with Benfica in Portugal.
Costa has also worked as a scout for Scottish champions Celtic and top clubs in Spain and Portugal.
“This nomination will allow Clermont Foot 63 to enter a new era,” the club said in a statement announcing the appointment.
Clermont Foot are 14th in the French second division with two matches to play.
Current coach Regis Brouard will leave at the end of this season and Costa will take over straight after, Clermond said.
“It’s a historical day,” Costa told the New York Times in a telephone interview from her home in Portugal. “And I think this is about more than Helena Costa as a football coach. I think it’s very good for all the women in sports, especially in football, of course. It could have been someone else. And I hope this is only the first step. I opened a door today, and more women will walk through on my back. That’s what I hope.”
“I always dreamed of this. I coached boys and men for a long time in Portugal, and I have had this as my target and my objective. It was nothing new, but I knew it was almost impossible to get it and reach it. I know all the preconceptions and conceptions that all the countries in the world have,” she said.
Before Costa’s appointment, Carolina Morace was the most notable woman coach in the key European leagues. Morace was manager at Italian Serie C1 side Viterbese for just two matches in 1999, quitting because of the media pressure.
The historic move in naming a woman boss vaulted Clermont out of their relative obscurity.
“Bravo Clermont Foot for understanding that giving a place to women is the future of professional football,” French Women’s Rights Minister Najat Belkacem said on Twitter.
Additional reporting by NY Times News Service
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