Casey Stoney: "There is no bigger club for Manchester United" | Soccer

"I think this club has the ability to change the face of women's football." It's a bold statement but, coming from someone with the player's career and the proponent's influence, this sounds very believable.

A year ago, English defender Casey Stoney shot a Liverpool jersey after joining the Arsenal club last December. Now she is sitting in the impressive Manchester United training ground in Carrington, who is preparing to lead their long-awaited women's team in their first season. It seems like a quick turnaround and, for Stoney, that she would not have imagined: "Not in my wildest dreams, to be honest," she smiles.

It was a whirlwind. After the appointment of Phil Neville as manager of England, Stoney was approached and, after hanging up his boots in February, she joined the national team as an badistant. However, when United's recruitment process was open, she knew that she had to make a request: "I had to put my name in the frame and try because I knew that if I had denied the opportunity, she might not have come back. there is no better. There is no bigger club to work so being the head coach is probably the most proud moment of my career. "

Employing someone to run such a profile in the new second level (Women's Championship) months after retiring from play may seem like a bold move, but Stoney's nomination is anything but," You go into n & rsquo; No matter what job and you are going to have doubts.Of course you are but I am retaining myself.I've been coaching for 17 years, I've been a full-time coach, it's easy to & # 39; Forget that we have only been professionals for four or five years. "

In fact, the old Lioness record on the ground speaks for itself:" J & # I worked full time at the Beckham Academy, I worked with male teams under 18, I was head coach of many teams at the Center of Excellence, I was I was a player-manager without a coach or infrastructure and it was one of the hardest things I had to do at age 25. "[19659006] I want my players to be happy, but I want them to be challenged, so I'm going to put them in uncomfortable positions

With 130 selections, Stoney is used to England, but joining Phil Neville's team, even briefly, gave him a different look at top management – "I've worked with the best players in the country, so my standards and attention to detail had to "raise" – and when she approached him about the opening of his former hitting ground, Neville was still going to be on board. "He loves this football club, his son is there now too, he knew it was the right opportunity for me and was very supportive," says Stoney.

The 36-year-old has had a career in Rich player, working with a number of respected coaches and his influence goes through his own coaching career in different ways. "Hope Powell is a fantastic coach and she has required a tremendous amount of standards in the field. Keith Boanas, too, with whom I was in Charlton, was also a fantastic coach and really helped me at a time when no one else believed in me.

"This aspect of care that I took a lot of it. Under the shirt is a person; you need to get to know them, what are their aspirations, what support network do they have? He had a great influence on me. And of course, working with Phil, I removed the bits that he brings from the men's game. I've learned a lot about the slight differences, the standards, the details of a session, the pace when you're on the pitch. "

Her own style changes all the time but she has already established what she expects to:" I'm not a dictator, it's something I tell players. I like them to have freedom but in a setting. They need to know the guidelines and rules. I am also fat about balance. They need to have a life outside of football. I want my players to be happy but I want them to be challenged, so I'm going to stretch them and put them in uncomfortable positions because I think that's how you develop them as people. I'm expecting high standards because that's how I was as a player and I'm as a coach.

After being involved in women's football for almost 25 years, Stoney has seen a lot of clubs and a lot of changes in the game. United join the party is something she's convinced will transform women's football. "I can honestly sit here and tell you that I've never been to a club where the level of detail and standards are so high," she says.

"They want the team to succeed and they want the players"

The restructuring of women's football by the FA divided the opinion. However, Stoney is supportive of the changes and what they mean in the long run: "United came because their offer was good, very good. They did not go at the expense of anyone, the other teams did not go because their offers were not good enough. Why would not you want Man United to have a women's team? With the fan base, the global reach, the way the club does things and the growth potential of the game? It's a no-brainer.

Stoney is delighted to have had the freedom to build from scratch: "The club has trusted me to better know the women's game than the women's game. I know all the players in this league, all players in the league below, I know a lot of players around the world and I like to think that I have good relationships with a lot of people. between them. This means that the players sign for me, as well as all the signatories for the club. "

The rumors of the group that make up his newly badembled team are flying and, with the announcement scheduled for Friday, the wait is almost over.Stoney has traveled extensively to reach his goals and knew from the start what type of players she wanted: "I went for character, talent and winning behaviors, these are the three things that motivated my recruitment."

She chose a team that reflects the "exciting and entertaining" way She wants to play: "We became young, we went pbadionately, we went entertaining.I am more than aware that we gather 21 strangers and that it is in itself a huge challenge, especially in the first year, but I'm really excited about the team I work with. "

With pre-season After two days, the party started and without any pressure from the club to get immediate results s, Stoney is bound only by his own ambitions: "There is no pressure from the club. United said you do not have to ride. The club wants to build slowly. There is no timetable. Our legacy, and I told the players, is to "make sure my two little girls grow up wanting to be you". "