Pia Mariane Sundhage (, born 13 February 1960) is a Swedish football manager and former professional player. Currently, she is coaching

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. As a player, Sundhage played most of her career as a forward and retired as the top scorer for the Sweden national team. Sundhage was the head coach of the United States women's national team from 2008 to 2012 and led the team to two Olympic gold medals and a silver medal at the World Cup. Her success led to her winning the 2012 FIFA World Coach of the Year. Sundhage later became the head coach of her native

Sweden women's national football team The Sweden women's national football team (), nicknamed ''Blågult'' ("The Blue-Yellow"), represents Sweden at international women's association football competitions. It was established in 1973 and is governed by the Swedish Football Associatio ...

from 2012 to 2017, winning an Olympic silver medal in 2016.

Club career

Sundhage started with IFK Ulricehamn as a youth player and eventually moved to Falköpings KIK in 1978. She then joined Jitex BK from 1979 to 1981. Sundhage played 1982 to 1983 with Östers IF, scoring 30 times in her first season with the club and chipping in 35 more in her second season. 1984 saw a move back to Jitex BK, while 1985 saw Sundhage split time between Stattena IF,

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

(where she scored 17 times), and Jitex BK. She played the 1986 season with Hammarby IF, before she moved back to Jitex BK from 1979 through 1989. Sundhage finished her career with Hammarby IF DFF, playing from 1990 until she retired in 1996. She won four Damallsvenskan championships, all with Jitex BK, as well as two additional Svenska Cupen with the club. She also won two Svenska Cupen with Hammarby IF DFF.

International career

Sundhage made her first appearance for the Sweden national team as a 15-year-old in 1975, eventually amassing 146 caps and scoring 71 goals for her country. Her 71 goals gave her joint-lead with Lena Videkull for the most in the Sweden national team history, a record which has since been surpassed by both Hanna Ljungberg and Lotta Schelin. She participated for Sweden in the 1991 (a third-place finish) and 1995 editions of the FIFA Women's World Cup and the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. She won, and was the top scorer, in the 1984 UEFA Women's Championship. Her image appeared on a Swedish postage stamp in 1988. In 1989 Sundhage scored the first goal in a women's match at Wembley Stadium, as Sweden beat

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

2–0 in a curtain–raiser for the Rous Cup. In 2000, Sundhage finished sixth in the voting for

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

Women's Player of the Century.

Coaching career

Pre-United States

Sundhage got her start in coaching as a player/manager when she was with Hammarby IF from 1992 to 1994. She then took assistants jobs with Vallentuna BK (1998 to 1999) and AIK Fotboll Dam (2000) before moving across the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

to become an assistant with Philadelphia Charge of the new Women's United Soccer Association in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. She eventually was hired on by Boston Breakers as the head coach, winning the league title and being named the 2003 WUSA Coach of the Year in the process. Once the WUSA folded however, it was back to

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

to take on further coaching positions. Her relationship with the Boston Breakers led United States women's national team captain Kristine Lilly and fellow USWNT player Kate Markgraf joining her in the Swedish Damallsvenskan when Pia coached KIF Örebro DFF from 2005 to 2006, after a brief stint with Kolbotn IL in 2004. Lilly said she "wanted to play for Pia again." Sundhage served as an assistant to Marika Domanski-Lyfors for the China Women's national team during the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup.

United States women's national team

Pia Sundhage was announced as the United States women's national team head coach on 13 November 2007. She became the seventh head coach in the U.S. team's history and the third woman. Lauren Gregg was in charge for 3 games in 2000, April Heinrichs led the squad from 2000–2004 and won the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

, while Sundhage served as a scout for the United States during the 2004 Olympics. Association football at the 2012 Summer Olympics 007

While at the helm of the United States, Sundhage won the 2008 Algarve Cup and gold medals at both the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

and the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. She was on the verge of winning the 2009 Algarve Cup, but the United States lost out to Sundhage's native

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

on penalties. However, she did win the 2010 Algarve Cup a year later, defeating World and European Champions

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

3–2 in the final. She coached the women's team to the final of the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, where the team advanced to the final for the first time since 1999. However, they were upset by

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, losing 3–1 on penalty kicks after a 2-2 draw. A year later, Sundhage coached the USWNT to another gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, defeating Japan 2–1 in a Women's World Cup final rematch, with Carli Lloyd scoring both goals. On 1 September 2012, Sundhage announced she was stepping down as the U.S women's head coach having expressed a desire to seek opportunities in her native Sweden. Sundhage announced she would coach the U.S. team's games on 16 and 19 September on the team's Olympic victory tour before officially resigning. "I have days where I think, 'What am I doing?' and there are other days where I'm like, 'I'm all up for this next challenge'" Sundhage said upon announcing her departing the US women's national team.U.S. coach Pia Sundhage steps down
, ESPN.com. Retrieved 1 September 2012. She coached her last game against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

as part the team's Olympic victory tour on 19 September, defeating them 6–2. With this final win Sundhage was able to leave the team with a 91–6–10 win–loss–tie record that included two Olympic gold medals and a second-place finish at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup.U.S. Women's National Team Provides Head Coach Pia Sundhage with 6-2 Victory in Final Match in Charge
, ussoccer.com. Retrieved 21 September 2012.

Sweden women's national team

The Swedish Football Association announced early 2 September 2012 that Sundhage signed a four-year contract that starts on 1 December. The announcement came hours after Sundhage's match as coach of the U.S. women's team, an 8–0 win in a friendly match against

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

; the first of a series organized to celebrate the winning of gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics. Sundhage replaced Thomas Dennerby, who resigned after Sweden failed to reach the semifinals in 2012 Olympics. "I have long dreamed of becoming Sweden coach and now I am so happy" Sundhage said. Sundhage's first major tournament as coach of the Sweden team was the 2013 European championship, which Sweden hosted; Sweden lost 0–1 in the semi-final to Germany, which won the championship. In the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Sweden advanced from their group after 3 consecutive draws (including a scoreless draw with eventual champions USA, but lost 4-1 to Germany in the Round of 16. At the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

, Sundhage's Sweden started slow, following up an opening 1-0 win over

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

with a 1-5 loss vs the hosts (and her future employers),

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. However, a scoreless draw against

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

enabled Sweden to advance to the quarterfinals on a tiebreaker, where her team faced her former USA squad. Deploying defense-first tactics and very physical play, Sweden neutralized the top-ranked American attack, capitalized on a breakaway at 61', and held on through extra time to win in a penalty shootout. The victory marked the first instance of the USA being eliminated before reaching the medal rounds at the Olympics. Sweden would go on to a rematch with Brazil in the semifinals, which they would also win in penalties after a scoreless draw. With a 2-1 defeat to

in the Gold Medal match, Sweden won their first Olympic medal in women's football. After a disappointing quarterfinal exit in the UEFA Women's Euro 2017 tournament, in August 2017, Sundhage stepped down as coach of the women's national team, a move which had been announced the previous Fall. In November 2017, the Swedish Football Association announced the appointment of Sundhage as the new Sweden women's national under-17 football team head coach. Sundhage took over her new duties on 1 January 2018.

Brazil women's national team

In July 2019, Sundhage accepted an invitation from the

Brazilian Football Confederation The Brazilian Football Confederation (, CBF) is the governing body of football in Brazil. It was founded on Monday, 8 June 1914, as , and renamed Confederação Brasileira de Desportos in 1916. The football confederation, as known today, sepa ...

(CBF) to become the new coach of the Brazil women's national football team.

Personal life

In January 2010, Sundhage mentioned in a Swedish TV interview that as a

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

she has not felt any homophobia as a coach. "There has been no problem for me to be openly gay as head coach in the U.S.," said Sundhage.

Career statistics

Matches and goals scored at World Cup and Olympic tournaments

Matches and goals scored at European Championship tournaments

International goals

Managerial statistics

All competitive league games (league and domestic cup) and international matches (including friendlies) are included.

Honours

Player

Jitex BK * Damallsvenskan: 1979, 1981, 1984, 1989 * Svenska Cupen: 1981, 1984 Hammarby IF DFF * Svenska Cupen: 1994, 1995 Sweden * FIFA Women's World Cup: third place 1991 * UEFA European Women's Championship: 1984; runner-up 1987, 1995; third place 1989 * European Competition for Women's Football: third place

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

(non-official competition) * Women's Nordic Football Championship: 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981; runner-up 1982 * Algarve Cup: 1995 * Cyprus Tournament: 1990, 1992 * North America Cup: 1987 Individual * European Competition for Women's Football top scorer: 1984 * European Competition for Women's Football best player: 1984 * Damallsvenskan top scorer: 1982, 1983 * Women's Nordic Football Championship top scorer

Managerial

United States Women * Olympic Gold Medal: 2008, 2012 * FIFA Women's World Cup: runner-up

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

* Four Nations Tournament: 2008,

* Algarve Cup: 2008,

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Sweden Women * Olympic Silver Medal: 2016 Brazil Women * Torneio Internacional de Futebol Feminino: 2021 * Copa América Femenina: 2022 Individual * FIFA World Women's Coach of the year: 2012; finalist 2010, 2011, 2013 * Best FIFA Women's Coach: finalist 2016 * 2003 WUSA Coach of the Year

Awards

Sundhage was awarded the Illis quorum in the eighth size by the Swedish government in 2021.

References

;Match reports

External links

*
US Soccer coach profileSweden coach profile
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sundhage, Pia 1960 births Living people 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup players 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup players Expatriate women's footballers in Italy FIFA Women's Century Club Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Swedish LGBTQ footballers Swedish lesbian sportswomen United States women's national soccer team managers 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup managers 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup managers Olympic footballers for Sweden Swedish socialists Sweden women's international footballers Swedish women's footballers Hammarby Fotboll (women) players Damallsvenskan players Serie A (women's football) players SS Lazio Women 2015 players People from Ulricehamn Municipality Women's association football forwards Swedish women's football managers Swedish expatriate football managers Hammarby Fotboll (women) managers UEFA Women's Championship–winning players Sweden women's national football team managers Brazil women's national football team managers Female association football managers Olympic gold medalists for Sweden Olympic coaches for the United States Women's United Soccer Association coaches Footballers from Västra Götaland County Recipients of the Illis quorum 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup managers Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Italy Swedish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Coaches at the 2008 Summer Olympics Coaches at the 2012 Summer Olympics Coaches at the 2016 Summer Olympics Coaches at the 2020 Summer Olympics Swedish expatriates in Brazil Expatriate football managers in Brazil Expatriate soccer coaches in the United States Expatriate football managers in Norway Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Norway Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Expatriate women's footballers in Switzerland 20th-century Swedish sportswomen Stattena IF (women) players Falköpings KIK players