Sweden-USA tilt has the makings of a classic

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This article was published 04/06/2015 (4098 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

IT may go down as one of the greatest matches the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada has to offer in the coming weeks.

At least when it comes to the battles off the pitch. And Winnipeggers will have a front-row seat.

When Sweden and the United States face off June 12 at Investors Group Field in the second match of Group D play, it won’t just be a battle between two of the best teams this world has to offer, but also a matchup between two of its finest coaches.

Add a dash of familiarity and a sprinkle of intense competition that comes with competing on soccer’s biggest stage, and you have the perfect recipe for a showdown for the ages.

Leading Sweden is legendary footballer-turned-coach Pia Sundhage. For the Americans, it’s Jill Ellis who will hold the controls for the red, white and blue.

On the surface, the two are very different. Sundhage is a two-time Olympic gold medallist and former FIFA Coach of the Year. As a player, she led Sweden to the title in the first-ever Women’s European Championship in 1984 and a bronze medal at the 1991 World Cup. As for Ellis, she doesn’t have the same storied playing career but grew up around the game her entire life. Her dad, John Ellis, was a longtime soccer ambassador for the British government. Ellis was given the reins of the U.S. women’s national team just one year ago.

But don’t let appearances fool you.

Before Sundhage returned home to take over as coach for Sweden in the fall of 2012, she spent four years as head coach of the U.S. team, leading the Americans to two consecutive gold medals at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. By her side was none other than Ellis as her assistant coach.

“She is the best,” said Sundhage, her eyes so wide not even a 10-hour flight from Sweden to Winnipeg could hide her fondness. “She knows football really well. I feel so thankful that I worked with her.”

During that time it was Sundhage who had final say — with the players, with the coaching staff, with all football-related issues.

Ellis, who was always a sharp mind especially when it came to the offensive attack, was there to advise, give scouting reports on younger players as she was also the coach for the U.S. U-20 team and director of professional development.

“I learned a lot from Pia,” said Ellis, who described her relationship with her former boss as a sit-down-and-have-a-beer kind of friend. “Patience I think was one of the things that I took away. I found her to be a very patient coach; always an optimist, which is great and then just how she interacts with players and how she manages.”

Ironically, patience is something Ellis has had to exercise for most of her coaching career, at least when it comes to the national level.

When Sundhage left for Sweden, Ellis took over as interim coach until the team hired Tom Sermanni in 2013. After Sermanni was dismissed a year later, Ellis once again held the interim tag before officially being hired as the team’s head coach in May of last year.

And although it would be perfectly sane if she admitted to pulling her hair out to get the chance to lead the country she’s dedicated most of her coaching life to, Ellis says she wouldn’t have done it any other way.

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“I wanted to go through the process, put my name in the hat and I was delighted and obviously thrilled,” she said. “It’s a dream job, and actually in a way kind of having a shorter run up to the World Cup, I like that because there wasn’t time to do too much — it was knuckle down and play good teams and really vet this team in preparation for the World Cup.”

Thus, life will come full circle for both Sundhage and Ellis over the next week. The student will now have the chance to top the teacher. But any way you want to sell it, it all comes down to one thing for both sides — and that’s earning the win.

“At the end of the day it’s two halves, 45 minutes (each); you try to get three points and we’ll try to do our very best,” said Sundhage.

As for Ellis, we’ll see if she can get the final say come game time.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca twitter: @jeffkhamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

Jeff Hamilton joined the Free Press newsroom in 2015, reporting on the sports and investigative beats until he left the Free Press in July 2026.

Every piece of reporting Jeff produced was reviewed by an editing team before it was posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.