As the final whistle blew at the end of Jonas Eidevall’s first Women’s Super League (WSL) game in September 2021, he fell to his knees, both arms outstretched. His side had beaten Chelsea 3-2 in the season opener at the Emirates and the new Arsenal manager was not shy about showing his delight.
That moment marked the start of an intense managerial rivalry; one that has eclipsed anything the WSL had previously seen.
It certainly stuck in the minds of the Chelsea team. When they won the league eight months later, Erin Cuthbert and Millie Bright did the same pose with their winners’ medals. Cuthbert posted the picture on Instagram with the caption: “If you know, you know.”
On Sunday, the teams face each other in the Continental Cup final, the last meeting between the sides before Chelsea manager Emma Hayes departs to take charge of the United States Women’s National Team this summer.
It brings to an end a rivalry that has built during the three years since that first meeting between Eidevall and Hayes.
Hayes has long been the most outspoken manager in the WSL. Her willingness to comment on various topics in combination with a penchant for esoteric references or off-piste digressions make her press conferences intriguing to view.
But from the very beginning of his time in the league, Eidevall has shown he is not afraid to make some headlines of his own. Take his press conference before the delayed 2020-21 FA Cup final.
“I do have some superstitions,” said Eidevall. “I don’t let any black cats cross my way, ever. If Emma sees this, she will probably buy a thousand black cats with the money Chelsea have and send them all over our training pitch. I’m going to be invaded by black cats!”
Never one to be outdone, Hayes hit back after Chelsea’s 3-0 win in the final. She said, complete with straight-to-camera cat mime, “London is Blue… When the third goal went in, I was simply purring.”
The off-pitch comments have been heightened by an on-pitch rivalry in which the pendulum between the two teams has swung back and forth.
It had been close to three years since Arsenal had beaten Chelsea before that first victory for Eidevall at the Emirates. Since then, neither team has strung back-to-back wins together across the 10 matches played. Despite Chelsea winning five domestic trophies in the period that Arsenal have won one, their head-to-heads have been remarkably even.
The relatively large winning margins in many of these games have further created a sense that one manager tends to figure the other out. Seven of the 10 matches between the two have been won by a margin of two or more goals. That compares to just five of 10 between Chelsea and Manchester City and one of seven between Arsenal and Manchester City over the same period.
Eidevall says their different tactical approaches have made for an intriguing contrast.
“Me and Emma are a little bit different in our coaching styles,” he told Sky Sports before Arsenal’s game against Chelsea two weeks ago at Stamford Bridge.
“I will stick with plan A for longer because I believe so much in plan A. She’s more active in changing, and when the other team changes their positions, you need to be adapting and deal with that.”
This awareness was also behind Eidevall’s infamous use of blue and red cards to signal to his players when Chelsea were moving between a back three and a back four during the FA Cup final in 2021.
Eidevall had a novel approach to relaying messages to his team during the 2021 FA Cup final (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
In the lead-up to the two games in March which are marking the end of this rivalry, both coaches have been asked about each other plenty of times.
“I think he can be a pain in the backside on the touchline to the fourth officials, but I think he’d acknowledge that,” said Hayes prior to the match at Stamford Bridge. “I have huge respect for him and the work he’s done at Arsenal.”
“What I am going to miss is the competition,” said Eidevall before that same match. “I really like to compete. It’s never easy against a team she coaches because they will always be flexible, they will always plan for any scenario and have players who are so dedicated to try to win the game. I like the challenge of that.”
But both were somewhat cooler before Sunday’s Continental Cup final — a reflection of the extra layer of importance that comes when a trophy is at stake.
“I don’t see him outside of the games we have,” said Hayes, while Eidevall revealed the only WSL manager who he has shared a drink with after a game is Liverpool’s Matt Beard.
“I think it’s been a fun rivalry between the two of us,” Hayes expanded. “It’s fun for the women’s game. But that’s probably on camera.
“Off camera, we respect each other and I’m sure we will have good communication because at some point he’s going to have one of my players (USWNT player Emily Fox), so there’ll be a happy ending to it.”
“Rivalries in elite football, they will continue to come,” said Eidevall. “When one ends, another one emerges. I don’t think there will be any shortage of rivalries in the WSL.”
That may well be true but it will be a while until we see one quite like this.
(Top photo: Harriet Lander — Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
Read the full article here