Leicester’s Amandine Miquel: ‘I don’t like to do the same thing twice’
In an exclusive interview, the women’s team’s new head coach discusses tactics, being on Chelsea’s books as a youngster and why the only way is up
When Amandine Miquel was growing up as a young French girl in Mexico, it was the legendary goalkeeper and occasional striker Jorge Campos whose unique, eccentric and colourful style helped her fall in love with football. Since then, hers has been a life well-travelled, taking in spells living in London and the Indian Ocean island of Réunion before seven years managing in France’s champagne region. After all those worldly influences, though, the style she is planning to bring to her new role as Leicester head coach is that of another country: Spain.
“I’m not saying we’re going to play like Barcelona,” Miquel says, resisting a little laugh as she reveals she has taken inspiration from the Catalan style. “But for me it’s really about using the ball efficiently, movement and creating space, so when you make a pass there’s a reason, it’s not just to make passes for passes’ sake. It’s to open spaces, to be as unpredictable as possible.
