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Anna Signeul

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Anna Signeul
Personal information
Date of birth (1961-05-20) 20 May 1961 (age 63)
Place of birth Falun, Sweden
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1972–1978 Falu BS
1979–1981 Sundborns GoIF
1980–1984 IK Brage
1984–1992 Strömsbro IF
Managerial career
1981–1983 IK Brage
1984–1986 Strömsbro IF
1987–1989 IK Sätra
1993–1994 Strömsbro IF
1996–1998 Tyresö FF
1996–2004 Sweden U-16/U-18
2005–2017 Scotland
2017–2022 Finland
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Anna Signeul (born 20 May 1961)[1] is a Swedish former football player. She was the national coach of the Scotland women's team from March 2005[2] until 2017,[3] and the national coach of the Finland women's team from 2017 to 2022.[4]

Playing career

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Signeul grew up in the town of Falun, Sweden and enjoyed participating in many sports as a child.[5] As a supporter of IFK Göteborg, she drifted towards football and joined local club Falu BS.[1] While still a teenager, she joined IK Brage before spending the majority of her playing career at Strömsbro IF. In total, Signeul made 240 appearances in the Damallsvenskan, the highest tier of Swedish women's football.[1] Although called up to several Sweden national squads, she was never capped for her country as a player.[5]

Coaching career

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Signeul began her coaching career at the age of 21 while still a player at IK Brage.[5] She coached at club level including spells at Strömsbro IF and Tyresö FF, and from 1996 worked with the Swedish Football Association as head of the national women's teams at youth level.[1] Under Signeul's tutelage, Sweden came third in the 1998 UEFA Women's Under-18 Championship before winning the competition the following year.[1]

In March 2005, Signeul was appointed as National Coach of the Scotland women's team, replacing the outgoing Vera Pauw.[2] Her first major achievement was leading the country to a qualification play-off for UEFA Women's Euro 2009 which they lost on away goals to Russia. She has also led Scotland to an all-time high of 20 in the FIFA Women's World Rankings.[6] In addition to her position as National Coach, Signeul also has a wider remit in charge of developing the women's game at all levels in Scotland.[5] Signeul announced in January 2017 that she would leave Scotland after the UEFA Women's Euro 2017 tournament to become the head coach of Finland.[7]

After the end of the UEFA Women's Euro 2022 tournament, concluded by Finland at the group stage and defeated in all the three matches, Signeul resigned in agreement with Finnish football federation.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Anna Signeul". svenskfotboll.se. 14 April 2002. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  2. ^ a b "Anna Signeul – Scotland Women's A Squad Coach". Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  3. ^ "Scotland: Anna Signeul stepping down to take up Finland job". BBC Sport. 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Anna Signeul ja Palloliitto ovat yhteistyössä sopineet Signeulin sopimuksen purkamisesta" (in Finnish). 26 July 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d Briggs, Billy (23 August 2010). "Scottish Women's World Cup football". The Herald. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  6. ^ "Scotland Ranking". FIFA. 22 July 2011. Archived from the original on 5 July 2007. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  7. ^ "Scotland: Anna Signeul stepping down to take up Finland job". BBC Sport. 17 January 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
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