Pia Sundhage facts for kids
Sundhage in 2013
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Pia Mariane Sundhage | ||
| Date of birth | 13 February 1960 | ||
| Place of birth | Ulricehamn, Sweden | ||
| Height | 1.72 m | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Switzerland (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1975 | IFK Ulricehamn | ||
| 1975–1976 | SGU Falköping | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1977–1978 | Falköpings KIK | 3 | (2) |
| 1979–1981 | Jitex BK | 54 | (86) |
| 1982–1983 | Östers IF | 40 | (65) |
| 1984 | Jitex BK | 18 | (33) |
| 1985 | S.S. Lazio | 23 | (16) |
| 1985 | Stattena IF | ||
| 1985 | Jitex BK | 9 | (4) |
| 1986 | Hammarby IF DFF | 18 | (17) |
| 1987–1989 | Jitex BK | 65 | (41) |
| 1990–1996 | Hammarby IF DFF | 111 | (21) |
| National team | |||
| 1975–1996 | Sweden | 146 | (71) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1992–1994 | Hammarby IF DFF (player-manager) | ||
| 1998–1999 | Vallentuna BK (assistant) | ||
| 2000 | AIK Fotboll Dam (assistant) | ||
| 2001–2002 | Philadelphia Charge (assistant) | ||
| 2003 | Boston Breakers | ||
| 2004 | Kolbotn Fotball | ||
| 2005–2006 | KIF Örebro DFF | ||
| 2007 | China (assistant) | ||
| 2007–2012 | United States | ||
| 2012–2017 | Sweden | ||
| 2018–2019 | Sweden U-17 | ||
| 2019–2023 | Brazil | ||
| 2024– | Switzerland | ||
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Pia Mariane Sundhage is a famous Swedish football manager and former player. She was born on February 13, 1960. Pia played most of her career as a forward, scoring many goals for the Swedish national team.
She became a highly successful coach. From 2008 to 2012, she coached the United States women's national team. Under her leadership, the team won two Olympic gold medals and a silver medal at the World Cup. Her amazing work earned her the 2012 FIFA World Coach of the Year award.
After her time with the U.S. team, Sundhage coached her home country's team, Sweden women's national football team, from 2012 to 2017. She led them to an Olympic silver medal in 2016. Today, she is coaching the Switzerland team.
Contents
Playing Career Highlights
Pia Sundhage started playing football as a young girl with IFK Ulricehamn. She then joined Falköpings KIK in 1978. From 1979 to 1981, she played for Jitex BK. She was a top scorer for Östers IF in 1982 and 1983.
In 1985, she played for Stattena IF, S.S. Lazio in Italy, and also Jitex BK. She spent the 1986 season with Hammarby IF DFF. Pia returned to Jitex BK from 1987 to 1989. She finished her playing career with Hammarby IF DFF, playing there from 1990 until she retired in 1996.
During her club career, Pia won four Damallsvenskan championships with Jitex BK. She also won two Svenska Cupen (Swedish Cup) titles with Jitex BK and two more with Hammarby IF DFF.
International Football for Sweden
Pia Sundhage first played for the Swedish national team when she was just 15 years old in 1975. She played in 146 games for her country and scored 71 goals. This made her one of Sweden's top goal scorers in history.
She played for Sweden in the 1991 and 1995 World Cups. In 1991, her team finished in third place. She also played in the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Pia was a star player in the 1984 UEFA Women's Championship, where Sweden won and she was the top scorer. Her picture even appeared on a Swedish postage stamp in 1988! In 1989, she scored the first goal ever by a woman in a match at Wembley Stadium.
In 2000, Pia Sundhage was recognized as one of the best female players of the century.
Coaching Journey
Early Coaching Roles
Pia Sundhage began her coaching career as a player-manager for Hammarby IF DFF from 1992 to 1994. She then worked as an assistant coach for Vallentuna BK (1998–1999) and AIK Fotboll Dam (2000).
She moved to the United States to be an assistant coach for Philadelphia Charge in the new Women's United Soccer Association. Later, she became the head coach for Boston Breakers. In 2003, she led them to win the league title and was named the WUSA Coach of the Year. After the league ended, she went back to Scandinavia to coach.
Famous U.S. players like Kristine Lilly and Kate Markgraf even joined her team, KIF Örebro DFF, in Sweden because they wanted to play for her again. Before coaching the U.S. national team, she also helped the China Women's national team as an assistant coach during the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup.
Coaching the United States Team
Pia Sundhage became the head coach of the United States women's national team on November 13, 2007. She was the seventh head coach for the U.S. team and the third woman to hold the position.
Under her coaching, the U.S. team won the 2008 Algarve Cup. They also won gold medals at both the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2012 Summer Olympics.
In 2011, she led the team to the final of the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. They played against Japan and lost in a penalty shootout after a 2-2 draw. However, a year later, at the 2012 London Olympics, her team got their revenge. They defeated Japan 2–1 in the gold medal match, with Carli Lloyd scoring both goals.
On September 1, 2012, Pia announced she would leave the U.S. team to coach in Sweden. She coached her last game for the U.S. on September 19, winning 6–2 against Australia. She left the team with an impressive record of 91 wins, 6 losses, and 10 ties, including two Olympic gold medals.
Coaching the Swedish Team
Soon after leaving the U.S. team, Pia Sundhage signed a four-year contract to coach the Swedish women's national team. She was very happy to coach her home country.
Her first big tournament with Sweden was the UEFA Women's Euro 2013 in Sweden. They reached the semi-finals but lost to Germany. In the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Sweden drew all their group matches and lost to Germany in the Round of 16.
At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Sweden started slowly. But they surprised everyone by beating Pia's former team, the USA, in a penalty shootout in the quarterfinals. This was the first time the USA had been knocked out before the medal rounds at the Olympics. Sweden then beat Brazil in another penalty shootout to reach the final. They won their first Olympic medal in women's football, a silver, after losing 2-1 to Germany in the final.
After the UEFA Women's Euro 2017 tournament, Pia stepped down as Sweden's national team coach in August 2017. In November 2017, she became the head coach for the Sweden women's national under-17 football team.
Coaching the Brazil Team
In July 2019, Pia Sundhage accepted an offer to become the new coach of the Brazil women's national football team. She led them to win the Torneio Internacional de Futebol Feminino in 2021 and the Copa América Femenina in 2022.
Honours and Awards
As a Player
Jitex BK
- Damallsvenskan (Swedish League): 1979, 1981, 1984, 1989
- Svenska Cupen (Swedish Cup): 1981, 1984
Hammarby IF DFF
- Svenska Cupen: 1994, 1995
With Sweden National Team
- FIFA Women's World Cup: Third place in 1991
- UEFA European Women's Championship: Won in 1984; Runner-up in 1987, 1995; Third place in 1989
- Women's Nordic Football Championship: Won in 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981
Individual Awards as a Player
- European Competition for Women's Football top scorer: 1984
- European Competition for Women's Football best player: 1984
- Damallsvenskan top scorer: 1982, 1983
As a Manager
United States Women's National Team
- Olympic Gold Medal: 2008, 2012
- FIFA Women's World Cup: Runner-up in 2011
- Algarve Cup: 2008, 2010, 2011
Sweden Women's National Team
- Olympic Silver Medal: 2016
Brazil Women's National Team
- Torneio Internacional de Futebol Feminino: 2021
- Copa América Femenina: 2022
Individual Awards as a Manager
- FIFA World Women's Coach of the year: 2012 (also a finalist in 2010, 2011, 2013)
- 2003 WUSA Coach of the Year
Other Awards
In 2021, the Swedish government honored Pia Sundhage with the Illis quorum award.
See also
In Spanish: Pia Sundhage para niños
- List of women's footballers with 100 or more international caps
