Helena Costa, the woman who breaks the codes in men’s football

10 years ago, she was the first woman likely to coach a professional men’s team when Clermont (L2) took the gamble on her. But at the time, the announcement was followed by the renunciation for Helena Costa. “The technical director at the time (Olivier Chavanon) did not make my life easy. He had blocked me a bit, boycotted me, I would say. I was disrespected. This experience was very difficult to live through”traces the one who ended his collaboration with the CF63 only a month after his arrival. If this episode could have had a harmful influence on the rest of her career, the forty-year-old knew how to take the bull by the horns to bounce back. “It’s in the past”she smiled, without rancor. And by the force of circumstances, his trajectory today proves him right, as does his representative Nabil Hantout.

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In 10 years, Helena Costa has experienced moments of glory that the little kid from Alhandra would surely never have suspected, like this coronation in the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt, in 2022, the climax of her career. “It’s difficult to remember just one highlight of my career. There is my first experience as a coach, the first as a professional as coach of Qatar, and obviously the Europa League title in Frankfurt against Glasgow Rangers, where I was a scout. This is probably the most impactful experience. » Further than his skills, it is this curiosity and this deep desire to move the lines, without worrying about stereotypes and hearsay, which have allowed him to broaden his benchmarks through experiences, each richer than the others.

She became the first sports director of a D1 club for men

Major of her science and sports FAC at the end of the 90s, Helena Costa then played the various Benfica youth teams, from U10 to U17, between 1998 and 2010. She subsequently took on a double hat as coach -recruiter, in Qatar, then in Iran. To some extent, she also acts as a scout, wishing to offer young women the opportunity to emancipate themselves through football. “When I arrived, no one knew that there was a women’s team in Qatar. I go to schools and universities every day to recruit players.she explained in 2011. Freeing herself from set limits is the mantra she has defended since the start of her career, because for her, places exist, and for everyone.

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“It’s true that I was a bit of a pioneer in men’s football with this time at Clermont. Opening doors for women is very important. And I think that each time I was taken for my skills, like a doctor or a manager. But we can promote women’s football even more”believes the one who has just been appointed sports director of the Estoril club, 12th in the Portuguese first division. She is also the first woman in the world to occupy this position in men’s professional football. According to our information, numerous female projects have been submitted to him in recent weeks, such as taking the reins of the Algerian women’s selection. But the former Clermont coach had long teeth and wanted to look higher. “Ideally, I want to coach a men’s team or find a position as a sports director”she told us recently. Destiny served her.