Sonia Bompastor may have steered Chelsea to three trophies in her first season in charge, but that doesn’t stop our head coach wanting more.
The Blues’ victory in the FA Cup on Sunday secured a domestic Treble following our unbeaten WSL season and our League Cup triumph back in March.
The best never stand still, though, and Bompastor revealed she is already thinking about how her side can improve and ensure they become Europe’s best, as well as England’s.
‘Our ambition is to get better, for sure,’ stressed Bompastor.
‘It feels great to be dominant in England, but we didn’t win the Champions League. Our goal and our ambition is to make sure, hopefully next season, we compete against the best team in Europe, Barcelona for sure, but also teams like Lyon.
‘I have already started to reflect on the season and think about the future. We are super happy to have achieved a Treble, but some people on the pitch were mentioning we are missing the Champions League. That’s who we are. That’s normal. I totally respect that. I said I wanted to come to Chelsea and make sure we achieve that goal of winning the Champions League. We have that ambition.’
That is an ethos echoed by the ownership group and the sporting directors, as well as new investor Alexis Ohanian. Bompastor met him and his tennis superstar wife Serena Williams at Wembley on Sunday.
‘It was the best way to welcome them, with this final and this result,’ she smiled. ‘They are so passionate about women’s sport and the women’s game. You can feel from the beginning they have the right mentality coming to Chelsea.
‘We talked a little bit about tennis! I was asking them if their kids were playing football, and they said, ‘no, tennis!’ which makes sense! I was hoping to sign one of their kids for Chelsea!
‘We talked about the game and the performance and the success in the FA Cup final. I told them I was really happy and excited for them to join the club. I welcomed them.
‘It’s really enjoyable for us to see all the people from the ownership coming to Wembley, and even more important to feel they are really behind the team,’ added Bompastor.
‘It’s a big lift. When we talk about having the right support coming from everyone in the club, it shows everyone is really involved in this women’s team. It feels great.
‘We had a lot of support from them before the game, during the week, and also on gameday. It shows as a woman, when you play in the women’s game, you are in the right club and when you play on the pitch you want to give that back to all these people.’