Swedish soccer player Henrik Rydström recently said that he hoped former U.S. Women's National Soccer Team coach Pia Sundhage would become the next coach of his Swedish club, Kalmar.
When Sundhage, a former Swedish soccer player, was asked by Swedish magazine Magasin Danderyd if she can coach men, she had the perfect answer (translation via Google Translate).
"Well, then, let me ask you a question: does it work with a female chancellor in Germany? Angela Merkel [is running an entire] f***ing country. Clearly it works."
Sundhage went on to explain that coaching players is not about men and women but is more about being respected by the players and the players wanting the coach to be there.
While being a great coach requires more than just respect, it does get to the point that a coach does not need to compete with the players. If a coach has a good coaching philosophy, can train and motivate players, and execute a good game plan, it doesn't matter whether the coach is male or female.
It is unclear if Sundhage will be coaching men any time soon. But she sounds like the perfect coach to give it a try.