The Team That Liverpool Forgot

BAMBER BRIDGE, England — For a few minutes, right at the start of the second half, Vicky Jepson tried to sit down. Jepson, Liverpool’s coach, arranged a blanket neatly over her legs, to stave off the bitter winter cold, squeezed in alongside her players on the substitutes’ bench, and sat still for as long as she could.

It should have been a pleasant way to pass the time, as relaxed an afternoon as Jepson might have had all season. Her Liverpool team was methodically cutting through its opponent, Blackburn Rovers, its lead going from 4-1 to 5-1 and on to six, seven and eight. Even then, though, sitting still does not come easy to Jepson.

Instead, she found herself back on her feet again, pacing and prowling. Jepson is an active, thoughtful coach, not a bawler and bellower. She offered precise, corrective advice — where to run, when to overlap, where to stand — rather than meaningless motivational phrases. Her instructions were surprisingly detailed, occasionally drifting into coaching jargon. Her players, though, listened intently, taking it all in.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/24/sports/soccer/liverpool-women-soccer.html