Anna Signeul

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Anna Signeul

| image = Anna Signeul.jpg

| caption =

| height =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1961|5|20|df=y}}

| birth_place = Falun, Sweden

| position = Midfielder

| youthyears1 =

| youthclubs1 =

| years1 = 1972–1978

| clubs1 = Falu BS

| caps1 =

| goals1 =

| years2 = 1979–1981

| clubs2 = Sundborns GoIF

| caps2 =

| goals2 =

| years3 = 1980–1984

| clubs3 = IK Brage

| caps3 =

| goals3 =

| years4 = 1984–1992

| clubs4 = Strömsbro IF

| caps4 =

| goals4 =

| manageryears1 = 1981–1983

| managerclubs1 = IK Brage

| manageryears2 = 1984–1986

| managerclubs2 = Strömsbro IF

| manageryears3 = 1987–1989

| managerclubs3 = IK Sätra

| manageryears4 = 1993–1994

| managerclubs4 = Strömsbro IF

| manageryears5 = 1996–1998

| managerclubs5 = Tyresö FF

| manageryears6 = 1996–2004

| managerclubs6 = Sweden U16/U18

| manageryears7 = 2005–2017

| managerclubs7 = Scotland

| manageryears8 = 2017–2022

| managerclubs8 = Finland

}}

Anna Signeul (born 20 May 1961){{cite web |url=https://svenskfotboll.se/arkiv/tidigare/2002/04/anna-signeul/ |title=Anna Signeul |publisher=svenskfotboll.se |date=14 April 2002 |accessdate=14 September 2011 }} is a Swedish football manager and former football player. She was the national coach of the Scotland women's team from March 2005{{cite web|url=http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/football_manager_profile.cfm?page=110&managerID=20&squadID=2|title=Anna Signeul – Scotland Women's A Squad Coach|publisher=Scottish Football Association|accessdate=14 September 2011}} until 2017,{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/38651331|title=Scotland: Anna Signeul stepping down to take up Finland job|year=2017|work=BBC Sport|access-date=12 July 2018|language=en-GB}} and the national coach of the Finland women's team from 2017 to 2022.{{Cite web|url=https://www.palloliitto.fi/ajankohtaista/anna-signeul-ja-palloliitto-ovat-yhteistyossa-sopineet-signeulin-sopimuksen-purka|title=Anna Signeul ja Palloliitto ovat yhteistyössä sopineet Signeulin sopimuksen purkamisesta|language=fi|date=26 July 2022|access-date=6 August 2022}}

Playing career

Signeul grew up in the town of Falun, Sweden and enjoyed participating in many sports as a child.{{cite news |url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/life-style/real-lives/scottish-women-s-world-cup-football-1.1050032?50841 |title=Scottish Women's World Cup football |first=Billy |last=Briggs |date=23 August 2010 |accessdate=14 September 2011 |newspaper=The Herald |archive-date=11 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011155512/http://www.heraldscotland.com/life-style/real-lives/scottish-women-s-world-cup-football-1.1050032?50841 |url-status=dead }} As a supporter of IFK Göteborg, she drifted towards football and joined local club Falu BS. While still a teenager, she joined IK Brage before spending the majority of her playing career at Strömsbro IF. In total, Signeul made 240 appearances in the Division 1 and Damallsvenskan, the highest tiers of Swedish women's football.{{cite web | url=https://www.gp.se/sport/i-finrummet-i-stallet-for-puben.74bb4ca4-9be6-48cd-ad41-35e285e2dbdb | title=I finrummet i stället för puben | date=13 July 2017 }} Although called up to several Sweden national squads, she was never capped for her country as a player.

Coaching career

Signeul began her coaching career at the age of 21 while still a player at IK Brage. She coached at club level including spells at Strömsbro IF and Tyresö FF, and from 1996 worked with the Swedish Football Association as head of the national women's teams at youth level. Under Signeul's tutelage, Sweden came third in the 1998 UEFA Women's Under-18 Championship before winning the competition the following year.

In March 2005, Signeul was appointed as national coach of the Scotland women's team, replacing the outgoing Vera Pauw. Her first major achievement was leading the country to a qualification play-off for UEFA Women's Euro 2009 which they lost on away goals to Russia. She has also led Scotland to an all-time high of 20 in the FIFA Women's World Rankings.{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/associations/association=sco/ranking/gender=f/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070705213342/http://www.fifa.com/associations/association=sco/ranking/gender=f/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 July 2007 |title=Scotland Ranking |publisher=FIFA |date=22 July 2011 |accessdate=14 September 2011 }} In addition to her position as National Coach, Signeul also has a wider remit in charge of developing the women's game at all levels in Scotland. Signeul announced in January 2017 that she would leave Scotland after the UEFA Women's Euro 2017 tournament to become the head coach of Finland.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38651331 |title=Scotland: Anna Signeul stepping down to take up Finland job |work=BBC Sport |date=17 January 2017 |accessdate=2 April 2017}}

After the end of the UEFA Women's Euro 2022 tournament, concluded by Finland at the group stage and defeated in all the three matches, Signeul resigned in agreement with the Football Association of Finland.