Robert Vilahamn on the Beyond the Pitch podcast
Eloise Smallbone
In the latest Beyond the Pitch podcast episode, we were joined by Robert Vilahamn, the Head Coach of Tottenham Hotspur Women. A broad range of topics were covered with Robert, who recently led Spurs Women to their first ever FA Cup final at Wembley. These topics ranged from the start of Robert’s career, to the plan for the women’s team at Tottenham, his relationship with Ange Postecoglou and Daniel Levy, to the growth of women’s football in England, and so much more.
Growing up playing football:
Robert has always been surrounded by football, even as a young child, and never doubted that he wanted a career in football. He described some of his early memories and decision to become a coach:
“Growing up in a small, small village outside a city, you don’t really have so much to do, so we were on the lawn, just playing football all the time. So I had my dreams from the beginning to become a footballer and I was quite good in Sweden, but I didn’t go the whole way. But then I found a new way, through a coaching career, and I’m so happy to keep working with football because it doesn’t feel like a job.”
He also spoke about his childhood environment, and how his mum and her siblings inspired him, having always been surrounded with football from a very young age.
He told us about his grassroots journey, saying that:
“I was always quite good so I always played with the boys one year older.”
He then went on to start playing senior football when he was only 15 years old, before moving to an academy at 16, where he was fully paid and also had to try to balance school with playing football full-time.
His personal coaching style:
After telling us about his childhood and how important football always was to him growing up, Robert then discussed more details about his own personal coaching style, which has been inspired by his own journey in football:
“I think I try to get to know them as much as I can and I try to get as much information about everybody as I can. Then I’m trying to use my staff team around me to make sure we give them what they need.”
“Everyday you try to make sure you get some more information so you can treat them in their special way because I think you cannot treat everybody the same way, you need to make sure you treat them according to what they need and what I can provide with them, because my job is to maximise their performance and development, for all of them, even if they’re playing or not playing.”
What attracted him to Spurs:
Despite being very happy at BK Häcken in Sweden, Robert felt that it was time for a different challenge:
“The main thing is when I am in Sweden, you still want to go to the next level which is England, it’s the biggest league and it’s the biggest country with football I would say.”
But when it came to deciding which English team he wanted to coach, Robert saw the potential in Tottenham, and described them as a club that could have been a good match for him, as they clearly wanted to do something with women’s football.
“When I had the first interview, I had a good feeling but I didn’t know it. But then I heard about it- how they want to be one club, how they want to have one style and how they want me to help them to play with a certain identity. How we want to make sure we play with young, talented players and we want to develop over time, not just come here, buy the best players and win directly.”
Robert went on to talk about how his relationship with the men’s side and the club’s owners are an important aspect of the one club mentality:
“From day one, since I came into Tottenham, they have shown me that they want to take it step by step. That’s a big thing for me, as I am driving it very much. So when we were at the Fan Forum before the season, it was me, Bethany England, Son, Ange and Daniel Levy on the stage, and that showed me all five of us are on this stage. We added a few games at the big stadium, the fans came, Dan came, Ange came. They showed us that they are actually supporting us.”
“I am invited to the board meetings sometimes when Ange is as well, then we speak about the women’s side, the men’s side.”
“They treat me in a way that shows me I am respected.”
“Me and Ange, we meet sometimes at different sponsorship meetings and everything, but also just actually grabbing a coffee and having an hour’s talk. We are two new coaches at this club, and we sit down and speak. I ask him about his experiences, and what he feels like he needs to work on in Tottenham, I can speak about my role. He’s been here a few more months than me, and I admire how he plays with the men’s team. We don’t really play exactly the same formation with the full-backs, but we play the same style, with the same identity, the same attacking style, the same bravery.”
His leadership style and being a leader in women’s football:
Robert went on to talk about how he feels Tottenham are an important club for driving change and progression in women’s football, and what he feels his role is within that change:
“Most of the people in Premier League clubs want to take steps, but I feel like Tottenham is one of those clubs who drive this journey and I want to be a coach that drives the gender equity journey and I want to make sure that I improve women’s football because it’s a really, really strong topic for me. So that’s why it’s nice to be in Tottenham and not in another club, where I don’t feel like I get the right help.”
Whilst telling us more about his own personal coaching style, Robert also mentioned the four core ideas that are at the heart of his coaching: being professional, showing passion, being brave, and also being present.
Robert spoke to us about the importance of not trying to take shortcuts, and showing commitment:
“We should never ever do something that is not professional, like I said (earlier in the podcast whilst talking about his own leadership principles) and if that’s taking a shortcut to something, or if that’s not training because we’re tired today, or if that’s something that feels like we don’t do it because we want to have a shortcut, I would never do that.”
“I can forgive pretty much everybody if they do a mistake, or if they come late to a gathering. But if you start doing that for 3 or 4 games, then you will probably not stay, because you cannot create a pattern with bad behaviour.”
“The standards need to be there, but I’m not black and white there. I need to make sure I try, because some people need to be coached for a while. But if they cannot get to the point where they can be present in the passing drills, if they never take it to their level where we can improve, I often tell that player that it’s better for you to find another environment because we’re going to have big problems to actually work together.”
The growth of women’s football in England:
Robert told us about why being involved in the development of women’s football in England was so important to him on a personal level:
“I think when I started with my journey focusing on gender equity was when I was at university, studying to become a PE teacher. Then I realised that it’s tough for girls to get good grades in PE in Sweden.”
“I also have twins, I have a son and a daughter. I realised that no matter how much I coach my twins, it will be my son that has a bigger chance at earning more money and being on a bigger stage, and I just felt like that’s so unfair, because my daughter has so much passion.”
“So when I went into women’s football, I felt like I have a stage now. I can make my voice heard and I can actually do something for real.”
He spoke on how working in the WSL, in the biggest league, means that he has a greater platform now, to make his voice heard, and drive change.
What makes women’s football so special?
Finally, as all the guests on the Beyond the Pitch podcast are asked, Robert explained what makes Women’s Football special to him personally:
“I think when I compare it to men’s football, there’s so much more potential to develop the sport. You can develop the men’s football as well, the tempo, the quality, the players have already been professional for so long. The academies are so so good. So the margins to actually develop the men’s football are so tough, and that’s cool in one way. But if you look at women’s football, where you have so much potential to develop them mentally, physically, technically, tactically and also the whole environment around it, you can actually create something else than the men’s football. You can actually create something perhaps a little bit better in one way. I feel like now when we go to the stadiums with the games, the environment was amazing, and some games when you watch men’s football can be quite tough.”
“You can see the potential, and you can develop it so much with what you already have, but you can also try to create something which hasn’t been there before.”
Everybody at Beyond the Pitch would like to extend their gratitude to Robert Vilahamn for being a guest on the Beyond the Pitch podcast.
You can watch the full episode here:
Photo: https://static.standard.co.uk/2023/09/28/17/newFile-4.jpg?width=1200&height=1200&fit=crop
