Eva Olid says a 5-0 home defeat by Chelsea changed her relationship with her Manchester United players for the better. The 41-year-old Spaniard has spent 10 busy weeks in charge and spoke to BBC Sport about her start in the job.
Olid took over at the start of August after Marc Skinner left. That gave her about a month before the Women’s Super League season began. She came from Hearts, where she worked from 2021 to 2026 and took the club from the bottom of the table to the Scottish Premier League title within five years. Even so, she was not well known in England.
So on her first day at Carrington, she showed the players her past work and tried to show them who she was. “I’m a person before a coach,” she said.
A hard start
The job was not easy. Olid inherited a thin squad and a new policy of giving academy players priority over signings. She also wanted to bring in a more attacking style. Her first two games ended in a 2-1 loss at London City Lionesses and then the 5-0 defeat by Chelsea in front of United’s own fans.
She called it a difficult week, with honest conversations. She said she took responsibility for a lot of things. She also said she stayed confident because she knew what the problem was. Her answer was to strip things back and keep it simple, as she did as a defensive midfielder.
The next game was a 1-1 draw at Arsenal. It began a five-game unbeaten run that has lifted United from the bottom of the WSL to seventh. “When you are in Manchester United, you need to find a way to win,” Olid said. She described the task as balancing results, player development and a new style of play.
Life outside football
Away from work, Olid has had little time to see her new city. She described her routine as “work, home, work, home”. She does not drink coffee, though the interview took place in a coffee shop. She has not yet tried driving on British roads and plans to use trams, as she used buses in Scotland.
She is also searching for good Spanish food. Some of the tapas bars she has found are “not 100% authentic”, she said.
One landmark is already ticked off. Olid went to Old Trafford as a fan 13 years ago and visited again last Saturday, when she was shown the changing rooms. She said the day United play there this season will make her “the happiest person in the world”.
Source: BBC Sport
