One positive development for Indian football over the past six months has been the exceptional rise of the Indian women’s senior national team. The Blue Tigresses made history by qualifying for their first Women’s Asian Cup on merit after a sensational qualifying campaign, in which they fended off their ghosts of the past and booked a ticket to the finals. Yet, this seemed to be only the start of something special for the team. While Indian coach Crispin Chettri did wonders with the side to achieve the historical feat, AIFF announced that the experienced and reputed coach Amelia Valverde will be taking charge of the team in the tournament. This is not to undermine Crispin’s extraordinary effort and coaching parameters that brought the girls to this stage, who stays with the side in a senior role anyway, but the magnitude of the appointment could bring the dynamics to a whole new level.
In the modern history of women’s football in Central America, no managerial figure has had a greater impact than Amelia Valverde. Calm, methodical, and relentlessly progressive, the name has become synonymous with the rise of Costa Rica’s women’s national team, guiding the country from struggling minnows with regional obscurity to historic milestones on the world stage. Her achievements are not defined merely by wins and losses or titles, but by structural transformation, cultural change and sustained competitiveness in a region long dominated by North American powers like the record world champions USA or Canada. Valverde’s journey stands as one of the most important managerial stories in women’s football overall. In this article, we delve into her career and achievements as she looks to carry forward her legacy with the Indian women’s national team.
Early Coaching Career
Born in San José, Costa Rica, in 1986, Amelia Valverde transitioned into coaching at a young age, without having a professional career as a footballer, making her journey interesting. She made a quick and steady impact by bringing difference through her method of playing with certain tactics and a player-centric approach, distinguishing herself from the rest. She became a revelation in Costa Rica’s domestic women’s football with one of the leading women’s clubs, Saprissa Fútbol Femenino, not simply by winning titles but the way those are won. Valverde brought a tactical organisation and defensive discipline that was not seen in women’s football in Central America, let alone in Costa Rica, while she also developed her reputation for youth development and building a long-term plan rather than relying on short-term successes.
History with Costa Rica
It was only obvious that Amelia had provided the groundwork to step into international management where resource constraints demanded efficiency and vision. However, that did not deter the mastermind but motivated her to bring out her best. She got appointed as the head coach of Costa Rica’s women’s national team in 2014 at just 28 years old, showing the reputation she had gathered to be hired to such a crucial job at such a tender age for a manager. There are only a few examples of managers in football of any category to set the world alight with their achievements in extraordinary young age, yet Amelia seemed to have gained striking experience and maturity by then, which set up historical feats for her national team. Costa Rica was transformed from a hardly recognisable name in women’s football in CONCACAF to create one of the most exciting underdog stories by reaching the global stage under her reign.
Women’s World Cup debut in 2015
Within a year of her appointment as the head coach, an upgrade from her assistant role, Costa Rica's women’s football team achieved what they hadn't done before, qualifying for the Women’s World Cup for the first time in their history. Before that, Amelia took charge of the U20 women's teams for the 2014 FIFA U20 Women's and while that was a forgettable campaign, it was a learning curve which eventually helped her seniors thrive in their competition hosted in the same place, Canada. Not just to add numbers, Costa Rica created more history in the 2015 Women’s World Cup with their manager becoming the second youngest at the tournament. Los Ticos scored their first goal and secured their first point in the 1-1 draw against soon-to-be European juggernauts Spain in their first-ever game at the biggest stage of all. They followed that with another draw against South Korea, finishing the group unbeaten but narrowly missing qualification for the knockout stage. With this achievement, Valverde had placed Costa Rica on the global map for women’s football as well. She went on to direct the side to another Women’s World Cup appearance in 2023, adding to the impressive work.
Regional Dominance
The success of the Women’s World Cup transitioned domestically as Valverde made Costa Rica among the top teams in Central America, with a period of magnificent achievements between 2016 and 2022. The team won the Gold medal at the 2017 Central American Games, a fabulous feat as they dominated the entire competition with an unbeaten run and scoring 19 goals while conceding just twice. The success carried forward as they won the Silver at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games before reaching another milestone by receiving the bronze medal in the Pan American Games held in 2019. Costa Rica made qualification for the CONCACAF Women’s Championships a regular matter. Valverde reinstated her charisma and defined her legacy with these achievements, but this was not all.
Legacy continues back at the club level
Following her incredible work in the Costa Rica women’s national team despite having limited resources, Valverde returned to club football and took the head coach role of the CF Monterrey Femenil in Mexico’s Liga MX Femenil, one of the strongest women’s club leagues outside Europe, in 2023. Her appointment was significant as she became one of the few Central American women coaching at the elite club level, which propelled her to set new heights both for her and the club. She successfully guided the club to a historical Clausura title in July and the Apertura in November in 2024, again only a year after her appointment. In the same year, Valverde was awarded the Mexican Balón de Oro for the best coach in the Liga MX Femenil by the Mexican Football Federation, showing her prominence yet again.
The look ahead: Indian Women’s Team
With Amelia Valverde now in charge of the Indian Women’s Team, everyone knows the kind of figure they have in the dressing room and there are endless reasons to be excited about the future of the team. So often the Blue Tigresses have failed at the crucial stages of a major tournament, but this time it seems their head coach will be the reason to meet the expectations of the nation, desperately needing recognition on the football stage. Valverde’s leadership, tactical astuteness and cultural impact could define the team heading into the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup in March, chasing the dream of being in the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027. For the dream to be a reality, India has to reach the quarterfinal stage by winning their tie, booking their place in the Women’s World Cup directly, or the playoff is the option. The best six teams in the Women’s Asian Cup will qualify for the global stage and the Blue Tigresses are keen to be among them.
This ambition has led AIFF to bring a profile like Valverde to the hot seat and it's clear to see why. Having the experience of managing two World Cups with Costa Rica through eye-catching performance in the continental competition makes her an ideal candidate for the job and the belief that India will go deeper in the Women’s Asian Cup under her tutelage. It's not only her innovative tactics or leadership, but Valverde stressing the development behind it, be it youth or cultural change, that makes her a very exciting proposition for the side. She became a key figure instantly with teams that do not have plenty of resources, proving organisation, belief, and clarity can overcome structural disadvantage. Valverde suits India perfectly with her ability to create milestones in the most daring jobs is only gives hope of creating more history.
