The Manageress

Machismo oozes from every pore in the male-dominated world of soccer. Despite this, Gabriella Benson, an avid soccer fan and stadium goer since she was nine years old, is the first woman to take over the management of an English professional soccer club. For the self-confident young woman, there is only one direction: from the relegation battle in the second division, the path must lead upwards - despite all the sporting and interpersonal fouls. The proportion of female managers in professional men's soccer is less than 5 percent. Not much seems to have changed since the British series "Our Boss is a Woman" from 1989. After all, the German women's national team no longer receives a coffee service as a bonus for winning, like the one the DFB conjured out of a hat for the European Championship title, also in 1989. Today, when "the women" play, millions tune in - and the female voice of a (co-)presenter can also be heard more and more often at men's matches. In contrast, women are still clearly underrepresented in the coaching and managerial field. The figure of soccer manager Benson can therefore be seen as a pioneer, who at the time was still facing quite blunt headwinds in professional soccer - from condescending remarks to fatherly advice. But that makes the story of the rise of the extremely accomplished soccer expert all the more triumphant and therefore all the more entertaining. Gabriella Benson presumes to pull an English second division football club out of the relegation maelstrom! She convinces the club machos. And they now play together: Coach Eddie Johnson (Tom Georgeson) provides chairman Martin Fisher (Warren Clarke) with evidence against the previous manager. And that has consequences: Sparks fly! Italian-born Gabriella Benson has two passions in her life: her thriving fitness centre business and... Football! She has been appointed manager of a second division football club but is met with hostility from players and press alike. She seems doomed to fail...