Sir Alex and Pompey big influences on US coach

United States coach Jill Ellis doubts her passion for football would exist had she not been brought up in England.

Ellis was born in Portsmouth and supported Manchester United as a child but moved to the US with her family as a teenager.

The 52-year-old is now preparing to take on the country of her birth as her US side, the holders, face England in the semi-finals of the Women’s World Cup in Lyon this evening.

Ellis said: “I was a Pompey lass. I can’t say I always supported Pompey – I’ve been a Man United fan since i was seven. but i have a lot of fond memories, [there were] a lot of great people and I spent a lot of summers up in Edinburgh.

“My whole British culture and growing up is still with me, for sure. I’m very grateful for that because I don’t think, had I grown up in another country, the passion for football would be where it is.”

Ellis did not have the opportunity to play organised football while she lived in England, however, as the women’s game was still to reestablish itself in the aftermath of it being banned by the FA.

Her British life continues to influence her though, not least in citing Sir Alex Ferguson as one of her coaching inspirations. She met the former Manchester United manager once, at a Fifa event.

“I bumped into him in a hallway,” said Ellis, whose side beat France in the quarter-finals to set up the England clash. “He was super gracious, charming, nice. That was a brief interaction but I’ve read his books and, being a young Man United fan way back in the day, I was all in.”