Elena Sadiku On The Ballon d’Or, Three ACL Injuries And Man Utd Links

It was 2017, and Elena Sadiku had just woken up from her seventh operation in a fortnight. The first thing she did was reach for the hospital blanket. Doctors had warned her to prepare for the worst. Following ACL surgery, an infection that took hold in her left knee had turned into sepsis, and amputation was a very real possibility.

“I freaked out,” she tells GIVEMESPORT. “When I woke up from surgery, I just pulled the blanket back and thankfully my leg was still there.”

Sadiku was only 23. Her playing career was over, and for two weeks she was battling to save her leg and, at times, what felt like her life.

Nine years on, the 32-year-old will walk the red carpet at the London Palladium on Monday as a Ballon d’Or nominee, with the ceremony held in London for the first time to mark its 70th anniversary.

Sadiku is the only woman on the five-strong Women’s Coach of the Year shortlist. She is up against Lyon’s Jonatan Giraldez, Manchester City’s Andree Jeglertz, Barcelona’s Pere Romeu and former Japan boss Nils Nielsen. Emma Hayes won the award when it was introduced in 2024 and Lionesses coach Sarina Wiegman took it last year, so Monday night will produce a first-time winner.

A Historic First Season With Hacken

Sadiku’s Ballon d’Or nomination comes off the back of an impressive first season with BK Hacken. Nobody tipped her off that she had made the shortlist. Instead, she was in the corridor near her office when one of her assistant coaches came running up with the good news.

“She showed me the picture of the graphic of [nominated] coaches, and I was like, ‘Ballon d’Or?’ Sadiku says with a smile. “I just saw it on social media for the first time, and I was like, ‘What?!'”

Sadiku was appointed by Hacken on 22 December last year, inheriting a side who had just been crowned Damallsvenskan Swedish champions under Mak Lind.

“It was very important for me to respect what they’d done, but also to make sure they understood I am a different coach, a different leader,” she explains. “The key thing for me was to get the staff and the players on board and to understand who I am and what I stand for.”

Little more than four months after she arrived, Hacken won a historic European trophy. The inaugural UEFA Women’s Europa Cup final was an all-Swedish affair against Hammarby – the first European final in men’s or women’s football between two clubs from Sweden.

Hacken won both legs: 1-0 in Stockholm and 3-2 in Gothenburg. Teenage striker Felicia Schroder scored all four of their goals as Hacken became the first Swedish club to lift a European trophy since Umea won the 2004 UEFA Women’s Cup.

“It’s a very special thing to win a European title. Not many people can say they’ve done that,” Sadiku says. “And to be the first team to win the Women’s Europa Cup makes it even more incredible.

Hammarby gained a measure of revenge a fortnight later, beating Hacken after extra time in the Swedish Cup final. But in the league, despite Schroder leaving for Real Madrid in the summer for what Hacken described as a world-record fee in the women’s game, Sadiku’s side have pulled clear this season. Last weekend’s 3-0 victory over second-placed Hammarby – their 20th victory in 22 games – left Hacken eight points ahead with four games to play. Another title is now looking likely.

The Women’s Champions League (UWCL) has proven, understandably, a tougher challenge. Hacken lost their first two league-phase games, 1-0 at Inter and 3-0 at home to Juventus. And yet the Juve tie was hotly-contested and goalless at half-time. Sadiku saw enough to show her side can compete in the UWCL.

“Against Juventus, we should have probably won, especially if you look at the first half,” she says. “It made me say to the players, ‘Don’t respect them too much. You guys are good as well!’ I have given 11 players their Champions League debuts, so I think some of them needed to hear that message.”

Three ACL Injuries and Almost Losing Her Leg

Born in Germany to Kosovor-Albanian parents, Sadiku spent time in Kosovo as a refugee during the war before her family settled in Sweden when she was seven. The football field soon became the place she felt safest.

As a striker and then attacking midfielder, Sadiku played for Malmo at 15, and in 2011 was capped for Sweden Under-19s.

She moved to Eskilstuna United in 2014, and it was here she suffered two devastating ACL injuries. Following prolonged spells out, she joined Hammarby in 2017, only to tear her ACL once again.

“The first time I tore my ACL was when I was nineteen. It was probably just bad luck. I got a tackle from behind and I couldn’t really resist the power,” she explains.

“The second time was maybe not the best knowledge from my coach. I scored a hat-trick on my comeback against AIK, and from there on I was treated as a normal player, even though I was only just back in action after one year out. I trained in full, and I tore the same ACL again – it was just crazy. That rupture needed a full reconstruction and an 18-month road back. Then, in June 2017, at Hammarby, I sustained my third ACL. I think my knee was just in too bad a shape.”

What followed ended Sadiku’s playing career and can only be described as a nightmare, but it ultimately led her to coaching.

“I was in the hospital and I got an infection after surgery. It was so bad that the bacteria started to attack my leg,” Sadiku says. “I had to have a blood transfusion. My organs started to fail a little bit. I turned white. I was so pale. The pain was just crazy. The fever lasted for over two weeks, and I really felt like this was the moment I might die.”

C-reactive protein or CRP, the marker doctors use to measure infection, should sit below 7 mg/L. Sadiku’s was above 400. Even after a grueling seventh operation, the threat of amputation had not passed.

“During that night, I had basically accepted that maybe my leg was going to go away, but that was fine by me as long as I could live,” she says. “So I was asking Google: what can I do with one leg?

“The day after [her seventh surgery], unfortunately, my fever went up again, so then I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is it.’ And then I don’t know what happened, but a few hours later, my [CRP] values just started dropping and my fever went down as well. That sudden turnaround probably saved my life.”

In all, Sadiku has had 13 operations on her left knee. Surviving the ordeal gave her perspective, but it still didn’t make life after football easy.

“When I got healthy and was walking again, and saw all my friends playing football, I started to hate football. ‘Why me? What have I done to deserve this?’ I thought. I wasn’t in a good place for a while,” Sadiku reveals. “So I stepped away for two or three months. I had already taken a coaching license during my second period of rehab. I felt I needed to be ready if something stopped me playing. I was quite prepared in some ways, but there was still the mental challenge of not being on the pitch.

“Luckily, Hammarby gave me the opportunity to take up a coaching role with their academy team and that was the beginning for me as a coach. It was just so amazing seeing players having you as a coach and looking for answers. That just opened a new passion in me, and now that passion is stronger than ever.

“I seriously believe that everything happens for a reason. I think I was meant to be a coach. After everything I’ve gone through, there’s no other explanation, because it took that much to stop me playing football. I think there are not many players who could have gone through what I have, because it was hell. And now I bring all that strength to the dugout and try to never see defeat.”

Success At Celtic

By getting into coaching so early due to injury, Sadiku is no newcomer to management. Her route to Hacken saw her move to China as an assistant at Beijing Phoenix (2018/19). She has also been an assistant at Rosengard (2019/21) as well as the head coach at both Danish side Fortuna Hjorring (2021) and Swedish outfit Eskilstuna United (2021/22). Next came a role at Everton as a Women’s Academy head coach (2023/24) before a switch to Celtic in 2024.

“Even though I’m young, I’ve been a coach for 10 years, and it’s been an intensen decade,” she says. “I’ve never stopped. I’ve collected so much experience working in different countries and clubs. It’s been one hell of a ride.”

Within five months at Celtic, Sadiku had delivered the club’s first Scottish Women’s Premier League (SWPL) title, won on goal difference ahead of Rangers thanks to Amy Gallacher’s 90th-minute winner on the final day in a win over Hibernian.

That autumn, Celtic became the first Scottish side to reach the Champions League group stage. And when they hosted Twente in October 2024, Sadiku – then 30 – became the youngest coach in men’s or women’s Champions League history, taking the record from Julian Nagelsmann. A place on FIFA’s shortlist for The Best Women’s Coach followed.

“I was not thinking about history,” she says of the record. “But it was nice to know. It’s good to be someone who can break barriers sometimes.”

Sadiku’s pride lies more in how Celtic competed in a group with Chelsea, Real Madrid and Twente – they were the first side that season to take the lead against Chelsea.

“Celtic was not a team that was recognised in Europe, and I think we showed that even when we don’t have the best resources, we could really challenge the top teams,” she says. “Maybe we don’t have players like Aitana Bonmati or Mariona Caldentey, but I always try to instil the belief in my players that you don’t need to have that big last name on your shirt to be good.”

Asked who has shaped her career so far as a manager, Sadiku names current US Women’s National Team boss Emma Hayes, the first ever winner of the Ballon d’Or Coach of the Year award in 2022.

“Emma is somebody who I probably look up to when it comes to leadership,” Sadiku says. “Football-wise, I’ve also been looking at Jurgen Klopp in terms of his intensity and press. And I love watching Paris Saint-Germain and Luis Enrique – the way they play is amazing.

“I’m all about keeping possession. For me, the most important thing is how we break lines and create goal chances. You need to be brave to play the game I want us to play. ‘Attacking’, ‘intense’ and ‘brave’ are three words I would use to describe my coaching style.”

Summer Links With Manchester United

REUTERS/Chris Radburn

Sadiku is “very happy” at Hacken, and that is clear from just a short conversation with her, but she is also highly ambitious. She was linked with the Manchester United vacancy over the summer, a job eventually handed to former Hearts SPWL winner Eva Olid.

“Like everybody else, I dream of more. Hopefully we can win the league soon,” Sadiku says. “But I also want to win the Champions League. I want to compete with the very, very best, because that is who I am. I just need a great project – that’s why I chose Hacken.”

“You can ask my agent [Michael Kallback of Neverland Management] about the Manchester United speculation. All I can say is that if I go to the Women’s Super League, it needs to be at the same level as what I am and what my values are. Any club must match what I want to achieve. If that is a club from the Women’s Super League, or Liga F, the US [NWSL], or Germany, it just needs to be the right thing for me. A new job could be of interest one day, absolutely, but it just needs to be the right club and project. I have both at the moment at Hacken.”

A Pinch-Me Moment in London

Monday’s Ballon d’Or ceremony is sandwiched between a key league game against Vaxjo and a Champions League trip to Paris FC. And her mind, as always, is on the next match, not personal accolades.

“My staff sometimes send me stuff from the Ballon d’Or, and they’re like, ‘Elena, look at this, look at that.’ And I’m just so focused on training and our next game. I don’t think being part of the Ballon d’Or has sunk it yet,” she says. “But when I land in London, that’s when it’s probably going to hit me, and I’ll think, ‘Whoa, I’m actually here, and I’m nominated!'”

“I am mostly just proud to represent Hacken. We are not a ‘big’ club, in terms of resources, like Lyon or Barcelona or Manchester City. My nomination is one for the whole team to celebrate because so much effort was put in to becoming European champions.

“I’m also very proud that I’m the only woman in my category because we should always have a representative that is a female in these types of awards. I’m young, and I can hopefully inspire many other women to dream about following my path, because it’s not impossible if you work hard.”

As for the Ballon d’Or Feminine, with three-time winner Aitana Bonmati missing from the shortlist after an injury-hit season, Sadiku is backing another familiar face to win the trophy again.

“I think Bonmati is probably the best player in the world, but she can’t win the Ballon d’Or this time due to her injuries,” she says.

“Mariona Caldentey and Patri Guijarro are exceptional players, but I think it’s going to be Alexia Putellas that’s going to win.”

Putellas, who won the Ballon d’Or in 2021 and 2022, swapped Barcelona for London City Lionesses in the summer, so if Sadiku is right, the trophy will be staying in London.

For Sadiku, though, Monday’s ceremony is about far more than who wins. Injury meant she never found out how far she could go as a player. As a coach, she has now found a way to be part of the Ballon d’Or. It’s a moment to share and savour with her family and friends who have stood by her through some challenging times.

“I dreamt about the Ballon d’Or when I was a player,” she says. “I’m excited to take my dad and my agent with me on Monday, because they have both been a big part of the journey I’ve had. These ‘pinch-me’ moments are special.”

And a double celebration might be in order. If Hacken beat Vaxjo on Friday, and Hammarby lose to Djurgarden on Saturday, Sadiku will be celebrating a league title, a feat that will only highlight why she’s viewed as one of the top-five coaches in women’s football in 2026.