OL women

[Inara]

The FFF has a nice interview of Lotta on their website.

Schelin : "Heureuse à Lyon" (http://www.fff.fr/compnati/femd1/470799.shtml)

[Bonnie Lass]

Quite the win for OL today. :)

So, where does Nordby stand right now with her injury? Do they expect her to be back anytime soon? I saw a mention in an OL preview on their site, but my French is not great and Google translate didn't help much.

[Inara]

From what I gathered, she's not yet 100%, and the coach didn't want to risk her, so he decided to go with Pons. She should be back soon though, and will return to being the starter.

[Inara]

Also, this is the first time in a long time that a French team - any French team - has prevailed in Italy. I'm hoping their luck rubs off on the men's side when they travel to Fiorentina in two weeks.

[Bonnie Lass]

Ah, thanks for that. I was hoping to catch a Nordby UEFA match or two. :fingers crossed for her and OL:

And yes, perhaps their luck will rub off on the men. But in all honesty, I don't think luck has much to do with OL's performance this year. :D

[Inara]

And yes, perhaps their luck will rub off on the men. But in all honesty, I don't think luck has much to do with OL's performance this year. :D

Well, money is always a help, but all it takes is one shut out or one away goal to screw a team over. :(

[Bonnie Lass]

Well, I was more or less implying how solid they look, but I suppose money played a part in that.

And yes, last year's loss on away goals aggregate :rolleyes: was a heartbreaker. Here's hoping this doesn't happen this year. (Unless it's for us. :D )

So, highlights tomorrow, eh?

[Inara]

So, highlights tomorrow, eh?

Yup, at 20:30 CET. Which for me in Boston is 2:30 PM.

OLTV had a short clip of the goals this morning. The girls looked like they totally walked over Bardolino. Aulas is concerned because as happy as he is that the women are doing well, he fears that if the competition is "too easy," the girls will be in for a big shock when they come against one of the German teams in the spring. He wants them to remain grounded.

[Bonnie Lass]

Yup, at 20:30 CET. Which for me in Boston is 2:30 PM.

Ah, thank you. Same for me in Jaw-ja. :)

Aulas is concerned because as happy as he is that the women are doing well, he fears that if the competition is "too easy," the girls will be in for a big shock when they come against one of the German teams in the spring. He wants them to remain grounded.

Perhaps. But given the amount of time between the matches, I think they'll be fine. Hell, they should be hungry for some top competition by then.

[Inara]

Just two small updates:

Abily was asked about how she felt being drafted by LA. She said it was a great opportunity, and why not try it out.

Aulas is working on new contracts for the women. According to him, "his girls" have are of tremendous quality and value, and that professional contracts for women is another step in the advancement of women's football.

[Bonnie Lass]

Nice. I wonder if that's because of the WPS or if he had planned to do so all along.

In other news, St. Louis finally gave up Lotta (and Stensland) as an int'l discovery player. Anyone have any news on any possible new signings for OL? I know they're in the middle of their season, but with Damall. and Toppserien being done, well ...

[guignol]

just to mention that wendie renard played 2x90 minutes in the U-20 WC in chili: france lost to the USA 3-0 after holding onto the 0-0 until halftime, and then beat the PRC 2-0; they play argentina wednesday and have every chance of qualifying.

alix faye-chellali got a few minutes against china but it's not really logical for her to start, she doesn't at OL.

[Bonnie Lass]

Apprently, Norway's Ingvild Stensland is in talks with OL. Her contract with K/Goteborg is done and her earlier talks with the WPS fell through.

I would love to see her go to OL, but I don't know if the team has a place for her. In fact, I'd be shocked if she did get signed. Which is unfortunate, because that limits her choices for a new team and I don't want to see her go back to Norway.

[Bonnie Lass]

Guignol, do you think Nordby's done for at OL? You made a comment about OL possibly signing someone as a replacement for her in the WPS forum.

I didn't know if I'd missed some recent news about her or not.

[guignol]

no, i think she'll be on the roster until the end of the year or at least as long as were in the UEFA hunt; though the layoff due to the U-20's in chile means we won't know what her form is until january.

it was only idle musing on my part that if hope solo and lotta were really such friends, any talk they'd have about playing together would probably tilt more towards playing for what is perhaps the best club in the world in the UEFA cup than for a team which for all intents and purposes doesn't exist yet, and may never really get off the ground.

[Bonnie Lass]

Yeah, I'm a *wee* bit worried about the league and did have a chuckle about the Schellin-Solo comment. :D

I was just scared something may have been said about Nordby that I hadn't heard of yet.

[Bonnie Lass]

Ingvild Stensland is apparently heading to Lyon.

She's a holding middie, was named the 2008 women's POTY in Norway, named Toppserien's POTY in 2005, nominated for FIFA's POTY in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 and has over 50 caps for the Norway WNT. She'll be reunited with Lotta Schellin, whom she played beside, on Kopparberg/Goteborg in Sweden.

She's a great addition, even if I'm not sure yet where she'll fit in.

[guignol]

rhis is obviously a great signing, but i'm getting worried that signing too many stars will make us the chelski of women's football, which could be counterproductive.

[Bonnie Lass]

From what I've heard, it was more Aulas' thing than the coach's. Stensland's also said something along the lines of how she'll need to work to get her position in the lineup.

It's not that I'm not excited she's playing for OL, because playing for a top side is always good, but ... She'd also trained some with Arsenal before Christmas, and had mentioned Turbine Potsdam as being another possibility. Not exactly second rate clubs.

It's odd. I mean, OL doesn't need any additional help, and Stensland isn't the kind of player who'd be happy sitting on a bench. Maybe the money beat out all the others and she's taking the risk? Who knows.

(If nothing else, this means I can cut back on the number of women's leagues I've got to keep up with, since two of my Norwegians are now together.)

[Inara]

I was also pretty surprised by Stensland's signing. I didn't think the club needed any reinforcements as things stood. The only thing I want to see is Nordby playing again since I'm not too convinced by Pons.

I'm also getting the Chelsea vibe from OL Feminines, which isn't always a good thing because while having so many top notch players is great, it also creates disharmony amongst the players. Plus don't forget that Lara Dickenmann has also just arrived, and we have yet to see Cynthia Uwak play either.

It could be that Lyon is expecting to lose some players this summer, either to the WPS or because they are not interested in extending some of the contracts. Lyon are also beginning to incorporate more and more fully professional players into their team - last fall there weren't any, and now there are six of them.