OL women

[guignol]

Last year the OL women's team made quite a few headlines. in mid-season they recruited 6 players from the USNT, and not the least of them: aly wagner, hope solo, christie welsh, lorrie fair, danielle slaton and tara flint.

they finished the season on fire and made it to the cup final which they lost in a heartbreaker. they also finished 3rd in the league despite the slow start made before the americans arrived.

not all the americans stayed until the end of the season, and it's not clear how many will be back, although lorrie fair and danielle slaton, who provide and amazing midfield backbone are apparently going to arrive in lyon in the next few days. getting wagner back looks like an impossible dream, solo would be great to have in goal, but probably not in the cards.

still, they brought a lot to the team that stayed after they left; they showed the local women just what kind of level it takes to play at the top. here's to a successful season for the distaff squad!

[gaijin]

Photos pls.....

;)









:D

[guignol]

In their first official match the OL women went to Compiègne to face a side newly promoted to the top flight.

Farid Benstiti's ladies led 1-0 at halftime on a penalty by Sandrine Bretigny.

the second period was more delicate, especially playing at 10 after a rather harsh sending-off of de Laura Gandonou and a hotly contested equalizer.

next week-end is the home opener... against PSG!

allez les filles!

[guignol]

Photos pls.....;)i'm scandalized! who do you think you are, sepp blatter? :eek:

but here's a nice story from last year: http://www.ussoccer.com/editorial/fullstory.sps?iNewsid=157468&itype=4129&icategoryid=77

and pictures of the whole squad (again, from last year): http://www.webzinemaker.com/admi/m6/page.php3?num_web=7252&rubr=3&id=257599

[gaijin]

i'm scandalized! who do you think you are, sepp blatter? :eek:


No, just the regular board sex pest. ;)

[guignol]

No, just the regular board sex pest. ;)well in that case i can say that aly wagner's photos don't do her justice. in person she's a stone fox.

[guignol]

not thefreshest news on hope solo, but the best i could find

http://www.ussoccer.com/news/fullstory.sps?iNewsid=197748

[Gnafron]

“The communication was hard and it wasn’t a two-way street,” she said. “I would try to learn their language and the words they would want me to say, but in a game atmosphere, I would resort back to English and they would get mad and yell at me instead of just learning a few English words. It was a tough situation, but the hurdles that I was forced to overcome helped stretch me as goalkeeper.”

Typical mercenary state of mind ?

PS: Hello there this is my 1st post :)

[gaijin]

Ahhh Bienvenue Gnafron. :)

Reims fan eh? What do you reckon this season.... Think they'll go up?

[Gnafron]

Ahhh Bienvenue Gnafron. :)

Reims fan eh? What do you reckon this season.... Think they'll go up?

I hope they'll stay 2 or 3 years in League 2 before thinking of joingning L1.

I would certainly enjoy Reims in League 1 instead of Ajaccio for eg. :D

[guignol]

gnafron! name of a rat! now this is a pleasant surprise, to see my best friend here! http://leguignol.free.fr/angleterre/marionnettesgb/marionnettesgb.htm

[Gnafron]

In Vinasse Veritas - :D

[guignol]

this saturday nos olympiennes will host PSG. while our ladies were picking up one point at newly promoted compiègne, les parigotes beat toulouse 2-1.

the match is at 15h at field n°10 at gerland. for those of you who are close enough, if you've never watched a match on this pitch, i heartily recommend you . and it's free!

[guignol]

it wasn't easy, but the ladies beat PSG 1-0. even if les parisiennes hit the bar and a post, the victory was well deserved. the goal came in the 70th minute on a shot by claire morel, served up on a platter by sandrine bretigny.

lorrie fair's return didn't go unnoticed. the american whom mahamadou diarra raved about last year was as imaginitive as she was active.

[lefutur]

oh damn. i thought there would be pictures of the hot OL player's wives and girlfriends. :confused:

[Jet$on]

same

[guignol]

The women's team went to champagne this weekend and beat saint memmie 2 - 0 on two second half goals by sandrine brétigny et delphine blanc.

with 10 points in three matches this year, they're still unbeaten.

more good news this week: american midfielder danielle slaton is back with the team.

[guignol]

there's a brazilian center back on trial, her name is simone. evidently one-word names are the rule for women as well as men in brazil!

i'll try to make the next match to see if she's any good. i expect she is; women players don't cross the atlantic on a wild fancy. she's probably a killer, a cris with hair!

[guignol]

An interview with Delphine Blanc

Having to deal with the retirement of several experienced players and the departure of three of their Americans, Olympique Lyonnais starts the season with a talented but very young squad. At only 22 years old, Delphine Blanc, starting her third season among the elite, is now one of the “old pros” of the team. Conscious of the fact that the fight for the title will be difficult, she considers her team to have a lot of possibilities to improve.

Delphine, can you resume your victory against PSG ?

We’re still at the beginning of the season and we were lacking quickness in our game. The start was very balanced. Then we got the upper hand in balll possession, without being able to create many dangerous opportunities. PSG on the contrary had two clear chances, touching the bar and a post. We were able to open the score in the second half on a goal by Claire Morel.

After a nil at Compiègne (1-1) and this hard-won victory, can you say OL is still in a tune-up period ?

Yes, especially as we have a very young team. Some experienced players have retired, and Hope Solo, Aly Wagner and Christie Welch have left. Against Compiègne I was the oldest player on the field. The return of Lorrie Fair […] and Daniele Slaton help. These two will add a lot of talent and experience.


In this young group (note: five players on the team are under 18) do you feel you have increased responsability?

It’s true it feels strange. A couple of years ago I was one of the youngest in the group. Things change fast. There are other players like Sandrine Dusang, Claire Morel and Sandrine Brétigny who have several years experinece in D1. We’re the oldest now, and it’s up to us to guide the youngsters; it’s not always easy.

In playing terms, what are your principal priorities in the coming matches?

For the new players who have just joined the team, the important thing is to gain confidence match after match. We still have work to do to get used to each other as we haven’t had the possibilty to all play together yet. Our game will get better and better, we have a lot of room to progress.

[Jet$on]

10 pts in three matches?