That's good news that they'll get back to training soon. I was wondering, @Bauser, how well-known is Ellen Wille in Norway? I know she was a striker but mainly an administrator, who did important work in forming the NFF women's competitions, and this one: 1988 International Women's Football Tournament • the power of goal'd - https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/1988-international-womens-football-tournament-•-the-power-of-goald.2110058/ Ellen Wille (L) in Norway in 1982 - (Photo by Willy Karlstrøm)
Not very well-known in the larger football community in Norway, to be honest. Older people with ties to woso will of course know her. I've read that she was the first ever woman to hold a speech at a FIFA congress, but that's pretty much all. There was an interview about her in a Norwegian football magazine called Josimar prior to last year's World Cup. A short piece here as well.
Toppserien 2020 kicks off on July 4th. Now confirmed. Some noteworthy signings made in the corona break: - Kristine Minde is coming home from Wolfsburg and has signed for Rosenborg. That's the big signing their new project needed. More could follow. Rosenborg have also signed Celine Nergård, the top scorer at the Level 2 league last season for the polar circle club Fløya. She has been a big target for many clubs. - Vålerenga have signed Jalen Tompkins from Colorado Boulder and Icelandic Ingibjörg Sigurdardottir from Djurgården. - LSK Kvinner have signed Australian international Karly Røstbakken (or international spelling: Roestbakken). She has a Norwegian father by the way. - Goalkeeper Aurora Mikalsen is tired of being benched at Manchester United and has decided to look for a new club when her contract runs out in June.
Toppserien's fixture list was published today. Remember, only 18 rounds this year. NRK will cover one match live each round, but matches are selected only for the first nine matchdays so far. Round 1 (4-5 Jul) Avaldsnes - Lyn Klepp - Kolbotn Rosenborg - LSK Kvinner (fre 3/7 kl 19.45) on NRK Røa - Arna-Bjørnar Sandviken - Vålerenga Round 2 (11-12 Jul) Arna-Bjørnar - Klepp Kolbotn - Avaldsnes LSK Kvinner - Sandviken Lyn - Rosenborg Vålerenga - Røa (fre 10/7 kl 19.45) on NRK Round 3 (18-19 Jul) Avaldsnes - Arna-Bjørnar Klepp - Vålerenga Rosenborg - Kolbotn Røa - LSK Kvinner (17/7 kl 19.45) on NRK Sandviken - Lyn Round 4 (25-26 Jul) Arna-Bjørnar - Rosenborg LSK Kvinner - Klepp Lyn - Kolbotn Røa - Sandviken Vålerenga - Avaldsnes (24/7 kl 19.45) on NRK Round 5 (1-2 Aug) Arna-Bjørnar - Vålerenga Avaldsnes - Sandviken (søn kl 16.00) on NRK Kolbotn - Røa Lyn - LSK Kvinner Rosenborg - Klepp Round 6 (8-9 Aug) Klepp - Lyn LSK Kvinner - Arna-Bjørnar (søn kl 16.00) on NRK Røa - Avaldsnes Sandviken - Rosenborg Vålerenga - Kolbotn Round 7 (15-16 Aug) Arna-Bjørnar - Lyn Avaldsnes - LSK Kvinner Klepp - Røa Kolbotn - Sandviken Rosenborg - Vålerenga (søn kl 17.00) on NRK Round 8 (22-23 Aug) Avaldsnes - Rosenborg Kolbotn - Arna-Bjørnar LSK Kvinner - Vålerenga (lør kl 15.00) on NRK Lyn - Røa Sandviken - Klepp Round 9 (26 Aug) Arna-Bjørnar - Sandviken Klepp - Avaldsnes (kl 20.00) on NRK LSK Kvinner - Kolbotn Røa - Rosenborg Vålerenga - Lyn
Anja Sønstevold has signed for French club Fleury 91. Anja has been a key player for LSK Kvinner for many years, and can be used pretty much everywhere in midfield or defence. She has been in and out of the Norway squad over the last few years, but took part at Algarve Cup in March.
The headline is a bit of a stretch, if she was a man there would be another zero on the end... https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellen...ns-ada-hegerberg-lyon-equal-pay/#4df6c6ab3f84
Two pre-season friendlies played today: Kolbotn 0 - 3 LSK Kvinner 0-1 Nora Eide Lie 0-2 Andrea Wilmann 0-3 Mia Authen Vålerenga 1 - 1 Lyn 0-1 Joanna Bækkelund 60 1-1 Celin Bizet Ildhusøy 65 Vålerenga were unimpressive before the corona break under their new coach Jack Jensen, and a draw today with a near full strength line-up against bottom team Lyn underlines that trend further. Still a lot of time to adjust and improve though. But you expect more from a team that will represent Norway in the CL.
One pre-season friendly played today: Arna Bjørnar 2 - 2 Avaldsnes 0-1 Olaug Tvedten 0-2 Rasheedat Ajibade 1-2 Meryll Abrahamsen 2-2 Katarina Sunde I only saw the first half on stream, and A-B dominated quite heavily possession wise, but Avaldsnes scored twice on counter-attacks against the run of play. Not surprised to see A-B get back and earn a draw.
Rumour has it Aleksandra Sikora 29 y.o (Juventus) is close to sign with LSK. Polish international (right winger/right back) had very good NT season but isn't happy with her Italian club where she was played mostly as a sub.
Makes sense. LSK have a void to fill after Ingrid Moe Wold and Synne Skinnes Hansen on that right hand side.
Eight Toppserien clubs involved in friendly matches today. Røa 2 - 1 Kolbotn 1-0 Vilde Fjelldal 1-1 Nikola Orgill 2-1 Linn Huseby (pen) Lyn 0 - 2 Rosenborg 0-1 Marit Clausen 0-2 Marit Clausen Avaldsnes 0 - 0 Klepp Arna Bjørnar 0 - 0 Sandviken
The coverage of Toppserien by mainstream media will be better than ever this year. We already know that NRK will cover one game live each matchday free on public service television. What is new is that NTB (Norwegian Telegram Bureau) will have a reporter present at every game, and their services will be picked up by the major news outlets in Norway. There will be: - Live coverage online play by play of every game - Player ratings - Team of the Week (based on player ratings, I suppose) - Player of the Month - Player of the Year - Team of the Year I'm especially thrilled by the player ratings, which I haven't seen too much of in club woso before. NTB will use the 1-10 scale (1 is worst, 10 is best). The season is only ten days away now.
We used to do that some years ago (around the 2011 WWC and soon after) on the Nadeshiko Japan's thread after every NT match: it was funny! Never seen anything of the kind at club level, though. It could even open up to... women's football fantasy-leagues!
One friendly played today. Vålerenga are getting their act together. Some good quality goals here. Vålerenga 4 - 1 Kolbotn 1-0 Dejana Stefanovic 2-0 Sigrid Heien-Hansen 2-1 Marit Bratberg Lund (pen) 3-1 Synne Jensen 4-1 Celin Bizet Ildhusøy
Ultimatelly the destination is Klepp for Polish NT player Aleksandra Sikora. Notice: she did get married last week hence possible change of name from new season to Aleksandra Rompa. Scouting agent from Toppserien was observed "hunting" in Poland last week so expect some more transfers.
I like the fact that Toppserien clubs are scouting in Eastern Europe. I've recommended that before on this thread. There are some real diamonds on national teams in that region ready to be picked, not only in Poland, but also in far smaller and more obscure countries where women's football is underdeveloped and opportunities few and far between. Here is Sikora with the Klepp shirt.
Another remarkable transfer today: Lisa Marie Utland comes home from England. She has now signed for Rosenborg on a deal until 2021. Utland is 27 years old and has scored 78 goals in 141 Toppserien matches and 19 goals in 53 caps for Norway. She was often on the bench in England, but managed 6 league goals in 15 games for Reading.
This is the last weekend with warm-up friendlies. Some matches yesterday: Vålerenga 4 - 0 Røa 1-0 Sigrid Heien Hansen 2-0 Synne Jensen 3-0 Mia Huse 4-0 Synne Jensen Stabæk 2 - 0 Rosenborg 1-0 Melissa Bjånesøy 2-0 Louise Normann Lyn 0 - 3 LSK Kvinner 0-1 Emilie Haavi 0-2 Mimmi Löfwenius 0-3 Nora Eide Lie Amazon Grimstad 0 - 2 Klepp 0-1 Elisabeth Terland 0-2 Marie Andresen Avaldsnes 2 - 3 Sandviken Lisa Naalsund (pen), Ingrid Ryland and Maria Brochmann scored for Sandviken. No info available on Avaldsnes' goalscorers.
DNB invests in women's football The finance group becomes a partner for the national team and development projects within women's football. Share: share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share by mail #huninvesterer , which was launched in 2019 as part of highlighting the major economic differences between women and men and contributing to increased financial Equality. - DNB has been working since last autumn to seal the economic differences between women and men through the #huninvestor initiative . Sometimes the difference is small, sometimes huge, but one thing is the same - it's always the woman who comes out the worst. We have chosen to call this capital bias the capital gap. Eight months after launch, we see that never before have more women started saving long-term and more own a larger part of their world. We want this commitment now and also transfer to football as Norway's biggest sport, says Aina Lemoen Lunde, DNB's marketing director. - Together with the women's team and the NFF, we will strengthen the focus on women's football nationally and help to smooth out the differences that still apply. Women's football is in the process of development, and together with the NFF we will be launching several concepts to further strengthen our efforts, in line with #huninvesters where we will focus on players in the age group 19-23 years in club life, and in collaboration with key national team players, in in addition to benefits to our customer programs, says Tina Wesselsen, DNB's sponsor manager. In addition to raising the focus at the top level, DNB will also help ensure the growth of Norwegian women's football. NFF's projects Our female top coaches and Our best women will be part of the collaboration. Project Our female top coaches are a 5-year development program for our most promising female talent coaches, with 11 female coaches with a minimum UEFA B license participating. The project is 5 years old and will run until the end of 2022. Participants will be covered by the course fee for the NFF's two highest training courses (UEFA A and UEFA Pro), visit international reference collection environments and participate in national subject collections. In addition, relevant practice must be facilitated at the correct level, and each participant will be assigned a personal mentor for follow-up in everyday life. Project Our best women have been created to strengthen the development work in the top women's clubs. The aim of the work is to develop more players to a high international level and transfer competence to the club environments via the training apparatus so that more players can again enjoy the work. - There are many players out there who show great interest in Norwegian women's football. We see that the area is gaining increasing commercial interest, and the agreement with DNB reinforces this impression. With this agreement, DNB becomes a very important contributor in the effort to lift the women's initiative, says NFF's marketing director Runar Pahr Andresen. - We are also very happy and grateful that our partner Santander Consumer Bank has opened up for another bank to cooperate with the women's team. Santander, of course, continues his major involvement in 3v3 tournaments for boys and girls, age-specific national teams for both genders, and eFootball where he is NFF's main partner. This means a lot to NFF, concludes Pahr Andresen. Mari Stanisic Waagaard Published: 26.06.2020 Modified: 26.06.2020 Useful links #huninvesterer More on this topic NFF News
The longest pre-season in history is coming to an end, finally. The last warm-up match involving a Toppserien club was played tonight: Kolbotn 3 - 1 Øvrevoll Hosle 1-0 Julie Hoff Klæboe 1-1 Sigrid Bloch-Hansen 2-1 Marit Bratberg Lund (pen) 3-1 Tanja Myrseth Tomorrow night I will start the big Toppserien kick-off countdown on this thread. The transfer window in Norway is closing tomorrow, so I will post my comprehensive Toppserien 2020 club presentations including table predictions which I've worked on during the weekend. The presentations will be posted one by one as follows: Tuesday night ........ two clubs Wednesday ............ three clubs Thursday ............... three clubs Friday .................... two clubs Friday night: Kick-off Toppserien 2020 with Rosenborg vs LSK Kvinner. I originally wanted to start the countdown ten days before kick-off and post one club presentation per day, but when the transfer window is open until only three days before the season starts, some late big signings can make quite a difference in the ranking of teams, so I've decided to wait closer to deadline.
ARNA BJØRNAR Home ground ......................... Arna Idrettspark Location ................................ City of Bergen (Vestland county, Western Norway) Seasons in Toppserien ......... 23 (incl. every season since 2006) Best performance ................. 3rd place in 2001, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2018 Best NM Cup performance ... Beaten finalists 2000 and 2002 Last season .......................... 9th place / Semi-final in NM Cup Coach .................................... Remi Natvik [Team Picture] GK - Teagan Micah, AUS (new from Melbourne Victory) GK - Moa Edrud, SWE (new from Växjö) GK - Andrea Kvamme DF - Ngozi Ebere, NGA DF - Helene Gloppen (capt.) DF - Kristin Risnes DF - Åsne Takle Eide DF - Emilie Lövgren, SWE (new from Piteå) DF - Tora Ose DF - Kristina Erman, SVN (new from Ferencvaros) MF - Marije Brummel, NED (new from Sandviken) MF - Rikke Nygard MF - Thea Bjelde MF - Meryll Abrahamsen (new from LSK Kvinner) MF - Ingrid Jåstad MF - Tanja Løfshus (new from Hønefoss) FW - Andrine Mo FW - Pia Rijsdijk, NED (new from SC Sand) FW - Madelen Holm FW - Linnéa Laupstad FW - Martine Midtbø FW - Ingrid Altermark (new from Sandviken) FW - Camilla Ervik (new from Sandviken) Since the turn of the millennium, Arna Bjørnar have been the leading club in Norway's second biggest city Bergen, but that supremacy is now being challenged big time by city rivals Sandviken, who have more resources. Not only did Sandviken sign a bunch of A-B's best players before last season, A-B also had massive injury problems on top of that, and weren't able to live up to their true potential. They had to settle for ninth place in Toppserien 2019 after signing some foreign players in a hurry on short term contracts to be able to field a starting line-up. Barring injuries, I think A-B will do much better this year. Probably above mid-table. Possession based football is enshrined in the club's DNA, and many A-B players are good with the ball at their feet, but finding someone who can deliver the end product of goals up front is necessary, otherwise they'll have another season on the lower half of the table. The number of goals scored in the warm-up matches hasn't been convincing, but things can change. Pia Rijsdijk, a Dutch centre-forward, is supposed to solve the club's goal scoring problems, but is an unknown quantity to me. I also look forward to watching the development of Linnea "Linniesta" Laupstad. She turns 17 this summer and is a skillful attacking force, a crowd pleaser who can glide past players with ease. The central midfield is the team's strongest part. Rikke Nygard, who is now very close to a starting spot for Norway's NT, is sought after by major clubs in Europe, but has decided to stay in Bergen for now. The equally talented Thea Bjelde is back after a year out with a knee-injury. Nygard and Bjelde, both born 2000, are a dynamic duo in midfield. They should lift this team, but how far? The veteran Marije Brummel (a former Dutch international) is brought in from Sandviken across town for depth in midfield along with Meryll Abrahamsen, who didn't quite cut it at LSK. A string of foreign players have been brought in this year as well, with extra focus on defence. A-B conceded 41 goals in Toppserien last season, but pre-season games show there has been improvement in that department. After losing Norway's third choice goalkeeper at the 2019 WWC, Oda Bogstad to Sandviken, A-B signed Australia's third choice goalkeeper at that tournament, Teagan Micah instead, which I assume is a good deal. The Australian keeper is at least considerably taller than Bogstad. Micah will get tough competition for the starting spot from Moa Edrud, who is a Swedish youth NT goalkeeper. Another Swede, centre-back Emilie Lövgren, spent a decade at Piteå winning Damallsvenskan two years ago, and is a real coup for a club like A-B. Lövgren will form a strong central partnership with Helene Gloppen. Full-back Kristina Erman from Slovenia is also a new arrival who will bring valuable experience to the team. There isn't much between a handful of clubs in mid-table, but I choose to give A-B the benefit of the doubt regarding their potential goal scoring problem, and move them up a bit. Prediction? 4th place. Results in pre-season friendly matches: 15 Feb: Avaldsnes 1 - 1 Arna Bjørnar 27 Feb: Arna Bjørnar 0 - 0 Rosenborg 15 Jun: Arna Bjørnar 2 - 2 Avaldsnes 20 Jun: Arna Bjørnar 0 - 0 Sandviken 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - Arna Bjørnar 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - ------------------------------ 9 - ------------------------------ 10 -
AVALDSNES Home ground ........................ Avaldsnes Idrettssenter Location ................................ Village of Avaldsnes (Rogaland county, South-Western Norway) Seasons in Toppserien ......... 8 (every season since 2013) Best performance ................. 2nd place in 2015, 2016, 2017 Best NM Cup performance ... Winners 2017 Last season .......................... 5th place / Quarter-final in NM Cup Coach ................................... Thomas Dahle [Team Picture] GK - Victoria Esson, NZL GK - Louise Högrell, SWE GK - Synne Danielsen DF - Oda Arnesen DF - Nathalie Utvik DF - Robyn Decker, USA (capt.) DF - Maria Min Xiu Sørenes DF - Hanna Dahl DF - Kaja Olsen DF - Trine Øritzland DF - Claire Polkinghorne, AUS (new from Brisbane Roars) MF - Olaug Tvedten MF - Andrea Norheim (new from Piteå) MF - Marthe Enlid (new from Byåsen) MF - Ylinn Tennebø MF - Madelen Hernar MF - Katrina Gorry, AUS (new from Brisbane Roars) FW - Anna Jøsendal FW - Elise Thorsnes (new from Canberra United) FW - Rasheedat Ajibade, NGA Avaldsnes have been forced to adjust their ambitions recently. A few years ago, they challenged LSK Kvinner for the Toppserien crown, but lack of continuity with players and coaches coming and going frequently, stopped them from achieving their ultimate goal. Three times Avaldsnes represented Norway in the Champions League, but had nightmare draws in the first round every time (Lyon x 2 and Barcelona x 1). The last couple of years have been frustrating. Avaldsnes' eccentric club boss Arne Utvik impressed over a number of years with his ability to find the right foreign players to stay competitive, but seems to have lost the touch on the transfer market recently. Or may be his bank account is finally drying up. For once Avaldsnes have kept their coach going into a new season. Thomas Dahle is ready for his second season and sticks to a 4-3-3 system with counter-attacking as a dangerous weapon. Elise Thorsnes is back from Australia and will play centre-forward with Anna Jøsendal on the left wing and Rash Ajibade on the right. Pace and power in abundance. Probably the team's strongest part. Andrea Norheim is back in Norway after short spells in France and Sweden. As a 14-year old playing for a boys team, she made a deadly attacking partnership with no less than Erling Braut Haaland. But based on pre-season games, Norheim will feature in a deeper midfield role this season instead of up front. The promising teenager Olaug Tvedten will also play in midfield. She had an impressive second half of last season when Avaldsnes struck back after a terrible spring season before the World Cup break, which saw the club hover around the relegation zone. There are no Brazilians at Avaldsnes this year, for the first time since Avaldsnes won promotion to Toppserien. Last season's top scorer Giovanna de Oliveira has left the club. The corona situation has complicated foreign transfers, especially from other continents. But club boss Arne Utvik has still managed to sign two Australian World Cup players, the defender Claire Polkinghorne and midfielder Katrina Gorry. The injury-prone club icon Cecilie Pedersen decided to retire last season, but this current squad looks strong enough to repeat last season's fifth place, but are unlikely to challenge for top spots. Avaldsnes belong to a rather big group of teams who can end up anywhere from 3rd to 8th place. Prediction? 7th place. Results in pre-season friendly matches: 09 Feb: Sandviken 3 - 0 Avaldsnes 15 Feb: Avaldsnes 1 - 1 Arna Bjørnar 23 Feb: Avaldsnes 1 - 1 LSK Kvinner 26 Feb: Lyn 1 - 2 Avaldsnes 15 Jun: Arna Bjørnar 2 - 2 Avaldsnes 20 Jun: Avaldsnes 0 - 0 Klepp 27 Jun: Avaldsnes 2 - 3 Sandviken 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - Arna Bjørnar 5 - 6 - 7 - Avaldsnes 8 - ------------------------------ 9 - ------------------------------ 10 -