It's time to call up the reserves (photo by wonker, cc-by) A FRIENDLIES LIST: https://int.soccerway.com/international/world/club-friendlies-women/2020 The first friendly of the year in Europe – a home win today for SL Benfica, who lead Portugal's league unbeaten in their first season in Liga BPI. They beat Heerenveen (NED), 1-0. Previous threads 2018 - 2019 One nice hot-button topic to start with, CLUB vs COUNTRY on the pitch Australian top-2 club WSW have won a friendly against a member of the World Cup's last 16... (from some threads this wk) Club v WNT games happen sometimes, thus damaging the purity of both disciplines!, nah just kidding. And the clubs are evidently very strong in some games. Would you like to see more of them? Can they tell us anything important, or would they just be a distraction?
Nothing important, because clubs and countries will never face each other in official competition, but they're still really fun to see. IIRC, we've had China 1-1 Reign FC, Israel 1-3 Chelsea, and now China 0-1 Western Sydney Wanderers. I also wanna say Haiti has faced a lower-division US club before, but it would've been years ago. That's just off the top of my head, I'm sure there have been others. Not to mention all the times that senior WNTs have faced boys' youth teams (both YNTs and club academy teams) for training as well.
That came up in the ICC thread, the conclusion was, "let's play each other 10 times until everybody's sick of it" https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/international-champions-cup.2082587/page-8#post-38092769 I've not followed the Dutch league this season, but PSV Eindhoven might win their first title. They beat Ajax away and are ahead of the Amsterdam club by 4pts. PSV are in southern Spain for training and a game tonight with Granada CF. Meanwhile in 🇪🇸PSV Vrouwen bereidt zich in Malaga voor op de tweede seizoenshelft 🏋🏼♀️ pic.twitter.com/xUUmI0PZAm— PSV (@PSV) January 6, 2020
if the USWNT had just one day or two to practise for the game, then I would pick Lyon, but if the US squad has weeks to prepare(like they do for a major tournament) then I would pick them yes, its that complicated!
That came up in the ICC thread, the conclusion was, "let's play each other 10 times until everybody's sick of it" https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/international-champions-cup.2082587/page-8#post-38092769 Malta 2 Bolton 1 in 2019, not a big game but it was definitely real. But yeah, I was gonna say, it's hard to draw any conclusions in these games because of so many variables, especially motivation - same as in a lot of friendlies. A win 2-1 for PSV at Granada yesterday: www.psv.nl/video/video/de-mooiste-beelden-van-psv-vrouwen-granada-c.f..htm
Four Dutch v German friendlies in January: PSV Eindhoven lost 3-2 at SGS Essen, then PSV beat Hoffenheim at home, 4-0. Ado Den Haag beat Bayer Leverkusen, a 5-1 win. In live games, Wolfsburg hosted FC Twente, currently 3rd in the Dutch league. The next week it was a fairly easy Bundesliga warm-up for them, v Frankfurt. Highlights | VfL Wolfsburg - 1. FFC Frankfurt | 5:0 www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-7Qwfw8KsE Two Swiss opponents visited Germany's SC Sand - Grasshopper Zurich fell 5-0, while the current 2nd-place team in Switzerland's Nationalliga A, FC Basel played to a 1-0 loss, as the clubs prepare for the second half of their seasons. Poland's runners-up Medyk Konin also played in Germany, losing 1-0 at USC Jena in a 60-minute match. Matches in Norway from Bauser in The Norway Thread, with some guests from Sweden too - Mallbacken and Gothenburg: A couple of cross-border games involving Danish teams, this past weekend (8-9 Feb) – Denmark's league leaders Fortuna Hjørring hosted Norway's Vålerenga in a 1-1 draw. The Danish champions (currently 2nd) Brøndby visited Sweden's Kristianstad, a match ending 2-2.
Hmm So This happened Beşiktaş - Atlético Madrid - 'Vodafone Cup', 7 March 2020 Besiktas host Atletico Madrid at the Vodafone Park in Intl Women’s Day - www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZyxQ1pfZEk
@Lechus7 thank you for the rep, BUT in these times of uncertainty, I'd prefer everyone to reply in the form of a surprise emoji or anger emoji. (Or normal words.) such as "HOW many fans?" "What on earth?" "These fans are too loud!" etc
Heh, fair enough. Considering the match I wasn't as much surprised by the crowds... cuz of Kenia NT striker Essa Akida - new Besiktas international signing. Following her tt account I heard about this game early. Besiktas has some fierce and very loyal fans thus full stadium dosen't really surprise. Question is, was it one time gig or is Turkey federation considering women's football developement as not so distant aim. Still 43k on the stands is nothing to sneez at.
33,000, they said... Of course they're a big club, but so many fans for a one-off women's friendly? Has Turkey ever had anything like that before? It looks like the whole thing was planned by Beşiktaş - I don't think the TFF was involved at all, though the national sports minister was at the trophy ceremony. It feels like, I dunno, a spaceship landed on the banks of the Bosphorus... Also, the teams went on a boat trip, #Content
More Club v Country games, controversial stuff! After the World Cup but before the PanAms, Argentina played in a 60-minute match against club SAT, newly promoted to Primera División A. Imagine the divided loyalies SAT players felt... Also - ( PodiumDeportes / Seleccion Nacional) I checked my Fifa rankings and PSV aren't even on there! It's like they can't even tell us the winner before the kickoff. PSV EINDHOVEN v MEXICO 9 Apr 2019 www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc7UfU_VlUs - Or see PSV's highlights - Match report (SoyFutbol) For one player, the trip had a big effect - after this and a Netherlands friendly, PSV signed goalkeeper Cecilia Santiago.
On the actual topic, next week is the 50th anniversary of Serbia's champion women's club, ŽFK Spartak Subotica, who had a near miss in the Champions League this season. Subotica planned a series of friendlies in 2020 against some of their peers in other countries around Europe. http://www.zfk-spartak.in.rs/vesti/2020/300_golubice-zapocele-zimske-pripreme.htm / English autotranslation / Archive In the end the fixture list was different - on 1 February, the Blue Doves got a win in Austria SKN St. Pölten 3 - 5 ŽFK Spartak - (Tijana Filipović 2 goals) The champions of Hungary and Austria played each other earlier (reported scoreline is MTK Hungaria 2, St Pölten 1). Then in Antalya on the southern coast of Turkey, Subotica faced the champions of Russia and Belarus but couldn't beat them: ŽFK Spartak 1 - 1 CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow 2 - 0 ŽFK Spartak ŽFK Spartak 1 - 2 ŽFK Minsk Their game with LSK didn't happen, as the Norwegian champs only played February friendlies in Norway and away at La Manga.
Sweden's teams were back in action, before Damallsvenskan started at the weekend, long delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic. There was a match of the reigning champions and runners-up, but maybe the journalist Henrik Lundgren was taking it more seriously than the players did: 'Gothenburg FC gave a real strength message and more or less drove over Rosengård. - "They can have that, so they think they have some chance in the series", says Anna Anvegård after the 0-2 loss.' - (Aftonbladet) In Ireland, the clubs from the Women's National League are allowed to organize training and games from today, 29 June https://www.fai.ie/domestic/news/fai-authorises-new-safer-return-to-football-for-loi-wnl Oh my, it's been the longest preseason ever... Norway's friendly results here, thanks to Bauser: The Norway thread www.bigsoccer.com/posts/38720925
Lyon tournee in Poland 18.07 TBA Medyk Konin vs. Olympique Lyon 22.07 Opalenica (OSIR Training Centre) Czarni Sosnowiec vs. Olympique Lyon 24.07 Opalenica (OSIR Training Centere) Górnik Łęczna vs. Olympique Lyon OSIR Opalenica training field has 900 seats - no word as of yet if fans will be allowed)
Update. 18.07 Konin (Stadium Złotej Jedenastki Kazimierza Górskiego) 16:00 Medyk Konin vs. Olympique Lyon stream OLTV & Medyk TV 22.07 Opalenica (OSIR Training Centre) 17:30 Czarni Sosnowiec vs. Olympique Lyon stream OLTV 24.07 Opalenica (OSIR Training Centere) TBA Górnik Łęczna vs. Olympique Lyon stream OLTV 26.07 Żagań 13:00 Medyk Konin vs. Sparta Praha 02.08 Siauliai 11:00 Gintra Univeristas vs. Medyk Konin
We thought we might never get them, but here they are - Summer friendlies 2020 ☀ In this most unusual year, Europe's biggest clubs will use July/August as a warmup to a delayed Champions League knockout finale. For some other teams, it's slightly more as normal, preparing for domestic seasons - but in several countries, the 2019/20 league has overrun until now or even later, so no friendlies for them. ⬤ ⬤ Paris Saint-Germain won 4-2 on Friday, up against FC Twente, who are still the defending Dutch women's champions (no title awarded in 2020)... That is PSG's first match for 5 months, and Twente's first in 6 months: https://psgtalk.com/2020/07/psg-feminines-defeat-fc-twente-in-first-friendly-of-summer/ ⬤ ⬤ Belgian champions RSC Anderlecht kicked off with an easy win over 2nd-division DVC Eva's Tienen, but more notable was the relaxed soccer atmophere and... a smattering of spectators?! It's not quite Beşiktaş, but it all seems so normal ... www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa0SsCImfhc Anderlecht's preseason schedule takes them next to France from Wed 29 July. And with the games in Poland that @Lechus7 has posted about, Lyon are back: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1806786732806609
⬤ In Paris, PSG beat Paris FC 4-1 on Tuesday at PSG, the first game back for the visitors. Ramona Bachmann made her debut for PSG, playing the last half-hour AFAIK, and Bachmann got an assist on a goal by Denmark's striker Signe Bruun, who's back from injury - her fellow Dane Nadia Nadim scored a penalty. Match report on Le Parisien / English match report on PSG.fr Bachmann: even dives in closed-door friendlies (Artem Korzhimanov, cc-by) The Paris teams will play another game today, Saturday 25 Jul. ⬤ The next game in Poland was on Wednesday: Lyon were up to speed by Friday and saved the best for last, a 9-0 v Górnik Łęczna at the same venue in Opalenica. The Czech runners-up are playing in Poland on Sunday, and Konin fly out to Lithuania for a match next week...
I should've added, Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon are building up to the French Cup semi-finals next weekend (2 August), against Bordeaux and Guingamp respectively - not sure if those two clubs are playing warm-up games as well, but I can't find any...
⬤ Their second local derby in Paris (25 July) was PSG 2, Paris FC 0 with goals by Kadidiatou Diani 35' and Marie Katoto 78'. French match report / English report, PSG.fr Paris FC, 5th last season, are now training out west in Brittany. They have another friendly with Soyaux on 6 Aug on neutral ground, Montlouis-sur-Loire. Cool poster! They even seamlessly include the MASQUE RECOMMANDÉ... Soyaux (10th in the past season) have scheduled five friendlies throughout August. ⬤ Poland's Medyk Konin welcomed the Czech champions Slavia Prague at the weekend for a training match at Zagan, a 2-2 draw (see match report / video). Slavia have a couple of upcoming games in August, against Austrian champions St Pölten, and then Bayern Munich. Slavia training in July - (Slavia.cz) ⬤ A large 12-team tournament is planned in mid-August in eastern France's Lorraine region - the Women's Cup du Grand Est. Will it go off without a problem? This would be the 3rd edition of the cup, with French clubs plus Belgian runners-up Standard Liège and Germany's SC Sand. https://www.lequipiere.com/douze-equipes-a-la-womens-cup-du-grand-est-en-aout-2/
Scores from the weekend, 1-2 August Barcelona and Montpellier return to action - Asisat Oshoala scored twice as a substitute in the second half and Jenni Hermoso added a third: ▶ Barça 3 - 0 Montpellier Match report: ThisDayLive.com ⬤ Fleury and the Belgian champions produced some good goals in their match, in the French border town Charleville-Mézières. (Seriously, Anderlecht can't play a game unless the ball is orange?!) Fleury 91 3 - 4 RSC Anderlecht Spetsmark 55', Dear 83', 88'p / De Caigny 34', 75', Teulings 45', Toloba 60' www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KnAtzlHqkg ⬤ Anderlecht are meant to play PSV Eindhoven on Friday (8 Aug), but the last match of the Dutch club v Belgium's Gent was cancelled. This was due to a coronavirus scare at PSV, not involving those women's teams - PSV will now be either testing every opposing player, or cancelling games. ⬤ In the last Polish friendlies before the new season, a 3-2 win for Śląsk Wrocław over Bielsko-Biała. And a Czech v Hungarian game was held midway, in Slovakia: Sparta Prague 3 - 1 Ferencvaros https://sparta.cz/cs/clanek/spartanky-na-slovensku-porazily-ferencvarosi-tc-37073 (Sparta.cz)
15:00 cet Montpellier vs. Eindhoven (youtube NL only) and OLTV 18:00 cet Lyon vs. Juventus OLTV & JuventusTV