League leaders lose a lot
Last year's top two teams in Damallsvenskan, Linköpings FC and Umeå IK, have both been hard hit by players moving, mostly to WPS teams. LFC loses their top three offensive players (Kosovare Asllani to Chicago Red Stars, Jessica Landström to New Jersey Sky Blue, and Caroline Seger to Philadelphia Independence). Linköping is hoping that forward Josefine Öqvist, who was injured for most of last year, will stay healthy and regain her scoring form; the club has also acquired Finnish forward Linda Sällström who played last at Djurgården. On defense, LFC retains the services of national team player Charlotte Rohlin and Nigerian international Faith Ikidi, both of whom who had good seasons last year, and goalkeeper Sofia Lundgren, who is currently third keeper for the national team.
LFC is out of the Women's Champions League after tying at home and then losing to the Frauenbundesliga's Duisburg last year; LFC's first game of the year will be against Umeå IK in the Supercup (a single game between last year's top two teams) on March 21. LFC's domestic season starts April 3 against Kopparbergs/Göteborg, which will be a challenging start for them. Sky Blue fans interested in getting a peek at what Landström can do might be interested in the brief highlights from last year's K/G v. LFC game (a longer match report in English).
Umeå IK loses their top goal scorer and point leader Ramona Bachmann (Atlanta Beat) as well as their second (Madeline Edlund, to St. Louis Athletica) and third (Johanna Ramussen, also to the Beat) top point getters. Their fourth most effective offensive player, long-time Umeå stalwart Hanna Ljungberg, retired in some haste in the middle of last season due to persistent injuries; Umeå also loses Mami Yamaguchi (Atlanta Beat) and Lisa Dahlkvist (Kopparbergs/Göteborg). Frida Östberg, who played last year for Chicago, has returned to her old club UIK after what must have been the shortest retirement in the history of women's football.
UIK will get long headstart on the domestic season, hosting French side Montpellier in the Women's Champions League quarterfinal on March 10 with the return a week later. Last year UIK crashed out of the same tournament (then known as the UEFA Women's Cup) by losing to Russian side Zvezda on a frozen pitch; like last year, Umeå (and most of the rest of Sweden) is still covered in plenty of snow, which might help UIK against Montpellier more than it did against Zvezda. UIK then has the Supercup match against Linköping on the 21st, and their league opener on April 5 against newcomers Jitex, which ought to be an easy win for them.
Up next in part 2: preview for LdB FC Malmö and Kopparbergs/Göteborg
Showing posts with label Linköping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Linköping. Show all posts
March 6, 2010
June 17, 2009
Damallsvenskan 2009: The Midway Point
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Labels: AIK, Damallsvenskan, Daniela, Djurgården, Friends of WSW, Guest Contributors, Hammarby, Linköping, Los Angeles Sol, Marta, Saint Louis Athletica, Sunnanå, Sweden, Umeå IK, Washington Freedom
Labels: AIK, Damallsvenskan, Daniela, Djurgården, Friends of WSW, Guest Contributors, Hammarby, Linköping, Los Angeles Sol, Marta, Saint Louis Athletica, Sunnanå, Sweden, Umeå IK, Washington Freedom
By: Jocasta -- Damallsvenskan Soapbox
At this point, the top team (Umeå) and bottom teams (last year's newcomers Kristianstad and this year's newly-promoted Piteå and Stattena) come as no surprise. The order of teams in the middle, however, is a little unexpected, with for instance none of the Stockholm teams (AIK, Djurgården, and Hammarby) in the top half of the table. Every team, even Umeå, has lost a game at this point.
Let's start at the top. The facts that coach Andree Jeglertz was lured away to Allsvenskan (Djurgården's men's side), and that some player named Marta was lured away to WPS (Los Angeles Sol) does not seem to have slowed the team down much—perhaps they win by fewer goals than last year, but the outcome is the same. Umeå's single defeat came at the hands of Sunnanå, a team that Umeå historically has had trouble with, for some reason; they also tied Piteå, in the last game of the last round. Umeå now has 28 points, leading the field by 2 points.
The first small surprise of the 2009 season is the team currently in second place with 26 points, Kopparbergs/Göteborg. K/G opened the season by defeating LdB, and then went on to defeat Linköping in their second game. They've looked quite good in the games I've been able to see, and two of its young forwards are at (Linnea Liljegärd) or near (Sara Lindén) the top of the league for goals and assists.
Third-place Linköping FC (23 points) lost a couple key players from last year, including Daniela (WPS's St Louis Athletica). They are quite a strong team, but have had a little trouble playing at that high level consistently.
The second surprise in the table comes in the 4th place, KIF Örebro(22 points). Örebro is a team without any really well-known Swedish players, but they are solid throughout, and have some top players from Finland. They are also well-coached by Richard Holmlund, who used to be at Umeå.
LdB Malmö (19 points) are probably this year's under-performers, if comparing pre-season hype to mid-season place in the table. They currently sit 5th, with 1 ties and 4 losses. LdB did give Umeå a bit of a fight, in a well-played game that was televised. They can score a lot against weaker teams, scoring 25 goals in three weeks against Kristianstad, Piteå, and Stattena, and Djurgården.
Sixth-place Sunnanå (19 points) has the other sleeper team this year, along with Örebro. The return of former national team defender Hannah Marklund heralded what has been a quite good season for them. Any year in which they defeat Umeå has to be considered already a success, and being in the top half of the table is a nice bonus.
The bottom half of the table starts with all the teams from Stockholm,with Djurgården, Hammarby, and AIK in 7th, 8th, and 9th place. Djurgården and AIK both lost key players from last year and have been struggling. Djurgården lost both of its German internationals, keeper Nadine Angerer and midfielder/defender Ariane Hingst, who went back to Germany and now play for 1. FFC Frankfurt. AIK's Australian internationals Lisa DeVanna and Kathryn Gill went in quite different directions, with Gill heading up north to play for Sunnanå, and DeVanna heading west for WPS (Washington Freedom). The third Stockholm team, Hammarby, has much the same team and is faring much as they always do.
At the very bottom of the table, there are currently three teams vying for 10th place in the league, which is a big deal because the last two teams are relegated to a lower division. Of the three, Piteå (10th) is probably feeling the best about itself, as they have just come off a shock draw against Umeå, in a game that they were winning until the last five minutes. The bad performance of Kristianstad (11th) is probably the most surprising of the three, as they managed to stay in the top league last year, starting their season with a shock 2-1 defeat of Djurgården. Twelfth-place Stattena has had just an awful time, with a goal differential of -40.
Games are scheduled to continue through early July, with Round 16 being played at the end of July, then the league goes on hiatus forthe European Championships in August and September. The season will then resume in late September, and end in early November.
Go to the Swedish FA's site (http://svenskfotboll.se/damallsvenskan/) to see the complete table.
At this point, the top team (Umeå) and bottom teams (last year's newcomers Kristianstad and this year's newly-promoted Piteå and Stattena) come as no surprise. The order of teams in the middle, however, is a little unexpected, with for instance none of the Stockholm teams (AIK, Djurgården, and Hammarby) in the top half of the table. Every team, even Umeå, has lost a game at this point.
Let's start at the top. The facts that coach Andree Jeglertz was lured away to Allsvenskan (Djurgården's men's side), and that some player named Marta was lured away to WPS (Los Angeles Sol) does not seem to have slowed the team down much—perhaps they win by fewer goals than last year, but the outcome is the same. Umeå's single defeat came at the hands of Sunnanå, a team that Umeå historically has had trouble with, for some reason; they also tied Piteå, in the last game of the last round. Umeå now has 28 points, leading the field by 2 points.
The first small surprise of the 2009 season is the team currently in second place with 26 points, Kopparbergs/Göteborg. K/G opened the season by defeating LdB, and then went on to defeat Linköping in their second game. They've looked quite good in the games I've been able to see, and two of its young forwards are at (Linnea Liljegärd) or near (Sara Lindén) the top of the league for goals and assists.
Third-place Linköping FC (23 points) lost a couple key players from last year, including Daniela (WPS's St Louis Athletica). They are quite a strong team, but have had a little trouble playing at that high level consistently.
The second surprise in the table comes in the 4th place, KIF Örebro(22 points). Örebro is a team without any really well-known Swedish players, but they are solid throughout, and have some top players from Finland. They are also well-coached by Richard Holmlund, who used to be at Umeå.
LdB Malmö (19 points) are probably this year's under-performers, if comparing pre-season hype to mid-season place in the table. They currently sit 5th, with 1 ties and 4 losses. LdB did give Umeå a bit of a fight, in a well-played game that was televised. They can score a lot against weaker teams, scoring 25 goals in three weeks against Kristianstad, Piteå, and Stattena, and Djurgården.
Sixth-place Sunnanå (19 points) has the other sleeper team this year, along with Örebro. The return of former national team defender Hannah Marklund heralded what has been a quite good season for them. Any year in which they defeat Umeå has to be considered already a success, and being in the top half of the table is a nice bonus.
The bottom half of the table starts with all the teams from Stockholm,with Djurgården, Hammarby, and AIK in 7th, 8th, and 9th place. Djurgården and AIK both lost key players from last year and have been struggling. Djurgården lost both of its German internationals, keeper Nadine Angerer and midfielder/defender Ariane Hingst, who went back to Germany and now play for 1. FFC Frankfurt. AIK's Australian internationals Lisa DeVanna and Kathryn Gill went in quite different directions, with Gill heading up north to play for Sunnanå, and DeVanna heading west for WPS (Washington Freedom). The third Stockholm team, Hammarby, has much the same team and is faring much as they always do.
At the very bottom of the table, there are currently three teams vying for 10th place in the league, which is a big deal because the last two teams are relegated to a lower division. Of the three, Piteå (10th) is probably feeling the best about itself, as they have just come off a shock draw against Umeå, in a game that they were winning until the last five minutes. The bad performance of Kristianstad (11th) is probably the most surprising of the three, as they managed to stay in the top league last year, starting their season with a shock 2-1 defeat of Djurgården. Twelfth-place Stattena has had just an awful time, with a goal differential of -40.
Games are scheduled to continue through early July, with Round 16 being played at the end of July, then the league goes on hiatus forthe European Championships in August and September. The season will then resume in late September, and end in early November.
Go to the Swedish FA's site (http://svenskfotboll.se/damallsvenskan/) to see the complete table.
June 16, 2009
Damallsvenskan Round 11: The Weirdness Continues
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Labels: AIK, Damallsvenskan, Djurgården, Friends of WSW, Guest Contributors, Hammarby, Linköping, Sunnanå, Umeå IK
Labels: AIK, Damallsvenskan, Djurgården, Friends of WSW, Guest Contributors, Hammarby, Linköping, Sunnanå, Umeå IK
By: Jocasta -- Damallsvenskan Soapbox
The 11th round of Damallsvenskan is now completed, which means the season is half over. My thoughts on the season so far to will follow...
On 13 June, Kristianstads DFF took their first points of the season, beating newly-promoted visitors Stattena IF 4-0. The two teams are now tied on total points for the season (3), but Stattena's really terrible goal differential (-40) and the fact that they have three ties but no wins puts them in last place at the moment. In Stockholm, AIK hosted second place- Kopparbergs/Göteborg, and lost 0-1 on a goal in the 86th minute by Sara Lindén.
On 14 June, on what *should* have been the shock of the week, LdB lost badly to Sunnanå at home 0-4, and the two teams are now tied on points but LdB has the edge in goal differential. In a Stockholm derby goalfest, Djurgården defeated Hammarby 5-2. Linköping and KIF Örebro were in 4th and 3rd places respectively, but today they played each other and Linköping's 4-0 win means that the two teams swap places in the table.
Shock of the Week: On 15 June, in the last game of the round, league-leaders Umeå did something that they don't do too often—they traveled *north* for an away game, against tenth place Piteå. And here's another thing they don't do too often: they came away with only one point. Yes, that's right, Piteå played Umeå to a 1-1 draw, and so have reduced Umeå's lead on Göteborg to two points.
At the halfway point, then, here are the rankings (go to svenskfotboll.se for more details):
Umeå IK
Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC
Linköpings FC
KIF Örebro DFF
LdB FC Malmö
Sunnanå SK
Djurgårdens IF
Hammarby IF DFF
AIK
Piteå IF
Kristianstads IF DFF
Stattena IF
The 11th round of Damallsvenskan is now completed, which means the season is half over. My thoughts on the season so far to will follow...
On 13 June, Kristianstads DFF took their first points of the season, beating newly-promoted visitors Stattena IF 4-0. The two teams are now tied on total points for the season (3), but Stattena's really terrible goal differential (-40) and the fact that they have three ties but no wins puts them in last place at the moment. In Stockholm, AIK hosted second place- Kopparbergs/Göteborg, and lost 0-1 on a goal in the 86th minute by Sara Lindén.
On 14 June, on what *should* have been the shock of the week, LdB lost badly to Sunnanå at home 0-4, and the two teams are now tied on points but LdB has the edge in goal differential. In a Stockholm derby goalfest, Djurgården defeated Hammarby 5-2. Linköping and KIF Örebro were in 4th and 3rd places respectively, but today they played each other and Linköping's 4-0 win means that the two teams swap places in the table.
Shock of the Week: On 15 June, in the last game of the round, league-leaders Umeå did something that they don't do too often—they traveled *north* for an away game, against tenth place Piteå. And here's another thing they don't do too often: they came away with only one point. Yes, that's right, Piteå played Umeå to a 1-1 draw, and so have reduced Umeå's lead on Göteborg to two points.
At the halfway point, then, here are the rankings (go to svenskfotboll.se for more details):
Umeå IK
Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC
Linköpings FC
KIF Örebro DFF
LdB FC Malmö
Sunnanå SK
Djurgårdens IF
Hammarby IF DFF
AIK
Piteå IF
Kristianstads IF DFF
Stattena IF
June 5, 2009
Damallsvenskan Round 10 Preview And Webcasts
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Labels: Damallsvenskan, Djurgården, Friends of WSW, Guest Contributors, Hammarby, Linköping, Sweden
Labels: Damallsvenskan, Djurgården, Friends of WSW, Guest Contributors, Hammarby, Linköping, Sweden
By: Jocasta -- Damallsvenskan Soapbox
Last-second special! Sverigewebben.se has added theKopparberg/Göteborg v. Djurgården game to their schedule tomorrow, Saturday June 6. Göteborg has had an impressive run this year, beating much-fancied LdB and Linköping early in the season, and they now lie second in the league after beating newcomers Kristianstads DFF lastweek. Djurgården (7th place) was also victorious last week, beating Sunnanå (6th place) 2-0 on a beautiful sunny May afternoon. Djurgårdencan be inconsistent (to say the least), but they often play well against teams that lie above them in the table. See previous post (Web Casts For Damallsvenskan Games) for help with setting up your Sverigewebben.se account. At 79SEK ($10.12at today's exchange rate), the game should be well worth the price, and a lot cheaper than flying to Sweden.
On Sunday June 7, another web service, C Sports (cpsorts.se), based in Örebro, will show the Örebro (5th) v. LdB (4th) game (direct link:http://www.csports.se/player.aspx?class=1&group=55). I haven't signed up with this service yet, so I can't offer any specific advice, but it will probably be much the same as sverigewebben.se. Last week LdB and Linköping (3rd) played to a scoreless draw, a result that LdB can be happy enough about—they didn't look as good as they did against Umeå the week before—but Linköping wasted many chances, and should be out for a fight this week.
Lucky for Linköping, they are indeed headed for a fight, as they travel up north to take on Umeå (1st) in what is surely this week's headline match between the two teams that were last year's Swedish Cup finalists (won by Linköping), and that are both bound for this year's inaugural Women's Champion's League. Unfortunately this game will be neither webcast nor televised. A Linköping victory will still see Umeåat the top, but Umeå is by no means running away with the league as they have in years past.
The other Round 10 games are mostly at the far end of the table: Hammarby IF DFF (8th)- Kristianstads DFF (12th and with no points atall yet), Sunnanå SK - AIK (9th), and Stattena IF (11th) - Piteå IF (10th).
Göteborg v Djurgården (Saturday June 6) starts at 15:00 Central European Time, which is 9am Eastern Standard Time. Örebro v. LdB (Sunday June 7) starts at 17:00 CET (11am EST).
Special thanks to S. over at BigSoccer.com for the tip about the webcast of the Kopparberg/Göteborg v. Djurgården game.
Last-second special! Sverigewebben.se has added theKopparberg/Göteborg v. Djurgården game to their schedule tomorrow, Saturday June 6. Göteborg has had an impressive run this year, beating much-fancied LdB and Linköping early in the season, and they now lie second in the league after beating newcomers Kristianstads DFF lastweek. Djurgården (7th place) was also victorious last week, beating Sunnanå (6th place) 2-0 on a beautiful sunny May afternoon. Djurgårdencan be inconsistent (to say the least), but they often play well against teams that lie above them in the table. See previous post (Web Casts For Damallsvenskan Games) for help with setting up your Sverigewebben.se account. At 79SEK ($10.12at today's exchange rate), the game should be well worth the price, and a lot cheaper than flying to Sweden.
On Sunday June 7, another web service, C Sports (cpsorts.se), based in Örebro, will show the Örebro (5th) v. LdB (4th) game (direct link:http://www.csports.se/player.aspx?class=1&group=55). I haven't signed up with this service yet, so I can't offer any specific advice, but it will probably be much the same as sverigewebben.se. Last week LdB and Linköping (3rd) played to a scoreless draw, a result that LdB can be happy enough about—they didn't look as good as they did against Umeå the week before—but Linköping wasted many chances, and should be out for a fight this week.
Lucky for Linköping, they are indeed headed for a fight, as they travel up north to take on Umeå (1st) in what is surely this week's headline match between the two teams that were last year's Swedish Cup finalists (won by Linköping), and that are both bound for this year's inaugural Women's Champion's League. Unfortunately this game will be neither webcast nor televised. A Linköping victory will still see Umeåat the top, but Umeå is by no means running away with the league as they have in years past.
The other Round 10 games are mostly at the far end of the table: Hammarby IF DFF (8th)- Kristianstads DFF (12th and with no points atall yet), Sunnanå SK - AIK (9th), and Stattena IF (11th) - Piteå IF (10th).
Göteborg v Djurgården (Saturday June 6) starts at 15:00 Central European Time, which is 9am Eastern Standard Time. Örebro v. LdB (Sunday June 7) starts at 17:00 CET (11am EST).
Special thanks to S. over at BigSoccer.com for the tip about the webcast of the Kopparberg/Göteborg v. Djurgården game.
May 24, 2009
Also At The Soapbox - Djurgården vs. Linköping
Jocasta has a new post now online reviewing the Djurgården vs. Linköping match which was played in Stadion, Stockholm's historic stadium built for the 1912 Olympic games.
Read On -- The High Life
Read On -- The High Life
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