Damallsvenskan Newsblog

Damallsvenskan Newsblog has moved to Nordic Football News. My roomies writes about Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish football (the male kind). Feel free to visit me there. It will look pretty much the same, particularly if you go to the Damallsvenskan section directly.

My four years, 1290 posts archive will remain here for the foreseeable future.

Chicago Red Stars in the US league today confirmed the signings of Swedish internationals Caroline Jönsson and Frida Östberg. They have both signed contracts for one season.

Caroline Jönsson told Damfotboll.com that she took her time to make up her mind. "There was a lot of papers to read and you have to be thorough". She also said that making it possible to combine her football in USA with her psychology studies in Umeå was a necessary condition for her. And Umeå University is known for helping athlete students doing that.

The 80 times capped Sweden goalkeeper also announced that she now has decided to retire from the national team. "I have experienced several major championships with the 2003 World Cup silver as the big highlight." Leaving the national team will also make it possible for her to play the entire American season, including the play-offs, that would have clashed with the European Championships in August.

Damfotboll.com states that USD 30,000 per season seems to be the going rate for most internationals in the WPS league. Caroline Jönsson doesn't want to comment in detail, but it sounds like she will be making more than that.

I haven't found any comments from Frida Östberg yet.
Chicago Red Stars: Chicago Red Stars Sign Sweden's Frida Östberg & Caroline Jönsson
Damfotboll.com: ”Carre” sa ja till Chicago, men nej till landslaget
Aftonbladet: USA nästa för Östberg/Jönsson (Nice picture here with USA bound Larsson, Jönsson and Östberg, looking unhappy after the 2003 World Cup final).

Hammarby IF - Bollstanäs SK  3 - 0
Hammarby (starters): Minna Merilouto - Annica Svensson, Elin Sölveskog, Karin Lissel, Kicki Bengtsson - Madeleine Tegström, Lena Andersson - Leena Puranen, Johanna Andersson, Sara Wiman -Nina Hietanen
Goals: 1-0 Sara Wiman, 2-0 Johanna Andersson, 3-0 Nazanin Vaseghpanah
Hammarby defeated another Stockholm side, Bollstanäs, in their first outdoor match for the season. Bollstanäs, a promotion contender to damallsvenskan last year, but narrowly beaten by Piteå, never threatened Hammarby. Hammarby played their usual 4-2-3-1 and they tried out most of their new signings as starters. Two of these made the score sheet, Sara Wiman (IFK Gävle) and Johanna Andersson (Jitex).
Hammarby: Seger i första träningsmatchen


Piteå IF - Sunnanå SK  2 - 1
Piteå:
Sunnanå: Eva Nilsson - Sandra Berggren, Hanna Marklund, Sanna Frostevall, Maggie Esseryd - Josefin Johansson, Carina Holmberg, Erika Karlsson, Matilda Forslund (45 Magdalena Rosendahl) - Linda Fransson, Lisa Renberg.
Goals: 0-1 Josefin Johansson, 1-1 Marie Lundqvist, 2-1 Johanna Lindahl
Piteå played their second training match this season, taking advantage of the full size indoor arena in nearby Luleå. This was a littyle disadvantage for Sunnanå, playing their first after training a month in gym halls. Piteå's Håkan Norberg was pleased with his team managing to come from behind and win, showing they're on the right way preparing for their first Damallsvenskan season.
In Sunnanå Hanna Marklund made her eagerly awaited come-back. She was not really up to match pace yet, but played 90 minutes.
Damfotboll.com: Piteå slog Sunnanå
Norra Västerbotten: Släkten är värst - Lindahl sänkte Sunnanå i premiären
Piteåtidningen: Visst ser det bra ut, Piteå

Sweden and Norway both takes the first step in the preparations for the European Championships in August, having training camps in Spain and a playing a friendly.

Sweden - Norway  5 - 1 (4-0)
Sweden: Hedvig Lindahl (Göteborg) - Anna Paulson (Umeå), Sara Larsson (St. Louis) [59 Linda Sembrant (AIK)], Stina Segerström (Göteborg) [59 Johanna Frisk (Los Angeles)], Emelie Ölander (AIK) [Alexandra Nilsson (Sunnanå)] - Nilla Fischer (LDB FC) - Kosovare Asllani (Linköping) [64 Linda Forsberg (LDB FC), 75 Lisa Dahlkvist (Umeå)], Caroline Seger (Linköping), Therese Sjögran (LDB FC) - Lotta Schelin (Lyon), Victoria Svensson (Djurgården) [71 Linnea Liljegärd (Göteborg)]
Goals: 1-0 Lotta Schelin (12), 2-0 Sara Larsson (17), 3-0 Lotta Schelin (24), 4-0 Lotta Schelin (32), 4-1 Ingvild Stensland (60), 5-1 Lotta Schelin (64)
Lotta Schelin, the only Swedish player who isn't pre-season but very much in the midst of her French season, showed that she hasn't lost any of her goal scoring prowess in Lyon, scoring four of Sweden's five goals. The first 30 minutes was a complete Swedish dominance. After that, the Norwegians managed to compete better and in the second half Sweden's head coach Thomas Dennerby began to make substitutions and change tactics, which slowed down Sweden's attack.

• A report just surfaced at Svensk fotboll. Coaches Thomas Dennerby and Lillie Persson were very pleased with the play in the first half. The team played just like they had trained, playing the ball through midfield with speed, precise passes and well timed movements. Only one goal came from a set piece, a hard well placed free-kick from Therese Sjögran which Sara Larsson could push into goal. Newbies Ölander and Asllani were behind two of Schelin's goals, while Victoria Svensson set up another. Lotta Schelin created the 5-1 goal all by herself. Schelin was of course brilliant and also very pleased herself and with the team: "We played better than Norway today, particularly in the first half. I really think it was a fair result."

All Sweden's uncapped players got to play in the match. Emelie Ölander started while Alexandra Nilsson, Johanna Frisk and Linnea Liljegärd got on field in the second half. The 5-1 win is Sweden's biggest defeat of Norway since 1985.
Damfotboll.com: Lotta Schelin sänkte Norge med fyra mål
Svensk Fotboll: Schelin fyramålsskytt mot Norge

• There is now a short clip (Windows media, 13 MB) from Norwegian television with an even shorter piece from the match, two Schelin goals and Stensland's long distance rocket. Thanks, Bonnie!

The two teams also met in an unofficial 3x30 minutes training match last Thursday. Sweden rested four of the more experienced players (Schelin, Seger, Forsberg and Sjögran), who had just recently come back from minor injuries and Norway won 1-0 (goal by Kaurin) after Sweden's Nilla Fischer missed a closing time penalty.
Svensk Fotboll: Bra test mot Norge trots förlust

Sweden veterans Frida Östberg and Caroline Jönsson has, according to Umeå newspaper Västerbottenskuriren, both agreed on one season contracts with Chicago Red Stars in the American WPS league.
According to the paper's unnamed source, none of the players has any plans for any long time commitments. The, for European standards, short WPS season fits them both well. When Frida Östberg said good bye to Umeå last fall, her main reason was that she wanted to be able to spend more time with her boyfriend in Holland and Caroline Jönsson wants an engagement, that doesn't interfere too much with her psychology studies.
Neither Frida nor Caroline wants to confirm anything, but Caroline says that she will announce her decision in a few days.
Västerbottenskuriren: Chicago nästa för Östberg och Jönsson


Piteå IF's announcement of the signings of the three Canadian internationals Stephanie Labbé, Kaylyn Kyle and Brittany Timko yesterday was today's big sports news in the local paper. Head coach Peter Grundström said that he was very impressed by the work of the club's management to make the signings possible.
Sport director Håkan Norberg was very pleased and told that the club had looked at 25 different players before they reached the agreements. He thought that getting three players that already knows one another from youth and national teams will make the transition to the northern Swedish club easier. And, he added, it's also good that they, as Canadians, have seen snow before. When the players joins the team in March for their six months stay, there will still be snow on the ground.
The team is also used to having English speaking players with them, as they had three Americans helping them win promotion last season. The deal is sponsored by a local bank and an engineering company.
The step from the 1st division to Damallsvenskan is big and the club's budgeted spendings for 2009 is somewhere between SEK 4,5 millions and 5 millions compared to SEK 1,5 millions last year.
Piteåtidningen: De ska lyfta PIF i allsvenskan

Brazil's Olympic and World Cup goalkeeper Barbara has signed a four month contract with Sunnanå SK. Barbara, still only 20 years old, captained Brazil's team in the 2006 U20 World Championships, was a backup keeper in the 2007 World Cup and started for Brazil in the four last matches in the 2008 Olympics.

Barbara's agent Fabio Gayoso says she is excited about the opportunity and wants to stay in Sweden longer than the four month contract if possible.

Barbara is hired as a replacement for Sunnanå's regular goal-keeper Åsa Berglund. Berglund had a since long planned surgery on her right shoulder today. This will keep her from playing football at least three months.

Norra Västerbotten: Drömförvärv till Sunnanå, Åsa Berglund borta minst tre månader


Piteå IF today announced the agreements with three Canadian internationals. The deals with goalkeeper Stephanie Labbé, who was Canada's third keeper in the Olympics last year, and forward Brittany Timko, who played her first big championship for Canada already 2003, hasn't been the best kept secret. The third player is the 20 years old midfielder Kaylyn Kyle, who got her first caps for Canada a year ago in the Four Nations competition in China. Kyle replaces Candace Chapman, who was close to a deal with Piteå before she was offered a three year contract by the WPS club Boston Breakers.
The club has been cautious and made contracts that can be cancelled after three months. Sport director Håkan Norberg says that these signings completes Piteå's roster, "at least for the spring series".
SR Norrbotten:Tre landslagsspelare klara för Piteå

Kristianstads DFF has succeeded in filling one of what sport director Ulf Berglund has claimed are their two remaining openings (the other one is a defender to replace Kia McNeill). Earlier today the club announced that they have made an agreement with the 22 years old American Brett Maron. She will join her new team in March, coming directly for her college studies at Fairfield University. Maron tended goal in the Icelandic league last summer, where Kristianstad's coach Elisabet Gunnarsdottir saw her play. She has also played for SoccerPlus CT, just like Kia McNeill, and it seems like Kristianstad also has been in touch with her former coach Tony DiCicco, now with Boston Breakers, during the recruitment.
Kristianstadsbladet: Ny målvakt till KDFF


And in Piteå the newcomers will present the signings with Canadians Stephanie Labbé and Brittany Timko tomorrow Tuesday or maybe on Wednesday. Piteå's sport director Håkan Norberg still refuses to name any names, but it is pretty well known which players he is talking about. He is still waiting for an answer from the third player (which should be Candace Chapman), who has another offer (which should be Boston Breakers in the American league). He will not wait for long, however, and has alternatives if she should turn him down.
SR Norrbotten: Seger för Piteå IF - nyförvärv på väg

It's January, it's cold, most of the country is covered in snow, but if you have the facilities you can still play football matches. Kristianstad in the snow-free far south baptised the city's brand new artificial turf ground and Piteå in the snow-covered far north took advantage of the full size indoor arena in nearby Luleå.

Kristianstad - Ovesholm 7 - 0 (4-0)
Goals: 1-0 Susanne Moberg (19), 2-0 Frida Pettersson (39), 3-0 Sofie Andersson (44), 4-0 Susanne Moberg (46), 5-0 Gudny Odinsdottir (86 PK), 6-0 Emma Sjödahl (90), 7-0 Pernilla Falk (90)
Kristianstad invited the local 3rd division side Ovesholm and won comfortably. The new coach Elisabet Gunnarsdottir is still evaluating players. New signings Sofie Andersson from Göteborg and Icelandic Holmfridur Odinsdóttir on the wings impressed most. 19 year old Dafina Memedov, who was really close to sign with newcomers Stattena, also played her first game for her new club.
Kristianstadsbladet: Nyförvärv fick visa upp sig

Piteå - Mariehem 1 - 0
Goals: Johanna Lindahl
Piteå played their first training match for the season against 1st division side Mariehem from Umeå. In spite of a goalwise narrow win, Piteå dominated thoroughly. The lone goal was scored by former Sunnanå player Johanna Lindahl, signed just days ago.
Damfotboll.com: Piteå IF vann nykomlingsmötet

Renata Costa is the most expensive signing LDB FC Malmö has ever made, said LDB's strong man Kent Widding Persson in an interview yesterday: "I think we could have got two Swedish internationals for the same amount."
He also revealed that the contract with Renata Costa is a loan deal with her Danish club OB. LDB FC takes over all the contract obligations and probably also has to pay Renata Costa an increased salary as well as a compensation to OB. No figures are mentioned, but if it is somewhere around the cost for "two Swedish internationals", we should be talking about somewhere around SEK 600,000 to 800,000.
Unlike what LDB FC Malmö usually does, they only have Renata Costa on a one year contract. "We want to be sure that she delivers", said Widding Persson. She can leave after the season without any compensation to Malmö, "but we have to take that risk".
Sydsvenskan: Ettårskontraktet blir rekorddyrt


Commentators in the local press were initially somewhat disappointed, that the much talked about star signing was the relatively unknown Renata Costa. Sydsvenskan's Anja Gatu revealed that she had allowed herself to get all dreamy about Cristiane or Birgit Prinz or even Abby Wambach, but admits that Renata Costa is a better fit in Malmö's system.
The team already has a top goalscorer, what they need is Renata Costa's strength and leadership in the midfield. Another columnist, Artur Bliding, thinks that Renata Costa is better value for money than even Marta would have been.
Sydsvenskan: Först besvikelse - men det är en klok värvning
Skånska Dagbladet: En bättre värvning än Marta

Sunnanå SK today announced that they have reached an agreement with the Trinidadian forward Tasha St. Louis. St. Louis had a week long try-out for LDB FC Malmö last week, but failed to impress enough for a contract. Sunnanå's sport director Sören Gustafsson explained that Malmö's Jörgen Pettersson found St. Louis both skilled and fast, a good player. But Malmö is already stacked with internationals, so she couldn't make the team.
St. Louis will join Sunnanå in March and is contracted until the league takes the long break for the European championships in July.
Norra Västerbotten: SSK värvar från Trinidad & Tobago


New Zealand defender Rebecca Smith, who after four seasons with the club wasn't offered a new contract by Sunnanå, is on a try-out with the German Bundesliga team VfL Wolfsburg.
Wolfsburg: Rebecca Smith absolviert Probetraining


Newcomers Stattena has failed to keep any of their leading goalscorers from their successful 2008 season. First Mia Westerblad (20 goals) and now Therese Petersson (18 goals) has turned down the clubs offers. Both have families and careers and wanted a compensation, that would make it possible for them to take more time off from work. "I've never played for the money, but I don't want to pay to play", argued Petersson.
Stattena's Nina Blom regrets the decision, but explains that the club simply couldn't afford to satisfy Petersson's demands.
Helsingborgs Dagblad: Ny tung förlust för Stattena


The other newcomers, Piteå IF, seems close be able to set their player roster for 2009. No less than 15 players are leaving the team, as the club are putting together a much smaller but also better qualified squad. Sport director Håkan Norberg has told that the club has completed their signings from the Swedish market.
The club is however still in negotiations with three foreign players. One of these has been given an offer from a club in the American league, and she is trying to make a decision, Norberg said. He hopes to be able to introduce his new players shortly.
No names were mentioned by Norberg, but the internationals are most probably the earlier mentioned three Canadians Brittany Timko, Candace Chapman and Stephanie Labbé. Chapman has since been drafted by the American club Boston Breakers. I really can't see Piteå winning over Boston in tug of war over a player and I'm not even sure it would be fun to watch. On the other hand, neither of their 2008 Americans, Kim Bonilla and Marisa Brown, who both were important players in Piteå's promotion winning team, got drafted in the big January WPS draft and might be available.
Piteåtidningen: Räkna med Janina i PIF - Jessica till Mariehem ...-
Norrbottenskuriren: Snart har Piteå pusslat färdigt: "Vi har satt en deadline"

LDB FC Malmö today introduced their latest signing, Brazilian international Renata Costa. The 22 year old has over 50 caps and 23 goals for Brazil and has been part of the team since the 2003 World Cup. She played every single minute of every game in the 2008 Olympics.
Renata Costa is usually fielded as a centre back for Brazil, but has been playing a lot in midfield for her Danish club OB. She joined the Odense club a year ago on a two year contract, but the Danish club has reportedly have had problems financing her contract and were willing to let her go. Nothing mentioned about a possible transfer fee.

• Late add: Torben Povlsen from the Danish club OB comments tonight that it is a big loss having to play without Renata, but the way things are, this was the best solution. He adds that OB does of course not go unrewarded from this. But no figures mentioned. The deal between OB and Malmö will also lead to a closer cooperation between the clubs in the fields of  "organisation, economy, communication and sports" in future.
  3F / Fodbold: OB mister brasiliansk super-stjerne

Renata says her best qualities are her strength and her vision and her favourite position is as an offensive midfielder. Which, coincidentally, is where Malmö's Jörgen Pettersson wants her to play. He calls the signing "a typical Malmö recruitment", meaning that she fits the player profile they have been looking for and that they have been following her for a long time before making the jump.
Malmö has had competition for Renata Costa from the American club St. Louis Athletica, a club that according to some information could offer a higher wage than Malmö. The Brazilian still opted for Sweden: "I've always wanted to play in the Swedish league", she said and hopes to stay for a longer period.
Renata Costa is signed on a one year contract, that expires December 31. Coach Pettersson adds that this is the club's last signing before the 2009 season. And it doesn't bother him if this makes his club look like a favourite to win the championship: "I'll rather be a favourite than not".
Sydsvenskan: Costa: Jag är stark och har bra blick
SVT: Malmö värvar Renata da Costa (video)