Damallsvenskan Newsblog

Hanna Ljungberg hasn't managed to get rid of the cold that kept her home for the Lyon leg of the UEFA Women's Cup semifinal and will probably not dress for the Sunday game. Goalkeeper Ulla-Karin Rönnlund, who had a great match in Lyon, also seems to have caught a cold and is unsure as a starter.
Västerbottenskuriren: Sjukt inför Lyon - oklart om Ulla-Karin vaktar målet

Lyon arrived on Friday at noon, coming on a chartered jet directly from Lyon, and getting picked up by their team bus. The entire squad is reported to be healthy and fit and trained on Umeå's artificial turf field yesterday afternoon.
Västerbottens Folkblad: Lyon på plats i Umeå

Umeå IK's coach Andrée Jeglertz said at the official press conference, that even if Umeå had the upper hand after the match in Lyon, Umeå will not chose to hold back and try to defend - they never do that. Instead Jeglertx pointed out a few key details in their play, among those giving better support to the full-backs when Lyon advances on the wings, higher and more aggressive defense and more movement in the attack.
Västerbottens Folkblad: Jeglertz surnade till på sena fransyskor

Lyon's flexing of their financial muscles - chartering a jet to take them directly from Lyon to Umeå and driving the (empty) team bus all the way from France (some 2500 kilometers one-way) just to take care of the local transports in Umeå - has impressed a lot in Umeå. Umeå's manager Roland Arnqvist even commented that this predicts the future of women's football in Europe and thus the downfall of the Swedish dominance: "When one of the big clubs commits themselves like this, it's only a matter of time before others follows", he said. Umeå IK operates on a budget between SEK 10-15 millions, a normal wage for an average male player in the big European clubs. They have resources that Umeå cannot compete with. Arnquist continues "When this happens, we will be standing on the platform, watching the train leave. And I don't think that day is that far away". He still doesn't think that is a bad thing: "Even if it will be harder for Damallsvenskan to compete internationally, it will be good for the sport."
Västerbottenskuriren: Storklubbarna ett hot mot damallsvenskan