Damallsvenskan Newsblog

Ingvild Stensland, Kopparbergs/Göteborg's midfield star, yesterday evening announced that she has signed an 18 month contract with the French club Olympique Lyon, thus confirming what some of us have been suspecting for a while. Stensland calls Lyon one of the best teams in Europe and a stay in Lyon will help her continue developing as a player.
NRK: Norsk landslagsspiller til Lyon


Bälinge's Emma Lindqvist has joined AIK. The club calls her a good all-round player, but intends to use her in the offensive part of the team. The 25 years old has over 20 caps for Sweden's U21's.
This signing completes AIK's 2009 18 player roster, but sport director Peter Johansson adds that "the door is still open for our Australian friends, with whom we are having a dialogue". The Australian friends in question are Lisa De Vanna and Kate Gill, who both played for AIK the 2008 season. They have competition for De Vanna. She is on top of Umeå's players-to-replace-Marta list and is also drafted by the WPS club Washington Freedom. De Vanna visited Umeå just before she returned to Australia for the winter, and commented that she was impressed by the club and flattered by the interest.
AIK: Fyrfaldig SM-vinnare till AIK


Umeå IK are having problems replacing head coach Andrée Jeglertz. Both their top names, Örjan Andersson and Peo Häggström, have turned down the club's offer. Both of them are fathers to young children and have refered to family reasons.
Umeå's general manager Britta Åkerlund comments that they are working with a lot of names and they will find a new coach. They would like to be able to settle this fairly soon, as the pre-season training will begin in only a few weeks.
Västerbottenskuriren: Peo Häggström nobbar UIK

The preliminary match calendars for Sweden and for Damallsvenskan has been published at the Swedish Football Association's website.

Damallsvenskan will start April 1 and continue until November 7 with a two month break for the European Championships in Finland in August and September. The full match schedule is here, but it is preliminary and there will almost certainly be some changes. Though hopefully not as many as in 2008.

The national team match schedule is not complete, as the qualifications for the 2011 World Cup will begin in the fall after the Euros. The qualification groups will be decided in March. Sweden's preparations for the Euros will contain camps in January, July and August and training matches against Norway and Finland.

A friendly will be played on April 25 to inaugurate the newly rebuilt Gamla Ullevi arena in Göteborg. Gamla Ullevi will be the official home stadium for the Sweden's women's team. The Swedish FA has invited Brazil to play the stadium opener. Brazil has answered in positive terms to Sweden's invitation, but details remains to be sorted out. Maybe details like the availability of Brazilian players for their national team? Several of them will be playing in the new American WPS league and this might be the first test of how the league will handle these things. I'm fairly convinced that April 25 is a FIFA protected date, but that isn't always enough to avoid complications.
Svensk Fotboll: Gamla Ullevi damernas nationalarena från 2009
Göteborgsposten: Marta kan inviga Gamla Ullevi

Both Umeå and LDB FC Malmö has set the end of the holidays as the time to leave the Marta affair and move on. Malmö's Kent Widding Persson has set January 5 as the final date for Marta's agent to return with some kind of answer and Umeå's Britta Åkerlund says that she will settle the Marta issue after the holidays, which in Sweden ends January 6. Åkerlund says that the chances that Marta stays in Umeå are "less than 50 %" and Widding Persson declares that he is not interested in playing part in a publicity stunt. If Marta hasn't already committed to any club, Widding Persson wants it to be clear that there are no other bidders for Marta than Los Angeles Sol, and that in good time before the World Player Gala in Zürich January 12, where Marta's deal with the LA Sol is supposed to be announced.
Sydsvenskan: LDB FC Malmö kräver svar av Marta
SVT: "50 procents chans att behålla Marta"


Norwegian star midfielder Ingvild Stensland says that she has made up her mind about where to play in 2009. But, she says, there are still a few minor details to solve, so she will keep her decision to herself until everything is settled. She has three alternatives, her current Swedish club Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC, French champions Olympique Lyon and the German top side Turbine Potsdam. "They are all good clubs and my gut feeling and several other factors will decide", Stensland says.
Göteborg's chairman Peter Bronsman says that there is a lot that points to Stensland moving to Lyon. In Lyon she will be playing with her former Göteborg team mate Lotta Schelin and Bente Nordby, the former Norway goalkeeper.
Farsunds Avis: Har bestemt seg
Göteborgsposten: Stensland följer Schelin


Kristianstads DFF has been looking for a goalkeeper since Maria Edman signed for Damallsvenskan newcomers Stattena in November. They have retained their other keeper Sandra Wahldén, who played 9 of the 22 league matches 2008, but needs a good complement. The most interesting player seems to be German keeper Steffi Löhr. The 23 years old plays for the midtable Bundesliga team SG Essen Schönebeck.
Löhr is not the only alternative though. Kristianstad is also looking at an American keeper, who has been playing in the Icelandic league and are having talks with Kopparbergs/Göteborgs Jenny Olsson, who will have a hard time getting any playing time after her club hired national team goalie Hedvig Lindahl.
Besides a goalkeeper, Kristianstad's highest priority is a good centre back. Kia McNiel, who impressed for Kristianstad last season, is trying out for a contract with a club in the American WPS league, "but we knows that she is very keen on returning here if that doesn't work out".
Kristianstadsbladet: Tysk målvakt på väg till KDFF


Not speculation, but a real signing: Kimberly Gustafsson, a 20 years old forward from 1st division side Bollstanäs, has signed for the Stockholm side AIK. Gustafsson scored 22 goals in 22 matches and was named the league's most valuable player last season.
AIK earlier declared that they would sign one more forward and one more defender before the squad was set. Since Gustafsson should have taken the forward position, you could make the conclusion that AIK no longer are trying to persuade Australian star striker Lisa De Vanna to return for another season. But that's of course just speculation.
AIK: Norrettans skyttedrottning till AIK


And this is old news, but Djurgården's keeper Nadine Angerer, who declared that she would leave Sweden already in early November, has now found her new home, Germany's incumbent league champions FFC Frankfurt. She will, just like she has done in the national team, replace Silke Rottenberg, who has decided to retire after yet another injury.
Womensoccer.de: Nadine Angerer wechselt zum 1. FFC Frankfurt

The LDB Sport Cup will have it's second instalment February 20-21 2009, just like the year before in the southern Swedish town Växjö's full size indoor arena. LDB FC and Umeå will return for the competition, while Russian champions and UEFA Women's Cup semifinalists Zvezda Perm will make their first appearance. The fourth and final participant is not yet named, but the SEK 100,000 cash prize to the winner will probably make it an attractive option. Last year Kolbotn (Norway) and Brøndby (Denmark) played besides Umeå and LDB FC.
Just like last year the tournament will be combined with lectures and clinics and a youth tournament for 14 year old girls has been added.
LDB FC: LdB Sport Cup


The Swedish football site Damfotboll.com claims that the news of Marta's signing with Los Angeles Sol will be announced in connection with FIFA's World Player Gala in Zürich on January 12. It is being rumoured that there already is a letter of intent between Marta's agent Fabiano Farah and Los Angeles Sol.
There is of course no confirmation of this and Damfotboll.com only cites "circles around the pro league WPS". It still seems very plausible. The signing of Marta will not be announced by a simple press release. Umeå has the last years always announced the renewal of Marta's contract at big, televised matches and I don't think LA Sol's major financier AEG will show any less PR savvy. The World Player Gala is one of the biggest events in the football world and would be a great platform for LA Sol and the league. If Marta wins, of course.
Damfotboll.com: Marta-avslöjande vid FIFA-galan


Linköping's Sara Larsson talked in a newspaper interview about her decision to leave the club and move to USA to play in the new professional league. It wasn't an easy decision, she said, but now it feels like the right thing to do.
"I have played ten years in Damallsvenskan and I think I can continue to develop in USA".
She didn't want to reveal what kind of compensation she will get, but said "I wouldn't have moved if I had lost money doing it".
She added that she had been in touch with Sweden's national team coach Thomas Dennerby and he hadn't had any objections to her decision. "I think the American league will be at a higher and more even level than the Swedish".
Värmlands Folkblad: Sara Larsson om USA-flytten


It's very hard to find any comments from the club, but it seems like Umeå IK's search for a new head coach to replace Andrée Jeglertz is approaching it's end. Örjan Andersson, one of the two coaches, that according to persistent rumours have been the main candidates for the position, has declared that he is not interested, at least not at this time. "My family is more important than football to me", he explained. He will continue to coach Ersboda, a 3rd level men's team in Umeå.
The other presumed candidate, Peo Häggström, from Vårgårda outside Göteborg, has experience as an instructor for the Swedish Football Association as well as a coach for women's 1st division teams. He is supposed to be in negotiations with Umeå, but neither he nor the club wants to comment.
Västerbottens Folkblad: Andersson nobbar UIK


Relegated Bälinge continues to haemorrhage players. 21 years old defender Nina Engström, capped for Sweden at youth level, has joined also relegated Umeå Södra. Umeå Södra are having plans to re-enter Damallsvenskan already after one year in the 1st division.
Västerbottenskuriren: Umeå Södra förstärker

Two other Bälinge players, Julia Lyckberg, a midfielder and U19 player for Swden, and 19 years old winger Jenny Jansson have both made the move to the local 1st division competitors Danmarks IF.
It seems more and more like the newly formed Uppsala DFF, that has inherited Bälinge's rights to play in the 1st division, will have problems retaining any players at all from Bälinge.
Upsala Nya Tidning: Danmark får jätteförstärkningar

The three Swedish players, who have been drafted by clubs in the American WPS, are all interested in playing in the new league even if no one have made any commitments yet.

Frida Östberg, who decided to retire from football a last month, has been contacted by Chicago Red Stars. She says that she is really interested: "It would be a great adventure and it's also a fairly short season". But she hasn't made up her mind yet: "I will think about it and listen to what they've got to say about the team and the organization and so on. But the talks we have had so far has been good." She believes she will receive a contract offer from the Chicago club.

It is interesting that Frida thinks that the short season is one of the upsides with an American deal. A lot of other players, and their coaches, has been worried about the short season, which leaves the players club-less for six months a year. Trying to keep in shape on your own isn't the best solution for an aspiring national team player. But I presume Frida Östberg has other priorities than the national team. Getting more time with her boyfriend was one of the reasons for her to leave Umeå.

No one of the players in question has signed or  even received a contract. This has, explains Sara Larsson, a lot to do with the ongoing negotiations between the league and the players union. Until they have agreed on the details in a standard contract, there can be no formal agreement between a player and a club. Once the league has managed to settle these things, there will probably happen a lot in a short time, says Sara.

But even if Sara Larsson hasn't signed anything with her American club, St. Louis Athletica, she is the one closest to a decision. "We are not counting on her for the next season", says her club Linköping FC and even if Sara Larsson won't go any further than saying that she is negotiating with St. Louis, it sounds a lot like she has made up her mind.

The third player is former LDB FC Malmö goalkeeper Caroline Jönsson. She says that Chicago Red Stars is one of the alternatives she is having for next season. "We are in a continuous dialogue", she says but adds that they are waiting for the standard contracts to be set, so they can be more concrete in their discussions. But she also stresses that she has other options and is not only focused on Chicago.

The announcement that the league has set the dates for the opening matches next spring and of the USD 10 million sponsor deal with Puma has also been widely publicised in Sweden and increased the interest for the American game. Sweden's leading daily Dagens Nyheter has a fairly big back-ground story titled "Marta's sponsor saves the league in USA".

Radiosporten: Ligan räddas av skosponsor
Dagens Nyheter: Martas sponsor räddar ligan i USA
Västerbottens Folkblad: ”Chicago är intressant”

Umeå IK has found the player to replace Frida Östberg at the left back position. They today announced the signing of the Finnish national team defender Maija Saari from the Finnish champions FC Honka. A strong physical player with leadership qualities sounds like a good substitute. The 22 years old will however not be eligible for the UEFA Women's Cup matches next spring, as she has already played in the cup the 2008/09 season for Honka.
Västerbottens Folkblad: Landslagsback till Umeå IK


Maria Bergqvist, the former Umeå full-back who was forced to retire two years ago with a knee injury, has been hired by the club as assistant coach with responsibility for defense. She has already worked with Umeå this season scouting players and has started her training to become a certified coach.
Västerbottenskuriren: Maria Bergkvist blir UIK-tränare


Bälinge's 19 years old full-back Julia Bhy, capped at U19 level, has joined Sundsvalls DFF in the 1st division.
Sundsvalls Tidning: Julia Bhy klar för SDFF


Maria Åhlund, last seasons with Kristianstad, looks very close to sign for newcomers Pitea. Her ice hockey playing boyfriend Simon Bergner has just signed for the local club Piteå Hockey and they have both moved to Piteå. Åhlund, a 22 years old defender started in 15 matches for Kristianstad the 2008 season.
It also seems likely that Sunnanå's Johanna Lindahl also moves to Piteå. As a prelude, her football playing boyfriend Tomas Lundmark has been picked up by Piteå's men's team.
Piteåtidningen: Nyförvärv till Piteå HC - och Piteå IF?
Damfotboll.com: Piteå IF får draghjälp


Djurgården's long-time midfielder Anna Hall has decided to leave the team to focus on her day-job. The 29 years old joined their championship winning season 2004 and leaves after five seasons.
Two other Djurgården players will move to other clubs. Anna Lagerberth, 24 years old midfielder, moves to Djurgården's partner club Älvsjö AIK. The 19 years old forward Mia Jelkerud leaves after only one season, new club not decided.
Djurgården: Anna Hall tackar för sig


Petra Vaelma, Finnish national team defender who last season played for now relegated Umeå Södra, has signed a contract with Klepp in the Norwegian premier league.
Fotballadressa: Finsk landslagsspiller klar for Klepp


And finally today's Marta: Norwegian champions Røa has pulled out of the competition for Marta's signature: "We haven't managed to find the money necessary", tells sport director Lars Buer.
Fotballadressa: Marta ikke til Røa

No news about Marta for several weeks, so what does a journalist do? Well, one of TV4's journalists picked up the phone and called Los Angeles where he got hold of the Sol's Brandon Koller. "We are very close to a deal with Marta" was the answer.
Umeå's Britta Åkerlund had nothing to comment on this: "We haven't heard from [Marta's agent] Fabiano Farah for some time" and Farah himself answered curtly that nothing was settled and that Marta is trying to get some rest in Brazil. Regarding the offers from Umeå IK and LDB FC Malmö, he answered that as long as nothing is signed, everything is of interest.
Aftonbladet: Marta nära skriva på för Los Angeles: ”Vi förhandlar”

In an interview with Swedish broadcaster SVT, USA national team coach Pia Sundhage says that she strongly believes that Marta will go to Los Angeles and that she thinks Los Angeles is a good place for her to play. Signing her is important since it will give the league big media attention.
SVT: Martas eventuella flytt snackis is USA (video)

Shut up and sign!

May I go on a little rant here? I am one of those (probably fairly few now), who finds this both interesting and entertaining to follow. There are several big bidders for a big star and I hope we will see more of this in the future. The capacity to create both big stars and clubs able to offer big contracts is a sign of the growth the women's game has had in the last years. I can still understand that some of the persons directly involved are getting tired and wants a conclusion and I can see that fans are getting frustrated, but if you want professional players this is part of the deal. It's not like transfer rumors and contract negotiations are uncommon in football.

But I'm not solely positive. What puts me off is the "Shut up and sign!" attitude that is getting more and more frequently exhibited from both sides of the Atlantic. Marta will come off as greedy, warns a well reputed Swedish journalist, and recommends her to shut up and sign. For Umeå. From the other side you can hear angered surprise over the audacity this woman has to come with demands. She ought to be happy to get an offer and just sign.

Marta has at several times stated that money is important. Her ambition is to be able to provide for herself and her family for the rest of her life from the money she earns playing football. I can't see anything wrong in that - hundreds if not thousands of men are doing exactly the same. Marta grew up in a single parent family from the poor countryside in Brazil's poor north-east. In the few interviews I've seen that has touched this, she has come out as painfully aware of where she would be without her talent for football.

So why in the world should Marta settle for anything less than she can get? To save a club or a league? Exactly why should she do that? Is women's football a calling? Professional sports operates in a market economy. Clubs and leagues are responsible for themselves. They are not held at gunpoint. If they are stupid enough to buy something they can't afford, they will suffer the consequences and rightly so.

Yes, Marta should pick up the pen and sign. But not until she is satisfied that the contract she signs is, financially, personally and for her as an athlete, the best deal she can get.

Caroline Näfver, a 26 years old with two caps for Sweden, has signed a contract with Kopparbergs/Göteborg. She has been looking for a new club since Kif Örebro told her they wouldn't offer her a new contract. She says she is very happy to make the move to the new club: "I need a new challenge". She will join her team mate Stina Segerström, who signed a deal with Göteborg last month.
Nerikes Allehanda: Näfver följer Stina till Göteborg

Yet another player escapes relegated Bälinge: 31 years old midfielder Linda Blom has accepted an offer from Djurgården. Djurgården's coach Anders Johansson also took her to his then club Malmö, when Bälinge relegated the last time four years ago. "He has faith in me" says Blom, pleased and slightly surprised, and comments: "It will be nice to come to a team that occasionally wins a match".
Upsala Nya Tidning: Blom klar för Djurgården

Finnish international Sanna Talonen has agreed to join Kif Örebro and has signed a two year deal with the club. Talonen, who played for Bälinge the first half of the 2007 season, has since spent two very successful years at Florida State University. She has scored 35 goals in 45 matches for her college team and is one of the remaining candidates for the Hermann Trophy, the college player of the year award.
There is no explanation why Talonen decided to prematurely leave college, but let's guess that the European Championships in Finland next fall has something to do with it.
Florida State is by the way the same college Mami Yamaguchi went to before she decided to go professional in Umeå.
Nerikes Allehanda: Finskt anfallsäss till Kif Örebro

Newcomers Stattena will have two prospective players training with them this week, former Örebro forward Hanna Pettersson and LDB FC defender Lina Rehov, a 20 years old with experience from Sweden's U19. Stattena was tipped off about Rehov by LDB coach Jörgen Pettersson, who will not have room for her on his 2009 roster.
Finnish midfielder Jessica Julin also seems close to a deal, but the club will first have to be able to offer her a set-up where she can focus on playing football.
Helsingborgs Dagblad: Mias ersättare kan landa i Stattena redan i dag

AIK, very pleased with their off-season transfers so far, are looking to sign another forward (preferably the return of Lisa De Vanna, I would guess) and one more defender before they close the door. They have so far replaced their goalie Sofia Lundgren with Maja Åström and Johanna Baecklund and signed three very promising youth national team players in Emelie Ölander (Malmö), Hanna Folkesson (Umeå Södra) and Emilia Appelquist (Bälinge).
AIK: AIK Dam 2009

Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC are making a major overhaul of their team. At least ten players from the 2008 roster are leaving, the majority of them because they will not get new contracts. The clubs plans are to cut the squad to 17 players, but get in return a higher quality. The signings of national team players Stina Segerström and Hedvig Lindahl is a part of this and there still are a few more players to be found.
Two Göteborg players have left for other Damallsvenskan sides, Maria Karlsson to Linköping and Sofie Andersson to Kristianstad, and three has joined the local 1st division team Jitex, Camilla Schelin, Sofie Karlsson and Sandra Bjurteg. To this comes five more players, who will not get new contracts: Maria Nilsson, Frida Svensson, Emmelie Farfa, Elin Dahl-Örn and goalkeeper Jenny Olsson. A few of these could be interesting for other Damallsvenskan sides, mainly Jenny Olsson and Emmelie Farfa.
There are currently 14 players on the roster as presented on the club's website and one of these is interestingly enough Norwegian international Ingvild Stensland. Her contract runs out within short (if it hasn't already) and she has been connected to clubs in USA, France and Germany in different transfer rumors. Listing her on the roster at least confirms Göteborg's intentions to do what they can to keep her. And from what she has said about her time in Göteborg earlier, a big step up in quality might persuade her.
Damfotboll.com: Kopparbergs/Göteborg behöver fler nyförvärv
Göteborg FC: Spelartruppen

So far newly promoted Stattena have had little but problems in their preparations for their 2009 Damallsvenskan season. Their coach has resigned, since he was denied a renegotiation of his contract, they can report almost no new signings, they have lost their main star and finally their home field will be demolished as the city expands the indoor facilities at the Olympia sports park next year.
But they are of course not taking all this lying down. The local newspaper reports that they are in talks with two potential coaches, Bälinge's Zaine Söderlund and Kenneth Rasmussen, who has coached Skovlunde in the Danish premier.
When it comes to players, there is still a lot to do. Renegotiations with their 2008 players seems to still be in the early stages. Potential recruits are at the moment AIK's Jessica Julin, where there are ongoing talks since a few weeks, and former Kif Örebro forward Hanna Pettersson. Julin, a more than 100 caps for Finland veteran, has a lot of what Stattena will need next season in experience and leadership.
Julin's experience will be needed the more as Stattena's big star, leading goalscorer and most experienced player Mia Westerblad, with several years in Damallsvenskan for Malmö, has decided to give up football, at least at this level. She said it would be impossible to combine her full time job with premier league football and a family life. She has a two years old son and "I don't want to be a parent who is always away". It could have worked if it was possible for her to work part-time, but she understands the club's financial situation.
Finally some good news. The solution to the arena problem will be that Stattena shares the Olympia arena with the men's premier league side Helsingborgs IF. It is considered to be one of the best of the stadiums in the men's Allsvenskan.
Helsingborgs Dagblad: Stattena snackar med två elittränare, Stattenas Mia Westerblad slutar med fotboll, Stattena spelar på Olympia

LDB FC Malmö is getting tired of the unresponsive attitude from Marta's agent Fabiano Farah and are rumored to be looking for alternatives. The club's leading man Kent Widding Persson says they have so far been very patient - "We would never have accepted this kind of behaviour if it was about another player than Marta" -but time is running out. Umeå's Britta Åkerlund shares his opinion. They can't wait until the end of the Swedish transfer period in March, which Farah seems to think, but needs to move on to other player alternatives soon.
Aftonbladet: Klubbarna till angrepp mot Martas agent

It is official that Umeå's main alternative is Australia's and AIK's Lisa De Vanna, currently playing for Perth in the Australian league. Malmö's could be Brazilian Renata Costa. The 22 years old Brazilian international is currently playing for OB in the Danish league. She is a versatile player who was fielded as an offensive wingback by Brazil in the Olympics, but can also be used as a creative midfielder. LDB FC Malmö doesn't want to comment on the rumor.
A possible deal with Renata Costa isn't exactly straight forward either. She is under contract with the Danish club, until June I presume, and she is also drafted by Saint Louis Athletica in the new American league
Sydsvenskan: LDB ute efter brassestjärna

Frida Östberg, who just recently made a very emotional farewell to football, is in talks with the American club Chicago Red Stars about a possible come-back to the game. Jim Houghton, the club's marketing director, points out that they are serious in trying to get Frida to USA: "We have talked to her several times and she says that she is interested. Otherwise we wouldn't have aquired the WPS playing rights to her." Frida has not been available for comments.
Frida Östberg announced her retirement from football just before her final match for Umeå, the 6-0 defeat of Arsenal in the Women's Cup quarterfinal. She said she didn't feel like she was able to give her all to the game any longer and was hoping to be able to spend more time with her boyfriend, who lives in Holland. But it seems like a new deal in a new league could motivate her for football again.
Västerbottenskuriren: Östberg för diskussioner om comeback
Chicago Red Stars: Red Stars Aquire Rights to Sweden's Frida Östberg

Three Swedish players are currently in some kind of talks with WPS clubs; Frida Östberg and Caroline Jönsson with Chicago and Sara Larsson with St. Louis. They are all around 30 years old, well established national team players and approaching the end of their careers. It seems like that is what it takes to dare take the jump to the start-up league.

Djurgården's premier league men's team yesterday officially announced Andrée Jeglertz and Zoran Lucic as their new coaches, confirming the Thursday rumors. Umeå's general manager Britta Åkerlund reacted surly to this, pointing out that Jeglertz still has a contract with Umeå.
Djurgården has offered Umeå an undisclosed sum to release Jeglertz from his contract. The sum, according to rumours around SEK 100,000, didn't please Åkerlund at all. "If that's all they offer, then I guess he'll have to stay in Umeå". Other unconfirmed information has Umeå's demands at SEK 500,000 - the same sum Djurgården is supposed to have paid to get Jeglertz future partner Lucic released from his club.
Aftonbladet: Bråk om kontraktet

Andrée Jeglertz says it will be sad to leave the club and the players and admits that it is a bit of a betrayal - Umeå's players renewed their contracts, believing that Jeglertz would coach them: "But sometimes you have to put yourself first", Jeglertz comments. He is not worried about the club's future: "This club is much bigger than Arnqvist, Holmlund or Jeglertz."
Västerbottens Folkblad: “Klubben är större än Jeglertz”

The Umeå players that have commented congratulates Djurgården and Andrée, but aren't that pleased for themselves. "We feel like crap" says veteran defender Karolina Westberg, who adds that if she had known Jeglertz wouldn't be around for 2009, she would have had second thoughts about renewing her contract.
Britta Åkerlund comments that losing Jeglertz will not make it easier to keep Marta in the club: "It doesn't help that we lose one of the best coaches there is".
Both Marta and Jeglertz are strong personalities and have had their run-ins over the years, but there is also a strong mutual respect. Jeglertz has been Marta's coach since she was a 17 years old extremely talented but lazy individualist and helped develop her to the extremely skilled hard working team player she is today.
Sydsvenskan: Jeglertz tar över Djurgården
Aftonbladet: Nu blir det svårare att rädda Marta

Even if the details surrounding Jeglertz move to the men's Allsvenskan aren't finalized, Umeå has started looking for his successor. One of the first to be asked was Sweden's and China's former national team coach Marika Domanski-Lyfors. She turned down the offer, preferring to stay at her current job as a Swedish Football Association executive.
Current Umeå assistant coach Steve Galloway has also been mentioned, but he says he prefers to stay where he is: "head coach isn't really my thing".
Instead, the hottest tip today seems to be Örjan Andersson, a local man coaching men's teams in the 4th level of the Swedish league system. Don't mock that, that's exactly what Jeglertz did when he took over Umeå 2004.
Västerbottens Folkblad: I fokus: Örjan Andersson

Umeå's head coach the last five seasons, Andrée Jeglertz, has according to what seems like reliable but still unconfirmed news signed a deal with Djurgården to coach their men's premier division team. Jeglertz himself, caught on the phone early this morning by a journalist, standing in the check-in line at an airport preparing to go on vacation with his family, refused to comment, but several sources has confirmed the talks between Jeglertz and Djurgården.

Umeå's general manager Britta Åkerlund said that she has known about the talks for a few days. "Good for him, not so good for us", she comments. Steve Galloway, Jeglertz assistant coach in Umeå and a former Djurgården star player, said he was called up by Djurgården some time ago and he highly recommended them to go for Jeglertz: "Don't think about that he comes from a women's team, that doesn't matter. He's been a winner for four years in the world's most successful women's team".

Jeglertz is supposed to team up with a former Djurgården coach, Zoran Lucic, in a shared responsibility for the team. Lucic should be more focused an individual development while Jeglertz would have the main responsibility for tactics and coaching.

Djurgården is one of the classic teams on the men's side in Sweden and has won several championships in the 2000s. This year however they finished at a very disappointing 12th place and fired their coaches after the season finish. Jeglertz and Lucic will have to live up to very high demands.

Andrée Jeglertz signed a new two year contract with Umeå IK as recently as August this year. There is a clause in the contract that allows him to leave if offered a coach job with a men's premier division team, but not until 2010. He is tied to the club for 2009 and Djurgården will have to negotiate his release with Umeå. There will certainly be a transfer fee, but it's anyone's guess how big. His future coaching partner Lucic is head coach for Qviding in the men's second level division and that club is rumoured to be demanding SEK 2-3 millions to release him from his 2 year contract.
Aftonbladet: Andrée Jeglertz klar för Djurgården
Expressen: Djurgården vill köpa loss Umeås damtränare
Fotbolldirekt: Galloway bekräftar – Jeglertz är Djurgårdens man

The two Icelandic national team players Edda Gardarsdóttir and Ólína Vidarsdóttir, who both spent a few days last week training with the club, has now signed contracts with Kif Örebro for the 2009 season. 30 years old Gardarsdóttir is the midfield hub on Iceland's national team, and will most probably find herself in the same position for Örebro, while the three years younger Vidarsdóttir will be fielded as a winger.

The Brazilian player Rafaela, who also tried out for the club last week, still an interesting option but no decision has been made yet.

Rickard Holmlund's team has also renewed the contract for midfielder Elin Magnusson. She was one of the team's key players last season and sport director Thomas Rasmusson says he is very happy to finally have reached an agreement with her.
Nerikes Allehanda: Landslagsstjärnor klara för Kif Örebro, Elin Magnusson kör vidare i Kif Örebro

Susanne Nilsson, goalkeeper for Sweden's U19 team and for Byttorp in the 1st division, has agreed to join Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC. At this moment, she is the only goalkeeper listed on Göteborg's roster. Last season's starting goalkeeper Jenny Olsson hasn't renewed her contract yet and probably won't if Hedvig Lindahl, as suspected, moves clubs to Göteborg.
Göteborg FC: F19-landslagets målvakt till Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC

Victoria Svensson will retire from the national team after the 2009 European Championships and then she would like to become a football coach. "But not immediately", she says, "that would take too much time", probably thinking about her 6 months old daughter.
She thinks she has the capacity to become a good coach. She is the team captain for both her club Djurgården and for the national team: "I must have some leadership qualities" she thinks and admits that she has been thinking about coaching the national team: "That would be a dream come true and when people talk to you about it, you think about it."
Borås Tidning: Victoria Svensson avslöjade framtidsplaner: "Jag vill bli tränare"

Magnus Wickman is already a coach. He has been coaching the football classes at an Uppsala highschool as well as the women of Bälinge and the men in Sirius, Uppsala's biggest clubs. When he accepted Linköping FC's offer to coach the team, he also became one of the reasons why Josefine Öqvist, whom he coached in highschool, decided to remain in Linköping instead of accepting Umeå's offer.
Wickman comment on his new club, that planning forward is important. Linköping has had more players on contracts shorter than a season than they've had longer than a season. "It's not really worth winning a gold if you finish at eight the next season. You can't go on renegotiating 20 contracts after every season".
Wickman also had recently signed Yolanda Odenyo as one of his players in highschool in an extremely successful class. No less than six of the players he had the first years of the 2000s dressed for Sweden's youth teams, in addition to Öqvist and Odenyo also Nera Smajic (who now plays for Malmö), Lina Andersson, Mona Najib and Marie Thuré.
Corren: Huvudet fullt av fotboll

Kristianstad DFF's Thomas Mårtensson, who had coached the team for six years when he retired a few months ago, has resigned for the club as a technical director. He was offered a three year contract abroad - he won't even reveal which country - but he turned it down as he didn't want to leave Sweden for such a long time. Mårtensson will work with individual training, match analysis and player scouting, while the new coach Elisabeth Gunnarsdottir will be resonsible for training sessions, coaching and deciding the team.
Kristianstadsbladet: Mårtensson tog jobbet som teknisk direktör

Norwegian left-sider June Pedersen, formerly at Umeå, has signed with Damallsvenskan newcomers Piteå IF. Pedersen has played three seasons for Umeå, initially in an offensive position, but last year mostly as a full back. She has however had problems getting off the bench and comments her move with "I've got legs as well as cleats and I simply want to play more than I've been doing the last years in Umeå".
Piteå's sport director Håkan Norberg is pleased with being able to sign Pedersen and says her speed and her left foot are her best qualities.
Norrländska Socialdemokraten: Norska Pedersen blev Piteå IFs andra nya spelare
Norrbottenkuriren: June Pedersen klar för Piteå IF

Hammarby as signed Nina Hietanen from Kuusysi in the Finnish league. The 23 years old was the leading goalscorer the 2008 season with 18 goals and is also capped for Finland's senior side.
Hammarby: Finländsk skyttedrottning värvad

Kopparbergs/Göteborg's back-up keeper Sandra Bjurteg has left the premier division side for nearby Jitex, promotion contender in the 1st division. Bjurteg's decision to leave Göteborg could be connected to Hedvig Lindahl's expected arrival. Jitex had an abundance of goalies last season, but has since lost all three; Maria Yatrakis back to USA, Frida Andersson to A.E.K. on Cyprus and Johanna Baecklund to AIK.
Damfotboll.com: Kopparberg/Göteborg tappar målvakt

Anna Ahlstrand, has agreed to return to Kopparbergs/Göteborg, where she last played 2004. The 28 years old midfielder has since been captain, play-maker and her team's leading goalscorer, playing for Gauthiod in the 1st divisioon.
Nya Lidköpingstidningen: Gör en nysatsning i högsta serien

And another Bälinge player has deserted the relegated team. Emma Jonsson has decided to return up north and signed for 1st division side Sundsvalls DFF.
Sundsvalls Tidning: Emma klar för SDFF

Linköping FC's national team defender Sara Larsson has let her club know, that she will chose to play for St. Louis in the American WPS league next year. Larsson, 29 years old with 82 caps for Sweden, has however said that she is interested in joining her old club for the last few months in 2009, after the WPS season is finished. Linköping's general manager Anders Mäki says they are talking about finding a solution for that.

On the other hand, Linköping has signed Yolanda Odenyo. Odenyo played for Bälinge and AIK in Damallsvenskan before she went to USA, where she has spent the last four years in college at Oklahoma State and has been very successful. She is her team's leading player and to top a series of awards she has received during her college career, she is now on the short-list for the Hermann Trophy, awarded to the top player in college soccer.
Linköping plans to use the 24 years old Odenyo as a defender, pretty straight forward as a replacement for Larsson. In USA she has mostly played as an offensive midfielder, 16 goals last season, but is in Sweden mostly recognized as a defensive player. She has been on the verge of being called up for the senior national side, but playing in America has undoubtedly hurt her chances, which might have contributed to her choice to return to Sweden. She has been invited to try out for the American WPS league, but I presume this will not happen. At least not this year. Her contract with Linköping is for one year.
Linköping also declares that Odenyo is their last signing for the 2009 season. With 19 players under contract and an additional 4 or 5 players from their development team they are all set.
Corren: Larsson väljer USA – Odenyo klar för LFC
Linköping: Sista pusselbiten på plats

In unrelated transfer news Maja Åström, just like Odenyo a former Bälinge player, has decided to make her Damallsvenskan come-back, signing a contract with AIK. Åström had her most successful years 2004 and 2005, when she played for Djurgården and won both the Swedish championship and the Swedish Cup as well as played the UEFA Women's Cup final, where Djurgården lost to Turbine Potsdam.
Åström decided to take a break from football after her injury-ridden 2007 season, but is now once again motivated to play at the highest level. The 25 years old has one cap for Sweden at senior level and several for the youth teams.
AIK: Målvakten Maja Åström till AIK

And, as expected, Iceland's Edda Gardarsdóttir and Ólína Vidarsdóttir showed up at Örebro's training yesterday. They are both thrilled to be in Sweden. They have been in touch with other Swedish clubs, but both says that Örebro is their number one choice. Both they and Brazilian trialist Rafaela will stay in Örebro until the weekend.
Nerikes Allehanda: Isländsk landslagsduo provtränade med Kif

Brazilian 27 years old midfielder Rafaela Andrade de Moraes, or Rafaela for short, began her try-out for Kif Örebro on Wednesday. Rafaela was a member of Brazil's 2003 World Cup team, but has the three last seasons been playing in the Japanese league. Örebro, having already lost Lena Andersson (look forther down in this post) and risking losing Elin Magnusson too, is in great need of good midfielders. Örebro's sport director Thomas Rasmusson says that Rafaela made a good impression, but will have more opportunities before the club decides.
Örebro will have another group of possible recruits on their training pitch later this week, probably the two Icelandic national team players Edda Gardarsdóttir och Ólína Vidarsdóttir, but Rasmusson doesn't want to confirm that those are the players.
Nerikes Allehanda: Brasiliansk VM-spelare tränar med Kif Örebro

Kif Örebro's Lena Andersson, 22 years old midfielder with 16 caps for Sweden's U-21, has decided to join Hammarby.
Hammarby: Lena Andersson till Hammarby

The young defender Petronella Ekroth, capped for Sweden at youth level, has decided to renew her contract with Linköping. She also had an offer from Djurgården.
Corren: Ekroth stannar i LFC

Last place Bälinge seems about to lose just about every player from their 22 player roster. Finnish national team midfielder Katri Nokso-Koivisto confirms that she will sign for the German Bundesliga side Wolfsburg, explaining that if she shall be able to qualify for the Finnish team in the Euros next year, she must play at a higher level than Sweden's 1st division.

Counting the four Americans, who already have left, and four other players who have already signed for new clubs in Sweden, Nokso-Koivisto makes it 9, who have fled the relegated and disbanded Uppsala club.

The plans are to move Bälinge's playing rights and players to a new club, Uppsala DFF. But it seems like fairly few players will be around for that move. Veteran Linda Blom says she will announce a new club next week, Emma Lindqvist has been trying out for AIK and is also takning to Sunnanå, Nina Engström has offers from both Piteå and several 1st division sides and team captain Lina Andersson is talking to a Damallsvenskan club from Stockholm. No one has so far decided for Bälinge.
Upsala Nya Tidning: Alla Bälinges spelare är på väg att lämna - snart finns inget lag att flytta, Bälinges spelartrupp 2008 - snart bara ett minne blott

10 times capped Linda Forsberg has decided to leave Djurgården and sign a two year deal with LDB FC Malmö. The 23 years old won the Swedish rookie of the year award 2007 and was part of both the World Cup team 2007 and the Olympic team 2008. Malmö coach Jörgen Pettersson sees her as a replacement for recently retired Therese Lundin.
And just like last year, it seems like every player that leaves Djurgården is better than every new player they manage to sign. Not looking good so far.
Sydsvenskan: Landslagsspelare till LDB FC Malmö

Sweden's national team goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl has left Linköping, that much is certain. It's no secret that she has been courted by Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC, but Lindahl just comments "I know what I want to do next season, but it's too early to say anything about it". Playing abroad is tempting, but there is "nothing concrete" so far. Leaving her club without having secured a new contract might seem risky, but for Lindahl it was important to leave: "I didn't fit in any longer, I knew the environment after five years and I need to hear new voices to continue developing."
And being Sweden's top goalie she shouldn't have any problems finding a new club, in Sweden or abroad.
Corren: Därför lämnade Lindahl LFC

A story on uefa.com pictures the wave of Icelandic national team players moving to Swedish teams after Iceland's successful qualification to the UEFA Women's Euro 2009. Besides the six players, that already have deals for 2009, they mention midfielder Edda Gardarsdóttir and defender Ólína Vidarsdóttir as have been given trials by Kif Örebro. Örebro's sport director Thomas Rasmusson doesn't want to comment on this, but says the club is in contact with a few possible recruits, both Swedish and foreign.
The club has so far 15 players contracted for 2009 and needs to find a few more. A priority is their midfielders Elin Magnusson and Lena Andersson, both starters the last season. Both are offered new contracts, but for at least Magnusson, who recently graduated with a teachers degree, it's also a question about finding a suitable job.
Nerikes Allehanda: Landslagsduo aktuell för Kif Örebro

Kristianstads DFF were training for the first time on their brand new artificial turf, the new Icelandic coach Elisabet Gunnarsdottir in her first training session with the team. Icelandic internationals Holmfridur Magnusdottir and Gudny Odinsdottir were also there, as were the young striker Emma Sjödahl from nearby 1st division side Vittsjö, now finally signed for Kristianstad.
Kristianstadsbladet: Den gröna julklappen

Newcomers Piteå has convinced the team's granny and nanny, veterans Mari Lundqvist and Janina Marklund, to extend their contracts and stay with the team for their first Damallsvenskan season. Lundqvist, a 28 years old with 15 years in the club, managed to make a deal with her employer to free more time for football -  necessary to be able to play in the highest division.
Norrbottenskuriren: Visst stannar Lundqvist i PIF

Relegated Bälinge's Lisa Lantz moves back up north after two years in Uppsala and joins Umeå Södra FF. The Umeå clubs dedication to return to the highest level was deciding for the fullback.
Damfotboll.com: Allsvensk back till Umeå Södra

Finally, LDB FC Malmö has moved up yet another player from their youth team. Midfielder Emelie Erlandsson, 17 years old, made her debut in the senior team last summer in a friendly against Djurgården.
LDB FC: Ännu en lärling i a-truppen