Players signing, re-signing and resigning
Västerbottenskuriren: Karolina Westberg förlänger med Umeå IK
Västerbottens Folkblad: Johanna Frisk förlänger med UIK , Paulson kvar i UIK, Bachmann stannar, Hanna Ljungberg fortsätter i Umeå IK
Göteborgsposten: Fortsatt spel inte självklart för Ljungberg
Sunnanå, having their best season for quite some years and still in competition for a top 4 finish, has seen other clubs eyeing their players. But U21 defender Alexandra Nilsson, recieving interest from clubs like Linköping, Malmö and Umeå, has made up her mind to stay. And so has winger Magdalena Esseryd, midfielder Kicki Wiklund, turning down Bälinge, junior attacker Johanna Lindahl and Nigerian star forward Perpetua Nkwocha. Norra Västerbotten: Alexandra och Maggie stannar, Kicki stannar i Sunnanå, Johanna förlänger med Sunnanå
Linköping's Finnish national team midfielder Anna-Kaisa Rantanen, who has had her entire season destroyed by injuries, has re-signed with the club.
Corren: Rantanen stannar kvar i LFC
Djurgården has signed three year deals with German attacker Jennifer Meier and midfielder Rebecca Johnsson, both from relegation threatened Qbik.
Dagens Nyheter: Förstärkningar till Djurgården
LDB FC Malmö's 24 year old forward Anna Mörstam has decided to leave football after serious knee injuries. Her doctors have warned her that she risks permanent disability if she continues to play.
LDB Malmö FC: Anna Mörstam slutar med fotbollen
Coaches fired and coaches hired
Dagens Nyheter: AIK:s tränare sparkas
SVT: AIK sparkar tränaren
Bälinge hasn't had a very successfull season either, but the club seems to be ready to give their coaching duo Zaine Söderlund and Ali Amini a three year contract. "We need a long-term plan if we want to be able to compete with the big clubs" commented coach Söderlund and added that if he and Ali stays for 3 years it will provide security for the players.
Upsala Nya Tidning: Bälinge siktar på långtidskontrakt
Sunnanå, that decided not to renew Kenneth Israelsson's contract, has signed Rainer Eskelinen as new head coach. Eskelinen has been successful with local, lower level, men's teams but has never coached women.
Västerbottens Folkblad: "En härlig utmaning"
Norra Västerbotten: Rainer tar över Sunnanå
Djurgården had already before the World Cup agreed with coach Benny Persson to end their cooperation. They had talks with Marika Domanski Lyfors, who is also in negotiations with the Chinese national team, but could a few days ago present their new coach: Anders Johansson. Johansson is one of Sweden's women's football most merited coaches. He coached Älvsjö AIK 1999-2002, winning the Swedish championship 1999, continued with Malmö FF 2003-2005, winning a silver and reaching the semifinal in UEFA Women's Cup before joining Malmö FF's men as assistant coach. Johansson says he accepted Djurgården's offer since it is a well organized club with a vision and ambitions for the future.
Svenska Dagbladet: Dif ger Marika anbud
Dagens Nyheter: Djurgården får ny tränare
And last but not least: Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC has signed a new head coach. A few weeks ago Martin Pringle got the information that his three year contract will not be renewed by the club and last week chairman Peter Bronsman could reveal his successor: Torbjörn Nilsson. Torbjörn Nilsson is a living legend in Swedish football, as a player a dominating figure in the 1980's, player of the year 1982 and a professional career in Holland and Germany, with IFK Göteborg's 1982 UEFA Cup win as probably his greatest moment. He has continued with a successful career as a coach, coaching club teams at the highest level and well as Sweden's men's U21 team. He has more than once been mentioned as a candidate for the job as head coach for the men's national team. Since he left the U21 team 2004 he has recieved several propositions, but turned them down. Until now. His decision to take on a women's side has surprised, but he says that he likes the challenge. "I think I can help develop women's football with my experience and knowledge" he comments.
Göteborgsposten: Pringle lämnar Göteborgs FC
Göteborgsposten: Nilssons beslut förvånar många
SVT: Nilsson ska ge GFC fler landslagsspelare (video)
Göteborg's exiting Martin Pringle says to Göteborgsposten he has recieved some offers, but not from Damallsvenskan sides. Djurgården's Benny Persson says to TV4 that he would like to continue working at the top level in women's football and also has been contacted by some Damallsvenskan sides.
The new coaches in Göteborg and Djurgården might also influence Lotta Schelin's and Victoria Svensson's career decisions. Both have been courted by Linköping's FC and both have expressed interest in Linköping's offer. But they have now expressed their great satisfaction in their current clubs choice of new coaches.
Foreign players to reinforce relegation strugglers
Relegation strugglers Falköping and Qbik has used the World Cup break to secure reinforcements for the crucial last 4 matches.
Falköping has signed Kim Brandao, a Portugese defender who has played college soccer at Rutgers university and in the American W-league for New Jersey Wildcats, the same club as Falköping's Jill Oakes.
Falköpings KIK: Kim förstärker FKIK
Qbik has welcomed Michele O'Brien and Lauren MacIver. O'Brien is a 27 year old midfielder with the Irish national team, has played college soccer for Perdue University and club soccer with Long Island Rough Riders. Lauren MacIver, a 23 year old from Oklahoma University, has played with Boston Renegades in the W-league. Both of them are brought in to strengthen Qbik's attack and have got in touch with the club thank's to Qbik's goalkeeper Maria Yatrakis.
EDIT: Annette, who knows much more about American college soccer than I do, points out than Michele O'Brien by no means went to Perdue but rather to something like Florida International University. Thank's Annette. I have tried to walk back in my own tracks to find out where I got the idea with Perdue, but alas, not a trace.
Nya Wermlandstidningen: De ska fixa kontraktet åt Qbik
Värmlands Folkblad: Duon som räddar Qbik?
Linköping, not a relegation struggler, continues to secure their squad for the 2008 season. They have re-signed their sought-after young forward talent Kosovare Asllani, full-back Marie-Louise Skålberg, back-up keeper Maria Cederholm, experienced forward Ann Westermark and midfield youngster Maria Krantz, the latter working to come back from her spring ACL injury.
Linköping FC: Kosse, Skålberg och Cederholm klara, Fler bitar på plats
Benny Persson leaves Djurgården
Djurgården's coach since two and a half years, Benny Persson, has revealed that he will leave his job after the end of the 2007 season. He took over the team in the summer of 2005 after a very weak start, only two wins in five matches, and managed to turn things around with a third place finish and a Swedish Cup victory 2005 and a second place 2006. Djurgården's chairman Per Darnell says that they are grateful for the new dimensions in playing and training that Persson brought to the club.
Djurgården: Benny Persson slutar i Djurgården Damfotboll
Pavlina Scasna signs two year deal with Malmö
There were two things that made Scasna decide for Malmö: she thinks the club has both the ambition and the capacity to win titles the next few years and the club could, together with it's major financer, offer her a deal that includes a career opportunity for her in sports marketing, an area she has been studying for two years. Scasna also says that she has been in contact with a lot of clubs, but only met with Örebro and Umeå before she decided for Malmö.
Malmö's coach Jörgen Pettersson is very pleased: "She was at the top of our list, as she was for several other clubs too. We're etrremely happy she chose us."
Sydsvenskan: LDB gör drömvärvning
LDC FC Malmö: Pavlina Scasna klar för LdB
A few player movements and some rumours
Linköping FC: Petra lämnar och förlänger
Linköping are, just like last year, interested in Marta and has announced their intentions to Umeå. Last year Linköping gave the Brazilian star the best financial offer, but she still decided to stay in Umeå. Linköping's manager Anders Mäki says that it is not unthinkable that they can afford to sign both Marta and Victoria Svensson.
Linköping coach Daniel Pettersson also reveals that their Finnish national team midfielder Anna-Kaisa Rantanen, much missed throughout the season, is coming back nicely from her ACL tear and probably will be able to play the last four Damallsvenskan matches.
Corren: LFC vill värva Marta
Djurgården counters Linköping's proposal to Victoria Svensson by offering to help her getting training as a football coach and a position with the club once she has decided to finish her playing career. "She has shown great qualities as a coach", says Djurgården's manager Mikael Söderman.
SVT: Dif lockar Svensson med tränarroll
Sunnanå has a verbal agreement, but no papers signed yet, with their Nigerian star forward Perpetua Nkwocha for the 2008 season. Nkwocha has made a great impression for the team this summer and the club is very happy to keep her. She will however not participate in the last matches after the World Cup. Since Nigeria has Olympic qualification matches in October, it was too hard to make the match schedules fit.
Sunnanå are also in talks with New Zealand defender Rebecca Smith, and there is a good chance that she will play for the northern club next season too.
Norra Västerbotten: "Peppe" stannar i SSK
On the other hand, there is a lot of interest in some Sunnanå players from other clubs. Maria Nordbrant, who ended up just outside Sweden's World Cup roster, has attracted interest from at least 3 Damallsvenskan clubs. One of these are Bälinge, where sport director Conny Sjöberg isn't hard pressed to express his delight in the 22 year old winger/attacker. Nordbrandt says that she has also been talking to Linköping FC and Kif Örebro, both just like Bälinge situated in university towns, so a move might have to do with Nordbrandt's plans for the future.
Other Sunnanå players with options are Sweden U21 players Alexandra Nilsson, where Linköping has expressed interest, and Anna Bodén, where Malmö is rumoured as a possible destination.
Upsala Nya Tidning: Bälinge jagar Nordbrandt
Norra Västerbotten: Konkurrenter vill värva från Sunnanå
Marta's agent: Umeå is our first choice
Marta's agent Fabiano Farah denies rumours that Marta already has decided to play in the new professional women's league in USA. "That is not true", he says, but adds that he has been approached by a big owner group that controls four MLS teams. "Our intention is to sign a new contract with Umeå", Farah continues, "[Umeå IK's football manager] Roland [Arnqvist] has a lot of good ideas and is a great leader, a top manager in women's football." He also expressed his satisfaction with how Arnqvist stood up for Marta when she wasn't nominated for the Swedish Forward of the Year award last year.
So, Marta and Farah seems pleased with her situation in Umeå. Farah says that an extension of Marta's stay in Umeå will be decided by what kind of offer Umeå and Roland Arnqvist can put on the table.
It is rumoured that American and German interests has offered Marta a pay-check in the neighbourhood of SEK 200,000 a month. Roland Arnqvist says that is completely out of his reach, but that he can probably get Marta's signature for less: "I believe him [Fabiano Farah] when he says that his interests are not only financial". Umeå will still most likely have to give Marta a substantial wage rise, and Arnqvist seems optimistic in finding the neccesary sponsors.
Marta herself only comments to all this with a short :"I neither want to nor have to think about that now".
Västerbottens Folkblad: Marta vill förlänga med Umeå IK
Västerbottenskuriren: Hoppfullt för UIK om Marta
In a completely different place in Swedish women's football, AIK defender Hanna Jöhnk has moved clubs to local 2nd division side Brommapojkarna.
Damfotboll.com: Lämnar AIK för BP
Lotta goes to America ?
Aftonbladet: Lotta Schelin på väg att bli proffs
This is just me talking here, but Lotta Schelin has expressed a desire to play in a truly professional environment, so it's probably not FC Indiana as much as the coming Chicago franchise in the yet to be announced US professional women's soccer league that is enticing her. The group that owns FC Indiana is also involved in the future Chicago club. But a 2008 start for the new league has lately become more uncertain. For instance, one of the key persons in the Chicago venture, Peter Wilt, writes about the plans for a pro league at Chicago Tribune's web-site, without ever mentioning a 2008 start-up. A 2009 opening seems more plausible, which I guess keeps Lotta in Sweden for at least another season.
I have previously made several posts related to this, for instance these:
FC Indiana seeks cooperation with Göteborg
New USA league - encouraging and worrying
In other transfer-related news, Josefine Öqvist has signed a new one year contract with Linköping. Club manager Anders Mäki says that it is important that the club shows it's confidence in the player during her injury.
Corren: Öqvist kvar i LFC
Kif Örebro announces that they have re-signed core players for the 2008 season. National team players Stina Segerström and Kristin Hammarström as well as midfielders Marie Hammarström and Elin Magnusson and prolific striker Emelie Erixon have all signed new contracts. The club's office manager Thomas Rasmusson reveals that they are also in talks with several potential recruitments, both young talents and established national team players.
Nerikes Allehanda: Stommen kvar i KIF - jagar VM-spelare
Seger stays in Linköping
She also talks about Linköping's injury problems this season, and says that they have probably spent too much time at training on football exercises and not enough on strength and fitness. There will be changes before the next season, everybody in the club are aware of that. The club hasn't changed their ambition to become an established top side and Seger says that if the club manages to find a great striker, next season will be really good.
Corren: Seger nobbade storlag
Transfer rumours: Scasna to Malmö?
Västerbottenskuriren: Stjärnans bud till UIK var en fint
Damfotboll.com: KIF Örebros tränare placerar Scasna i Malmö
Umeå's Roland Arnqvist has presented contract proposals to 15 players for the 2008 season. Maybe half of these contracts could be longer than one year. Umeå IK has today 17 players on their payroll, so it will be interesting to see who the two unlucky ones are. And it looks like head coach Andrée Jeglertz will get an offer too.
Västerbottens Folkblad. ?Vi vill behålla de flesta?
Linköping's and Sweden's goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl has signed a new contract with her club for 2008. "She's an important piece in our team" says manager Anders Mäki, who hopes to be able to sign yet some players before they go to China.
Linköping FC: Hedvig klar för nästa säsong
Hammarby's 19 year old midfielder Josefin Wejner has left the club for division 2 hopefulls Tyresö FF. Wejner has got limited playing-time this season and Stockholm suburb club Tyresö expects to promote to the 1st division.
Damfotboll.com: Tyresö värvar allsvenskt igen
And not strictly Damallsvenskan, but almost: Kristianstad DFF, uncontested leader of the 1st division south, 12 points ahead with 8 matches left, and a very probable Damallsvenskan club next year, has signed Iceland's 25 times capped midfielder Erla Arnadottir. Erla, who has played 5 season in Damallsvenskan (Stattena, Sunnanå and Mallbacken) has just returned to Sweden after playing with Jersey Sky Blue in the American W-league. The 8 match deal is looked upon as an extended try-out for both sides. Kristianstad really doesn't need to strengthen their squad this season, but a 2008 damallsvenskan season seems to be approaching.
Kristianstadsbladet: KDFF värvar landslagsstjärna
Transfer rumours: Svensson on the move?
Aftonbladet: Svensson jagas av toppklubb
EXTRA, EXTRA: As Sund-fan points out here in the comments, the club Svensson has been talking to is, no surprise there, Linköping. She will not make any decision until after the season but says "I wouldn't meet with them if I didn't find their offer interesting".
Corren: Linköping lockar Victoria Svensson
Umeå has three players on trial this week. The U19 midfielder Petronella Ekroth from 1st division club Öster and her teammate Sofia Jakobsson, who is on the roster for Sweden's U18 matches against Norway later in August are followed by Laura Del Rio Garcia, a 25 years old attacker from Levante and the Spanish national team. "We don't know much about her", said Umeå manager Roland Arnqvist, "but if she's good, she will get some minutes against Brazil on Thursday".
Expressen: UIK prövar nya förmågor
Sunnanå's successful coach Kenneth Isaksson will not be offered an extension of his current contract with the club. "It would have been interesting to continue, but the club doesn't want to sign a new contract and that's it", says Isaksson. Sunnanå's sport director Sören Gustafsson comments that "they [Isaksson and his assistant Björn Israelsson] had three year contracts and now they expire" and says that the management are discussing some names: "we are among the top sides and so should the new coach be".
Norra Västerbotten: Kega tvingas lämna Sunnanå
And Sunnanå's and Sweden's stand-out defender Hanna Marklund hasn't made up her mind on her future footballing career. "I will make my decision this fall" she tells tabloid Expressen in an interview from her childhood home in the 20 families big village Åliden.
Expressen: "Jag vet inte om jag fortsätter ett år till"
Scasna leaves Örebro
Kif Örebro's Czech star Pavlina Scasna has turned down a contract offer from the club and will join another, so far unnamed, Swedish club the next season. Örebro head coach Richard Holmlund is sad to see Scasna leave, but states that the club's ambition to become one of the top sides in Sweden remains. He adds that the he obviously will have to look for players out-side the club to replace her.
The contract Scasna was offered is supposed to have been the best ever to be put in front of a player by Örebro, which must mean a better contract than Kristin Lilly got 2005.
Pavlina Scasna has been rumoured to be sought after by almost every Swedish club, but only Umeå and Linköping have as far as I know approached her officially. I wouldn't give you much money back if you wagered a bet on Umeå as her destination.
Nerikes Allehanda: KIF Örebros stjärna lämnar klubben
Marta talks contract, Caroline Jönsson extends
Umeå will also negotiate an extension of Elaine's contract. "She is very important for us. We would really like to keep both of them for the next season".
Västerbottenskuriren: Martas agent hit för att diskutera framtiden i UIK
LDB FC Malmö has signed an extended contract with their 30 year old goalkeeper Caroline Jönsson including the 2009 season and with an option for 2010. "We are very pleased that "Carre" has decided to sign an extended contract with us", comments general manager Kenny Jönsson.
LDB FC Malmö: LdB FC fortsätter att kontraktera nyckelspelare
Transfer talk: Örebro wants Östberg and Asllani and everybody wants Scasna
"It starts early this year", commented Linköping's sport director Bengt Ekblom when Umeå's announcing their interest for Frida Östberg was followed by Örebro's Richard Holmlund declaring interest in Linköping's team captain as well as in their teenage talent Kosovare Asllani.
18 year old Asllani, who joined Linköping from 2nd division Vimmerby last year, isn't a first team player yet but has made several successful appearences as a substitute, and is generally considered one of Sweden's most promising young players. Linköping wants to keep her.
Bengt Ekblom also declares his interest in Örebro's Pavlina Scasna. Scasna is rumoured to have attracted interest from "everyone except Falköping and Qbik", which might be an overstatement but so far we have Umeå, Linköping and Örebro. In other unconfirmed news Linköping's Nigerian defender Faith Ikidi will probably get a contract offer for 2008, while Maureen Mmadu will not.
Corren: LFC jagar Scasna - men kan tappa Asllani
It does start early, by the way. Both Umeå's manager Roland Arnqvist and Malmö's Kenny Jönsson has stressed the importance of settling their teams before the Women's World Cup starts next month. Malmö could a few days ago announce that they have done just that, while Umeå is rumoured to be in contract talks with most of their players, including Marta. A contributing factor to the hurry is probably that the new American professional league is supposed to make their definite start-up announcement in immediate connection to the World Cup. Signing your key players before there is an American league for them to talk to seems like a good idea. I still think it will be a problem for Umeå to hold on to Marta. Or, to put it the other way around, I think it will be seen as a big failure for the new American league if they don't manage to get Marta.
Umeå hunting Östberg and Scasna
"It would almost be a crime not trying to sign her", says Arnqvist on Scasna, who he calls "a world class player". The Czech attacker impressed greatly for Örebro in Umeå last week.
Arnqvist has already been in touch with Östberg and her club. Even if Östberg wants to focus on more important things now, Arnqvist got the impression that no doors were closed.
Umeåhas in both cases announced their interest to the players clubs.
Västerbottenskuriren: Umeå IK jagar tjeckisk stjärna
Västerbottens Folkblad: UIK vill ha tillbaka Östberg
Corren: Umeå vill ha hem Östberg
Malmö contracts entire starting eleven for 2008
Malmö's coach Jörgen Pettersson says the contracts are ground-breaking: "Earlier all clubs has worked with short contracts. This gives both the club and the players a security they've never had before."
LDC FC Malmö: Tio spelare signerade för framtiden
Sydsvenskan: Tio landslagsspelare klara för LDB
Falköping and Qbik finds reinforcements overseas
Jill Oakes was on trial with Falköping this spring and was offered a contract, but opted to play for Vancouver Whitecaps in the American W-league instead. The W-league season is now finished and Oakes will continue her 2007 season in Falköping. Oakes, who has one cap for the full USA national team, is a midfielder and was part of the winning US teams at the 2002 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship and the 2005 U-21 Nordic Cup.
Erin Ramsey is a defender, who has appeared once for the Canadian national team. She has played with Oakes in Vancouver this last season.
Falköping: Jill Oakes spelklar, Erin Ramsey till FKIK
Qbik has arranged with Irish national team forward Michelle O´Brien to join the team for the last four matches after the World Cup. O'Brien played in the American W-league with the Long Island Rough Riders and comes to Qbik on a recommendation from Qbik goalkeeper Maria Yatrakis, who has played with O'Brien. "It's a bit of a long-shot", says Qbik coach Janne Jansson, "but we really need a good forward".
Nya Wermlandstidningen: Qbik gjorde målet ? tyvärr i fel målbur
Finnish national team defender Petra Vaelma has left Bälinge for the 1st division promotion contender Eskilstuna United. Vaelma has had problems finding enough playing time in Bälinge.
Upsala Nya Tidning: Vaelma lämnar Bälinge
Hammarby has added 17 year old Jessica Karlsson to their team, a fast midfielder. Jessica, who comes from 3rd division Rävåsen, is described as a player for the future by manager Annelie Norén.
Hammarby: Jessica Karlsson förstärker Hammarby
Malmö signs Iceland's national team goalkeeper
Coach Pettersson said it's good for Malmö's young reserve keeper Stéphanie Öhrström not to be thrown into a top match against Umeå in the Swedish Cup, but instead being able to ease in to her new role.
Sydsvenskan: Landslagsmålvakt till LDB FC
No more Ma for Umeå
Umeå's forward Ma Xiaoxu will stay in camp with the Chinese national team and not return to Sweden for the August Damallsvenskan matches. Initially the plan was that she should play for Umeå until August 19. "The Chinese FA asked us if we could release her earlier, as part of the preparations for the World Cup" explains Umeå's manager Roland Arnqvist, and the club didn't have any problems with that.
Umeå are still undecided as to if they will offer Ma a new contract. The 19 year old hasn't managed to convince during her stay in Sweden and has often been left outside Umeå's starting eleven.
Västerbottens Folkblad: Ma får inte nytt kontrakt
In other player news, Malmö has let Louise Östman and Anna Mörstam, both forwards, go to local 1st division side Husie on loan. Mörstam and Östman has spent the first half of the season battling injuries but are now recovered and happy to get the opportunity to get match fit again. They will both continue training with Malmö.
Malmö: Louise Östman och Anna Mörstam lånas ut till Husie
Kacey White leaves Bälinge for AIK
Bälinge's American attacking midfielder Kacey White will move clubs to AIK on August 1. Peter Johansson from AIK's management says that they have been looking for a player to strengthen their attack (not surprisingly, looking at the club's mediocre scoring so far) and are very happy to be able to tie Kacey to the club.
On a personal note, I'm a bit surprised that Bälinge didn't manage to hold on to White. She's been very useful for the club, both last year and in the few matches she played this season between the USA recidency camp and the summer break.
AIK: Kacey White till AIK
Besides this, it has so far been unusually quiet on the transfer front this summer. LDB FC Malmö has loaned a reserve team player, 21 year old defender Lisa Gustafsson, to Finnish top three side Åland United. Qbik is talking about finding serious reinforcements, preferably a European top scorer, but finding the right player isn't easy. Sunnanå's Amanda Stenerkrans and Emma Jonsson, occational subs, are both at 1st division side Sundsvall DFF, training. For both players there is the boyfriend factor pulling them towards Sundsvall, but Sunnanå chairman Sören Gustafsson says they will not leave Sunnanå until after the season is finished. so, not that much, really.
Åland United: Ny spelare skrev på för Åland United
Värmlands Folkblad: Qbik hoppas att stjärna ska vända krisen
Västerbottens Folkblad: Sunnanåspelare tränar i Sundsvall