Category: Articles

Euro Roundup: Casey Stoney Retires, International Previews, and More

Posted on by RJ Allen

Welcome to the third edition of the Euro Roundup. There’s a few different points in this week’s edition, with international tournaments coming up, and, of course, the top leagues being back in action after the international and winter break.

Press Play

Have you wanted to look behind the scenes and see what life is like for some of the pros in women’s football? Now you can, thanks to UEFA. In 2017, UEFA launched the #WePlayStrong campaign at the Champions League final in order to change perceptions of the game, and to encourage girls who may be interested in playing football. Anyone can get involved in spreading the word and taking part, from pros to fans.

They have continued this with a YouTube series called Press Play. This is where you see the lives of four European players—Eunice Beckmann (FC Basel), Lisa Evans (Arsenal and Scotland), Sarah Zadrazil (Turbine Potsdam and Austria) and Laura Feiersinger (SC Sand and Austria)—as they vlog it. There are already five episodes and it is uploaded every Thursday, so go and give it a watch.

SheBelieves, Algarve and Cyprus

It doesn’t seem that long since there was international action happening, but we are soon approaching another break—only this time, some silverware is up for grabs. First up is both the Cyprus Cup and the Algarve Cup. These tournaments both start at the same time—February 28—with a fair amount of European interest.

In the Cyprus Cup, the European teams involved are: Finland, Wales, Belgium, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Spain and Hungary. Belgium, Austria, Finland, Switzerland and Wales have announced their squads, with other teams still yet to announce. There are some notable call-ups here. For Austria, Simona Koren, who plays for Sunderland, got called up and could make her international debut. Three uncapped players have been called up by Wales: Ellie Lake (Swansea City), Gwen Davies (Cyncoed) and Elise Hughes (Everton) have all been named in the squad.

In the Algarve Cup, seven out of the 12 teams are European. The Netherlands, the European champions, are involved, as well as runners-up Denmark, plus Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Russia and Portugal. The Netherlands and Russia are yet to announce their squads for the tournament.

Of course, concurrent with these two tournaments, we also have the SheBelieves Cup, a round-robin tournament between the USA, France, Germany, and England. 2017 has been an interesting year for all three of the European teams. They all made it out of the group stage in the Euro, with the Lionesses faring the best as they won all three games. France made it difficult for themselves, just getting through after drawing with Austria and Switzerland. Germany, who had won the last six European Championships, were knocked out by Denmark, and England eliminated France in the quarterfinals. England were of course knocked out by the eventual champions, the Netherlands.

The USA is the only side that has yet to announce their final roster.

League and cup action

There’s been a fair amount of action in European football this month, with a fair few top leagues in action. In France, Lyon are still yet to drop as they have 15 wins—the most recent win being against Bordeaux, with a comfortable 4-0 scoreline. They’ve been on fine goalscoring form in the Coupe de France, too, with 41 goals in three—yes, three—matches. Their opponents have been teams lower in the standings, and Lyon have shown the power and talent they have in their squad. Their next opponent, Marseille, is slighter higher in the league than previous opponents, but it looks like Lyon will get through yet again.

In Germany, the league came back after a winter break on February 4. It’s fairly close in the league, with three points between first-place Wolfsburg and second-place Bayern Munich, and just four points separating the third- through fifth-place teams (Freiburg, Turbine Potsdam, and Frankfurt, respectively). Both Bayern and Wolfsburg had close matches recently. Munich beat SGS Essen 2-1. Essen took the lead 23 minutes in, and the winner came in the 89th minute.  Wolfsburg beat Hoffenheim 1-0 with the only goal of the game at the 15th minute scored by Pernille Harder.

It’s been a mixture of cup and league games in the WSL. This month saw all WSL teams enter the FA Cup—the knockout tournament where all English teams, down to the county leagues, can enter to try and get to the final at Wembley. Cardiff City, from the WPL South, produced a shock in the 4th Round when they beat WSL2 side Oxford United on penalties. Cardiff are in the league below Oxford. The next round saw Cardiff knocked out by fellow WPL South side Charlton Athletic to see Charlton become the remaining WPL side left in. All other ties went pretty much as expected but Millwall came so close to producing a shock in terms of league position. Millwall are flying in WSL2 and managed to only lose 1-0 to Arsenal, in a game that saw Kim Little’s long-awaited return from injury.

In the league, however, Chelsea and Manchester City are pulling away from the rest in their quest for the title. They faced each other on February 1, a meeting that ended in a draw, but the next match, on February 24, is likely to be different. Chelsea can’t afford to draw, as they are two points behind City and only one goal behind in goal difference. A win for them would see them just edge out in front. City, meanwhile, could afford to draw, but a win would increase their lead.

Casey Stoney retires

February 18, 2017 was Kelly Smith’s farewell game. A year on from that, another England legend announced her retirement. Casey Stoney has announced her retirement from both league and international football and she will be part of the backroom team with the Lionesses.

Stoney started her career at Chelsea at age 12, and later moved on to Arsenal. She played with Arsenal from 1999-2002, before going to Charlton Athletic—a team that was disbanded in 2007 due to the relegation of the men’s team, which Stoney spoke out about (Charlton have since started up again, and are currently second in the WPL South). She then made her return to Chelsea, before moving on to Lincoln; she didn’t follow the team when they moved to Nottingham and became Notts County, instead going back to Arsenal in 2014. Finally, she landed in Liverpool, where she’s been since 2016.

Over her career, she won the WPL National Division twice, FA Cup four times and the WPL Cup four times.

As for her international career, she made her debut in 2000 against France, although she missed out on major tournament appearances until the World Cup in 2007, where she played every minute of every match. She was one of the 17 female players who were part of history in 2009 when the FA introduced central contracts. She became England captain in 2012 when Faye White retired from international football. In that year she also captained Team GB at the Olympics in London, where the team advanced to the quarterfinals.

In 2015, Stoney again made history when the Lionesses had their best-ever finish in the World Cup. They battled on after a loss to France in the opening match to go on and finally beat Germany. They finished third and claimed the bronze medal after a heartbreaking loss to Japan in the semifinals.

Stoney will play her final game February 21, when Liverpool take on Sunderland at home in the league. She has inspired so many players on the pitch, including many of pros that now ply their trade in the WSL. She has been a leader and a true Lionesses legend, and she will continue to inspire off of it and maybe inspire the Lionesses to future international glory. All that is left to say is, thank you, Casey.

The Schedule Has Landed: NWSL Releases Schedule for 2018

Posted on by RJ Allen

The NWSL has dropped the hottest release of 2018, the schedule.

The NWSL has given us the full schedule as well as the details on the NWSL Game of the Week teams. Both Jenn Hildreth and Aly Wagner will be back to call all 20 of the NWSL Game of the Week games. They will still be on Lifetime and the pregame still starts at 3:30 p.m. ET, 3:50 p.m. ET kickoff time, but having Hildreth and Wagner takes some sting out of the less than ideal start time. Dalen Cuff will be back to host the 20 minute pregame show.

The NWSL is once again trying out using the go90 app for US based fans. Fans from outside the US, or fans inside of it with a VPN, can watch via the NWSL app and NWSLsoccer.com.

The NWSL Game of the Week

Taking a look at the games that Lifetime and the NWSL have picked our for the NWSL Game of the Week, we note a few things.

The new Utah Royals will be hosting five games, a league high. The Portland Thorns, Orlando Pride and the Washington Spirit will each host three times, while the Chicago Red Stars and the North Carolina Courage each host twice. The Houston Dash and Sky Blue FC each host once. The Seattle Reign will not host at all.

While only hosting two of the NWSL Game of the Week games at home, the Chicago Red Stars will feature in six of the games as the away side. The Orlando Pride are the away side five times, three times for the Seattle Reign, twice each for the North Carolina Courage and the Portland Thorns FC, and only once for the Utah Royals FC and the Houston Dash. Sky Blue will not be the away team on any of the NWSL Game of the Week games.

NWSL Game of the Week Schedule

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 The Full Schedule

Moving on to take a look at the full 108 game NWSL schedule there are a few things to note here too. 

Out of the 108 total games, 74 are played after 7 p.m. ET. Many of the Utah, Seattle, Portland home games are played in the 9 p.m. ET and 11 p.m. ET time frame to keep the effects of the heat down.

31 of the games will be held during the week, Wednesday the most popular with 20, 10 games will be on Fridays while a single game is held on a Tuesday.

Every team will be playing a home and an away match against each team. They will also have a second home game against four teams plus go on the road for four matches to make up the 24 game schedule.

Chicago will be playing their second home matches against: The Houston Dash, the Orlando Pride, the Portland Thorns and Sky Blue FC.

Houston will be playing their second home matches against: the North Carolina Courage, the Portland Thorns, The Utah Royals FC and The Washington Spirit.

North Carolina will be playing their second home matches against: the Chicago Red Stars, the Portland Thorns, The Utah Royals FC and The Washington Spirit.

Orlando will be playing their second home matches against: the Houston Dash, the North Carolina Courage, the Seattle Reign and Sky Blue FC.

Portland will be playing their second home matches against: the Orlando Pride, the Seattle Reign, Sky Blue FC and the Utah Royals.

Seattle will be playing their second home matches against: the Chicago Red Stars, the Houston Dash, the North Carolina Courage and the Washington Spirit.

Sky Blue will be playing their second home matches against: the Houston Dash, the North Carolina Courage, the Seattle Reign and the Utah Royals.

Utah will be playing their second home matches against: the Chicago Red Stars, the Orlando Pride, the Seattle Reign FC and the Washington Spirit.

Washington will be playing their second home matches against: the Chicago Red Stars, the Orlando Pride, the Portland Thorns and Sky Blue FC.

The match ups for the last weekend? No Washington Spirit the final weekend because of the odd number of teams. 

Friday, September 7, 2018 @ 10:30 PM – Portland Thorns FC vs Seattle Reign FC @ Providence Park

Saturday, September 8, 2018 @ 12:00 PM Sky Blue FC vs Orlando Pride @ Yurcak Field

Saturday, September 8, 2018 @ 3:30 PM – Utah Royals FC vs Chicago Red Stars @ Rio Tinto Stadium

Saturday, September 8, 2018 @ 7:00 PM – North Carolina Courage vs Houston Dash @ Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park

The Full NWSL Schedule

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The NWSL Schedule Announcement Spoiled by the NWSL

Posted on by RJ Allen

The NWSL has dropped the hottest release of 2018, the schedule.

As first found by Steven Goff, the NWSL site updated and now lists dates and times for all the games. 

Below you will find the full schedule as presented on NWSLSoccer.com. 

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SheBelieves Preview: Germany Look to Recover From a Rotten 2017

Posted on by RJ Allen

One year ago, Germany was flying high. They arrived at the 2017 SheBelieves Cup as the Olympic champions, and one of the favorites to win the upcoming Euro championship. The six-time consecutive champions knew that this title defense would be more difficult than some in the past, but they certainly wouldn’t have anticipated being knocked out in the quarterfinals by Denmark. Then, their humiliation was compounded by a loss to Iceland in October, breaking a 26-match unbeaten run in World Cup qualifying.

These tough results notwithstanding, Germany remain one of the world’s best teams—as made clear in their final match of 2017, a 4-0 thumping of France. The question is: which version will turn up at SheBelieves? Will we get a return of the smooth-passing team that looked so dominant for much of 2015 and 2016, or the more hesitant group that struggled their way through matches last year?

This tournament will be an important bellwether for several of the competitors—with England looking to assess the results of their new manager and France looking to rekindle the optimism that led them to victory here last year—but maybe none more so than Germany. Coach Steffi Jones had her contract renewed after the failure in last year’s Euros and remains on track to manage all the way through the 2019 World Cup. But another bad result here might be enough to force a change.

After all, on sheer talent, this is a squad that has every reason to be planning to win the World Cup next summer. They’re young (the average age is 25, with only two players over 30), but experienced beyond their years. Now is the time for Jones to show that she can get them working together to produce the results they expect.

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A lot of that will depend on their talismanic #10, Dzsenifer Marozsán. She has been the heart of the German team since the retirement of Célia Šašić in 2015, with her field vision and mobility giving her the ability to affect every aspect of the game. While her primary duty is to serve as the playmaking fulcrum around which everyone else moves, she also has a wicked shot from distance, and is more than capable of crashing into the box to follow up on the attack.

Led by Marozsán, the midfield is probably Germany’s strongest line, with important additional support from Sara Däbritz. She’s been a mainstay in the squad for years—and is one of the main reasons Germany took home the gold in Rio in 2016—but at just 23 is still primed for a serious breakout. Where Marozsán is the mercurial genius, Däbritz is a highly technical player, with a refined game based on control and execution.

The midfield is rounded out with an excellent backing cast, including young talents like Linda Dallmann and Lina Magull, versatile players who can help keep the midfield engine running. Dallmann, in particular, has looked excellent over the past year, and promises to be a mainstay in the German team. Another interesting name is Tabea Kemme, who has previously played as a defender, but whose recent switch into the attack for Turbine Potsdam has produced excellent results. She should bring a lot of attacking verve on the wing. They’ll also be glad to see the return of veteran Lena Goeßling, who has come back to the squad after some conflicts with the coach pushed her off the team last year.

Unlike some of the other teams at the tournament, Germany does not rely on a single dominant striker, instead utilizing a range of solid players with different skills. First among those equals, though, is Alexandra Popp, who has averaged a goal every two games for her country. They’ll also feature Svenja Huth, who has been in great form with Turbine Potsdam and brings some creativity to the front line, as well as Mandy Islacker—a late arrival to the German team (not earning her first cap until she was 27) who is making up for lost time.

The biggest questions for Germany come from the backline. There should be two certainties: Leonie Maier at right back and Babett Peter in the central defense. But apart from those two, the next-most-capped players are Verena Faißt and Anna Blässe (with just 34 and 24 appearances respectively)—both useful support players but neither a likely starter at the next big tournament. Many of the big questions for them this tournament, therefore, revolve around the defense. In particular: what are the long-term plans at center back? And who can step up at left back (assuming that Kemme sticks in the midfield)?

Germany finished second at this tournament last year, despite not playing especially well in any of their games. That proved a harbinger of the struggles that followed over the rest of the year. Will there be more of the same malaise this time around? Or will Jones finally put her own stamp on the team, and bring them through this transitional period?

Germany Schedule

March 1: vs. USA, 7 pm ET/4 pm PT (ESPN2)
March 4: vs. England, 3 pm ET/12 pm PT (ESPN3)
March 7: vs. France, 4 pm ET/1 pm PT (ESPN3)

 

Interviews with Emma: Taylor Lytle

Posted on by RJ Allen

Emma Bayer is an 11-year-old who will be doing a recurring interview series for Backline Soccer. You can find more out about how Emma got into soccer here.

Taylor Lytle was a member of Sky Blue FC from 2013 to 2017. After a trade, she is now a member of the new Utah Royals.

Birthdate: March 31,1989

Nickname from teammates: Tay, Tay Tay, T, Little One

Hometown: Las Cruces, New Mexico

Age started playing: 6 years old, my first team was called the Rowdy Magic, it was a mixed team with boys and girls. Everyone’s dad helped out because no one really knew how to coach 6-year-olds or soccer!

College/major: Texas Tech University, and my major was Animal Science (pre-vet).

Career aspirations after soccer: I would love to do something with animals, maybe work at a vet clinic or a zoo.

Why did you pick your particular uniform number?: I was number 12 in college, but when I started playing for Sky Blue, 12 wasn’t available. So I decided to be 6 because it was half of 12, haha.

Pregame meal: My normal pregame meal is chicken, rice, and some sort of veggies. I usually eat some fruit as well.

Workout music: When I am doing longer runs, I listen to hip hop/pop music because the beat helps me. When I am lifting I listen to country music. It calms me down and just lets me focus on what I am doing.

Favorite cartoon character: Growing up I really liked Tweety. He was so tiny and cute and mischievous.

Fave movie: I am from the Southwest, so I grew up watching westerns, and my favorite one is Tombstone. I also enjoy any Disney movie, and Beauty and the Beast is probably my favorite.

Face actress: Sandra Bullock. She can do funny and serious and all her movies are great!

Hidden talent: I’m double-jointed in my arms.

Mentor: My college coach, Tom Stone.

Fave charity/cause: I love animals, so I am really into helping out Humane Societies or SPCAs. My roommates and I fostered a dog this year until she got adopted, and there are so many wonderful doggies out there in shelters that people really should adopt and not shop.

Life motto: Let Go, Let God.

Superstitions: I don’t really have any. I know that a lot of athletes do, but I don’t.

Pets: I have a pit bull. He is 11 and his name is Savian. He is 100 pounds of muscle and love! Sweetest dog I know!

Amazing Race teammate: My best friend Kelsey. She has traveled a lot and is very competitive, smart, and can always make the best out of any situation. She is also hilarious, so the adventure with her would be entertaining.

Get Hyped: 5 Things to be Excited for This NWSL Season

Posted on by RJ Allen

Alright, my friends, let’s just say it how it is. This off-season has been rough for the NWSL. I think the majority of us will agree to that. We lost a team, we had some really weird coaching shakeups (looking at you, Laura Harvey), and we still have no schedule even though it’s only a little over a month until the first match. To say things went less than ideally in the off-season is an understatement. And for some fans, this may have been a rather discouraging time. Maybe a trade didn’t go your way, maybe you lost your home club, or maybe you have been trying to plan a west coast road trip that centers around going to a Thorns game and somehow you still don’t know what weeks they are playing at home.

Whatever the reason, I get it. I empathize with you. But I also want to get excited with you. Because even despite all this crap that has been happening since October, there is still a lot to look forward to in this new season. There is a lot to get hyped about. Here are just five of those reasons:

1. Roster Shakeups = Better Rivalries

Maybe you cried when Sam Kerr went to Chicago, or when Harvey decided to end her long-time run in Seattle. Maybe you shouted out expletives when you received a text that Houston had traded yet another international player away. Or maybe you very publicly willed the Ashley Hatch trade into existence by saying on The Scouting Report podcast that she wasn’t going anywhere for at least a year.

Whatever the trade is that shocked your world, you have to admit that it is going to make a few games very interesting. Because big times trades help create even more intense rivalries. They create grudge matches. They get the fans more into the game. And all of those things create an exciting atmosphere for a fan, player, or coach. Come on Seattle, you know you want to pulverize Utah at your first meeting. Chicago, I know you are looking to come back at North Carolina for your semi-finals loss with your newly-formed attacking arsenal that includes a touch more Australian magic. Those games are going to be great—regardless of whether the trade went your way.

2. The New Team Making Big Moves

No matter which club you support, you probably have a pretty strong opinion about the Utah Royals. Everyone feels a certain kind of way about them, whether it is good or bad.

They came into the league in a big way, with a big announcement—one that was a little premature, considering they didn’t even have a team name. But they had a big name coach. And then they made some big-time trades. And then all of a sudden, Utah Royals FC were a force to be reckoned with, playing in a world-class stadium, and asking no one for permission or forgiveness for their abrupt entry into the women’s soccer world. It’s moves like that which cause everyone to sit up and take notice. It causes all of us to want to tune in, whether it is to see them excel, or to root for their demise. No matter what, they are something to look forward to, and that is something that no one can deny.

3. Young Washington

There are a lot of people who, only a few months ago, made the accusation that the Washington Spirit had no game plan. People said that they didn’t know what they were doing. Well, look at ’em now! Washington played the long game with some young players: drafting hometown hero Andi Sullivan, and then fighting for their shot to get Rose Lavelle in the Breakers dispersal draft. That’s on top of Mallory Pugh, Ashley Hatch, and Taylor Smith.

So yeah…I’m thinking Washington definitely has a game plan now. And maybe that game plan won’t be perfected this season, but there is something about this team that definitely has the same sort of flair that the Baby Bombers gave to Yankees fans last season. It’s hope, and excitement, and a damn good touch on the ball. Mark your calendars for their matches (when the schedule is released)—they are not a team you are going to want to miss.

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4. The Prodigal Daughter Returns

On January 19th a three-team blockbuster trade deal sent Carli Lloyd back to her home state of New Jersey. Lots of people had lots of different feelings about it. And I have to say that I was quite skeptical about how this trade benefited Sky Blue. But Becca Kimble, one of my Scouting Report co-hosts, pointed out to me that Carli Lloyd of Sky Blue is in no way the Carli Lloyd of Houston. And she is absolutely correct.

Last season, Lloyd spent the majority of her time either injured or playing for Manchester City (not that I can blame her—that team is insanely talented). But that made it difficult for a fan, or herself, to get too pumped about her time in the NWSL. When the trade happened, though, she was the Carli Lloyd that everyone always wants her to be: happy, excited, and pumped to play the game. She is back in Jersey working in the community and giving keynote speeches to youth athletes. She was one of the only top-tier players to take to social media to welcome her new teammates from the former Breakers roster.

And to top it all off, she is insanely proud that she gets to play for her home crowd again. She is practically shouting it from the rooftops, and that is something that every Sky Blue fans should get excited about it. Everyone else should get excited because when Carli Lloyd is happy, working hard, and playing well… well, she’s Carli Lloyd. I don’t have to explain that to you.

5. We Get To Start Earlier

I think the only reason I have not written a strongly worded letter to the NWSL about the schedule not being released is the fact that we get to start watching the beautiful game three weeks earlier than last season. And that is definitely something that we should get excited about. Because despite all of the bush league-style things that have happened this off-season—the unfortunate last-minute folding of Boston, the poorly-timed movement of FC Kansas City to Utah, or the atrociously-explained situation where Harvey and Vlatko just switched rosters—the bad juju that has been written all over this off-season will come to a close a little sooner than expected.

And I don’t know about you guys, but for me, there is nothing as agonizing as the long wait in between the final whistle of a championship and the first whistle to start the season. I’ve had the W-League to tide me over, but it just isn’t the same. Especially when we still have so many questions looming around us—questions like, “When are Portland’s home games this season, so I can plan this road trip? What was that job Laura Harvey took with USSF? And who in the hell is the NWSL Commissioner?”

Some answers we may never know. What we do know: the wait is almost over. So buy some new swag and get your go90 and Lifetime accounts ready to go—games are only a little more than a month away!

In closing, I’ll say this: Sometimes it is extremely difficult to be a women’s soccer fan. Crazy things happen that would be unimaginable in other leagues. There is an instability that can permanently keep us on edge. And the hunger to achieve an equal playing field can seem extremely daunting.

But despite these facts, there is still a lot to be excited about. There is Alex Morgan on the pitch, and Vera Pauw on the sidelines, and a perfectly crossed Carson Pickett ball into the box—those things that put a smile on our faces and command us to keep watching. To keep cheering. And to keep fighting to make this league better.

These are still early times for this league. There are still some things that will happen in the future to irritate us or make us angry. But with all of that, comes all of those things that excite us too. And the 2018 season will be no different. It will get us to stand from our seats. And it will undoubtedly make us cheer. So get hyped, my friends! 2018 is the NWSL is going to be a good one.

Q&A: Orlando Boss Tom Sermanni Talks W-League, Salary Caps, and Beating Portland

Posted on by RJ Allen

The Orlando Pride off-season has been anything but conventional. The team made the most out of a third-round pick, while trading away popular mainstays like Steph Catley and Jasmyne Spencer to add additional pieces. The team also bypassed the Boston Breakers dispersal draft to bring Sydney Leroux to town—all while they once again dealt away their 2019 draft picks. We spoke with Coach Tom Sermanni shortly after the Leroux trade was announced to catch up on all the goings-on with Orlando.

Backline: Tom, you started your offseason by heading overseas to the UK. Can you talk a little bit about what your intent was when you went over there?

Tom Sermanni: It was a couple of things. We don’t always get a chance to see live other leagues in the world and see what’s happening, what the standards are like—what the quality of the soccer is like, and what the style of the soccer is like. So part of it was an observation on the game in England, and the second thing was to look at players. Look and see if some player caught the eye or may be below the radar. A little bit of scouting involved in it, and a little bit of information-gathering.

BS: How would you compare the style of play in the FA WSL to the NWSL?

TS: I think our league is far more robust, physical, quick, and competitive. The English league, I was quite impressed with the style of soccer some of the teams try to play. The tempo was different and slower than the tempo that we play at. The only kind of exception I saw to that was when I saw Chelsea against Rosengård in the Champions League, and that was a real proper NWSL-type game. The teams, the organization is good. The players are much more aware of their job, much more disciplined, and generally the standard, I think across the board in the women’s game, continues to increase. I think the edge we’ve got here is there’s such a competitiveness in our league that you don’t get in other leagues at this stage.

BS: So in the trip to the UK, were you seriously considering a specific player there, or was it more a matter of gathering a list of names to consider in the future?

TS: Yeah, it’s probably more of that. I thought it would be a long shot to go there and get somebody and have them back for this season. Simply because contractually, those players are tied up to at least the end of the season, which is in June, and you’re not going to get them out of their contracts early in most occasions. Secondly, the kind of player we are looking at and want to bring here are obviously the better players, so they are in even more demand. It was more gathering information, and also having a look at players that become available and [we] could be interested in.

BS: You ended up traveling down to Australia for quite a bit of time to the W-league. Can you talk a little bit about the time you spent down there?

TS: Part of it was to see my wife, because my wife is living and working down in Australia. And again, it was also partly to look around the league and see what’s out there, what players are coming through, because in reality, I’ve been away from Australia now for six years. So you lose touch with the base of knowledge I naturally had there when I was the coach. It was good just to go back there to see some of the players that may be coming through the system, but weren’t around when I was there. I think it was great to catch up with our players. You know if you’re a player and you’re playing away, halfway around the world, it’s always handy to see a friendly face. So it was good to catch up with our [Orlando] players, as well. And again, part of it was to see how the league is going, what the standards are like.

BS: You obviously had a hand in the formation of the W-league. How would you describe the play now versus when it first started?

TS: I think there’s been significant progress made in a lot of areas. I think the playing level has gotten better. I think part of that is because of the relationship between the NWSL and the W-League. There’s probably 20 to 25 NWSL players down there, and what’s happening, over the last three or four years is that the teams down there, like all teams, learn from their mistakes. Teams down there have got their scouting of the NWSL players to a very good level now, so they’ve got some consistency and continuity bringing those players down there, and those have helped raise the standards in the league.

Coming from what I see now, one of the big advantages was to give the domestic players a chance to play in a national competition, and we’re seeing more and more young players getting opportunities to play at a senior level, and that’s continuing to develop the league. Basically, when we started, apart from national team players that were under contract, players weren’t getting paid to play in the league. There’s now a salary cap. There’s now a minimum wage. The minimum wage at the moment is 10,000 AUD [Ed. note: roughly $7,930], and that’s going up next year—which is great when you consider the number of younger players in there, and the fact that you only play 14 games. They’ve got a players’ agreement in there now [Ed. note: Tom is referring to the CBA struck between the players’ union and the league ahead of the 2017-2018 season] which is a huge step forward.

A third thing which is interesting is the number of double-headers with the men’s teams. The women’s game is on first, and literally as soon as the final whistle goes in the women’s game, the men’s teams are on to do the warm-up, get ready, and start their game. When we started the league, if we wanted a double-header, the A-league teams wanted the game to finish two hours before the A-league game started, so there was no point in a double-header. Now, it’s two games back-to-back. That’s a huge step forward, and also means that W-league teams are playing in very good stadiums almost every week.

There’s still a ways, resources are tight, there’s not a lot of money in the league, but when you step back to look to where we started it, and those days ten years ago, they’ve stepped on quite significantly.

BS: Would you say that the W-League style is similar to the NWSL, or is it its own style?

TS: No, it’s a bit more of its own style. It’s not quite as direct. It’s not as fast. Teams will tend to play a little bit more build-up kind of play. So the style is a little bit different.

BS: Let’s change gears and touch a little bit on the draft. You drafted Nadia Gomes. She’s has a lot of pace, is able to play a couple of different spots on the pitch. Are you keen to put her in the back, or are you wanting to see how she is in camp before you make any kind of decision?

TS: We don’t have any preconceptions about where we see her play, to be honest. We just like the qualities that we saw. We thought Nadia would go a lot earlier than when she did, so we didn’t have much hope of getting her. That was a pleasant surprise that she was still there. I think she’s got, from what we’ve seen in her video, the type of qualities that will fit in well with our team and also fit in well with the NWSL. And that is that flexibility, we feel she’ll end up playing several positions. We feel she’s got the pace and ability to cope in this league. That’s very important in the next competition, and she’s got the added advantage of being left-sided. She’s got a lot of promise and a lot of things we liked about her.

BS: Let’s talk a little bit about Boston. The club didn’t spend a lot of time on Breaker players for the dispersal draft. At what point did you make the decision to trade away your spots in that draft?

TS: I think it was about five minutes before the deadline (laughter). No, no. It just came about with some other pieces. With having to pick eighth and 11th, we weren’t quite sure what players we were going to get, and where players were going to get picked. We had been negotiating to bring Syd Leroux here, and that was one of the pieces we wanted to finalize. So trading those spots from Boston gave us that ability to make that trade, and we felt that was more important for us and the team we’re putting together. We’re really happy with the core of the team that we’ve got, and we just wanted to add a couple of players. So it made sense to get a deal done that we wanted to get done as opposed to go through the luxury of the Boston players we may have wanted.

BS: Let’s talk a little bit more on Sydney Leroux. How do you think she improves the squad overall?

TS: She’s a quality player first and foremost. What I think she brings to the team is that extra physical presence that I think we lacked a wee bit. We find is that it is a very physical league, and I think a lot of time last year, we felt we were playing in games, and we were the better side, and played the better soccer—but some of those times, we were muscled out a bit, and so I think what Syd brings is a physical presence that compliments what we’ve got vying for those positions. I think she’s coming into the prime of her career. I think she’s got an extra incentive now with having a little one. She’s now no longer an allocated national team player, so she’s got an added incentive of trying to get back to the national team.

Her and Alex have played a long time together and have a great relationship and partnership both on the field and off the field, and then you put Marta into that mix, and you’ve got a really highly potent strike force. I think just her personality around the team, around the squad, and in the town and in the community is another big attribute.

BS: You mention allocated players. Going back to the January camp for the national team, were you surprised that Ali Krieger didn’t get called, or do you have a comment on that?

TS: I mean, I’m disappointed for Ali because she had an outstanding season for us last year. Arguably our most consistent player, played every minute of every game, so I’m disappointed for Ali.

I don’t like to make comments on selections because I know what it’s like as a coach. You have to pick players, and sometimes you pick players, and sometimes you don’t. It’s not appropriate for me to comment on players other coaches select, whether that’s on the national team or whether it’s players Rory starts in Chicago or Laura at [Utah] or wherever.

So from our perspective, we’re obviously disappointed for Ali, but she’s a great professional, a great player for our team, and you never know, things can change in soccer. I’m confident that she’ll have another stellar season, and perhaps another opportunity in the national team.

BS: Now, is there any concern in the club from an allocation status perspective—that with fewer allocated players, you might be running up against the salary cap?

TS: Yes (laughter). I mean, it’s a really difficult job, you know, getting below the salary cap when suddenly this happens. The minimum wage goes up—as it should—and then we had a successful year last year, so you have to try and reward players, particularly ones that are on lower contracts, and then suddenly you get hit with this. I don’t know about other clubs, so I can only speak for our club, but it’s very hard to manage under the salary cap.

I think another thing the salary cap potentially does is put the league at a disadvantage, because it’s hard to compete out there in this market for the quality players. The women’s game is different than the men’s game, because we are competing with the best leagues in the world and trying to get the best players in the world here. Trying to do that with the salary cap is a challenge.

BS: Is there anything that you can share about the players not under contract—Alanna Kennedy and Chioma Ubogagu?

TS: We’re very close to concluding contracts with them, and we’re confident both of them will be with the team at the start of the season [Ed. note: the club confirmed that Carson Pickett, who Orlando acquired from Seattle in January, is under contract].

BS: Let’s talk a little bit about Rachel Hill. How do you think she’s developed over in the W-League? With the addition of Syd, tactically, where would you say Rachel will be playing? Perhaps in the midfield, taking up the role Camila did for the team last year?

TS: I think she’s a different player to Camila. I think Rachel will be someone who can play in a wider role. I think she can play anywhere across that front line, and she can probably play in a slightly more defensive position in a wide area. I don’t see her as a center-of-the-park type of player in midfield. Camila is a little bit different because apart from center back and goalkeeper, Camila can play anywhere. She’s a different type of player from Rachel. I think we just want to see her continue to develop. Like any squad, the aim of the squad is to continually get stronger and stronger, which means there’s more competition in the squad, better quality in the squad, and obviously with the signings, we’ve done that.

BS: So with the players you have and the pieces you’ve added, do you anticipate a tactical change in formation or do you feel you can keep the shape that you had?

TS: We have completely open thoughts on that. As a coach, I don’t say, “we play 4-3-3,” and set the players in that system, or “we play 4-4-2.” What we want to do is take the strengths that we’ve got and have flexibility about whether we play a 4-4-2, or three center backs, or whatever. So we really have an open mind, and probably find is that something organically will happen that will decide how we play, and it could be during the season.

BS: Going into the season, obviously, you made the playoffs last year, and the plan is always going to be to at least equal the result that you did for the season. As part of the goals for the season, will you perhaps include finally beating Portland?

TS: (Laughter) That’s a great point! That’s something we want to do. We kind of want to get that monkey off our backs. I think all of our games with Portland have been tight games. When I look back at that very first inaugural game [in 2016], where we lost 2-1 to Portland, it was a game I felt we probably should have won, to be honest, but what we haven’t been able to do to Portland is actually get in front—we’ve always been chasing the game, and hopefully that will change because I think they’re the only team we haven’t had a positive result against [Ed. note: Orlando took a point from Portland at home last year]. So the answer is yes, we do want to beat them.

__________________________________________

We wish Coach Sermanni the best of luck as his team comes together. Orlando added Brazilian defender Poliana to the team this week, and as Sermanni continues looking to improve his side, keep an eye out for further offseason moves from the team.

Utah Royals Announce Record-Breaking Jersey Sponsorship

Posted on by RJ Allen

As part of their jersey unveiling for the 2018 NWSL season, the Utah Royals announced a sponsorship deal with utility company Conservice. The deal is reportedly around two million dollars for a three-year deal, which would make it the biggest jersey sponsorship deal for a women’s soccer club in US history.

As recently as 2012, Real Salt Lake were in last place for MLS sponsorship deals, making just one million per year on a multi-year jersey deal with XanGo. For their new women’s team to approach that number a mere six years is a great sign, reflecting growing interest in the NWSL as well as the increasingly ambitious business that Dell Loy Hansen is running.

Many women’s teams who are affiliated with men’s clubs utilize their parent club’s existing sponsors when searching for jersey sponsors. The City Football Groups were already partners with Hays before putting their name on Manchester City Women’s kits. Providence Health already had a relationship with the Portland Timbers and chose to expand it into a jersey deal for the Portland Thorns. Deals like those offer stability, but not an open market, which may drive the price down.

Conservice, by contrast, is brand new to the club. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that Dell Loy Hansen has an existing relationship with Conservice via his real estate holdings, but Conservice has no previous dealings with Real Salt Lake. The high price tag suggests that there was a healthy market driven by the desire to make headlines as well to secure opportunities for involvement with RSL.

With this news coming as it does so soon after the folding of the Boston Breakers, it’s hard to avoid making comparisons. The investment is positive news for a league that will be keen to assure observers of its long-term growth potential, but it’s difficult to imagine this deal being struck with an independent NWSL club. Microsoft’s deal with the Seattle Reign two years ago was accompanied by a broader adoption by the club of Microsoft’s analytics system, and seems a proof-of-concept deal close to home as much as an investment. Headline-making numbers like this deal will improve the overall ability of teams to get sponsors, but independent clubs will still be operating at a disadvantage.

Hopefully this investment will encourage other clubs to beat the deal and make the numbers public: there’s currently no other information on the what the numbers for the jersey sponsorship deals from other NWSL clubs are.

We’re Hiring

Posted on by RJ Allen

Dear Readers,

With the 2018 NWSL season drawing ever closer, Backline Soccer is on the hunt for new contributors to join our growing team. We’re looking for both writers and photographers, with a particular eye toward expanding our pool to include more contributors in or near NWSL markets.

If you’re a women’s soccer fan, a writer, and have an interest in sharp original reporting, compelling storytelling, and well-informed analysis, we want to hear from you. Previous sports writing experience is a plus, but not a necessity. More important is your ability to commit to covering a team on a regular basis—think a few hundred to a thousand words a week, more if you’re willing and able—and stick to deadlines. Ideally, you’ll be able to cover most home games in person, and become a familiar sight in the media scrum.

While we’ll accept applications from writers anywhere in the US, we have a specific need for contributors to cover Chicago, North Carolina, Seattle, Utah, Portland, and Washington.

We’re also looking for great photographers to capture a field-level view of NWSL action. Previous sports photography experience is a plus, but not a hard-and-fast requirement; please provide some examples of your work and let us know what equipment you own. Being within traveling distance of Chicago, North Carolina, Seattle, Utah, Houston, Orlando, or Washington is another plus. Availability to shoot every home game isn’t an absolute necessity.

Women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ applicants are encouraged to apply.

To apply, use the Google form here. Please note that these positions are unpaid.

We look forward to meeting you!

-The Backline Soccer crew

Euro Roundup No.2

Posted on by RJ Allen

Welcome back to Euro Roundup. I hope you all enjoyed the first installment and will be looking forward to many more to come. If there’s anything that you would like me to cover in a future roundup or if there’s something you want to find out about football in Europe, feel free to tweet me and I’ll consider it.

International Flavour

January is typically more about International teams with training camps and friendlies occurring this month. This month usually sees teams fly off for sunnier climes and kick off the year with some international training at La Manga. This is a time where each team can work on fitness, techniques, and test out tactics with no risk. These camps become especially important in a qualification or major tournament year.

Teams that have gone out to La Manga include England, Scotland, Spain, Netherlands, Russia, and Norway. The same day that this goes out, the Netherlands will be facing England in a friendly. They haven’t got off to the best of starts at La Manga, however. They faced Spain on the 20th and lost 2-0 thanks to goals from Alexia Putellas and Gema Gili. This marked the end of the 12-game unbeaten run that they had which included the Euros. Other friendlies included Scotland taking on Norway with the Norwegians coming out as 3-0 winners, and Slovakia beating Russia 1-0.

There are friendlies going elsewhere as well. France took on Italy in Marseille as part of their World Cup preparation. The game ended in a 1-1 draw with goals from Amandine Henry and Cristiana Girelli. Sweden traveled to Cape Town to take on South Africa and emerged 3-0 winners with debutant Loreta Kullashi netting a brace.

League Action

There has been some league and cup action that has happened since the last roundup but with the international break, it’s been mostly lower leagues that have been in action as well as some cup action.

In cups, the Faxafloi Cup was in action in Iceland with FH beating HK/Vikingur 3-0 and IA winning 4-0 against Grotta. That wasn’t the only cup in action as the Reykjavik Cup occurred with Fylkir, KR, and HK/Vikingur all winning. Italy had one cup match in the Coppa Italia as Tavagnacco thrashed Unterland 6-0. Rounding up the cups in the Netherlands, Wartburgia II were on the end of a 6-0 thrashing thanks to Saestum.

Now to the leagues. In Belgium, there was only one game in the Super League. Genk beat OH Leuven 3-1 to leave OH Leuven 6 points from safety. In the 1st Division, SG-Tertre-Hautrage and Kontich both won to keep their title challenge going with both on the same points but Tertre edging ahead on goal difference. The 2nd Division saw all the bottom three clubs lose in Group A, but Cerkelladies Brugge are level on points with Sottegem who are just above them. Genk II kept their winning run going to keep their 6 point lead intact.

Spain is not only the current site of international friendlies but also has some league action of its own. The 1a Nacional, below the Primera Division, is split into 7 groups. Group 1, 2, 5, and 6 were the groups that played this week. Notable results are Oviedo Moderno winning to go within a point of leaders Deportivo de La Coruña. Osasuna beat Oiartzun 2-0, taking Osasuna above Oiartzun and into 4th in Group 2. Group 5 saw Tacón go top after a 5-2 win against Parquesol. They pushed Atletico Madrid down into 2nd who they lost to the previous week. Finally, Group 6 Las Palmas saw Femarguin go 3 points ahead after beating Firgas 4-0.

Not all lower leagues were so lucky with staging games. Wet and wintery weather hit the FA Women’s Premier League quite badly with just the one match surviving. That match saw Crewe Alexandra take on Chorley in the Division 1 Northern league. Crewe were 1-0 up at half time but persistence from Chorley meant that in the end they won 4-2. Chorley are now a few points behind Crewe in the table.