Author: index

Is Europe becoming the destination for women’s soccer as well?

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In the world of football, Europe is arguably regarded as the ideal place for footballers to compete in as it has the best clubs with the likes of: Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Juventus just to name a few.


If a soccer fanatic wants to view world-class talent, it’s likely that their best choice would be to check out either Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi both of which perform in Spain with their respective teams.

When it comes to women’s soccer, United States has had significant more impact as there have been various females from USA that have been awarded with the FIFA Women’s of the Year individual prize including: Mia Hamm and Carli Lloyd.

Carli Lloyd lifted the 2015 FIFA Women’s of the Year award and she recently signed a loan deal with Manchester City. Alex Morgan is another well-known and influential figure especially in the USA as she has scored over 70 goals for the national side; Morgan also opted to extend her playing career by joining Olympique Lyon.

Alex Morgan and Carli Lloyd both have spent the majority of their playing career performing in United States but they have recently penned a deal with overseas clubs which is something that more female footballers are deciding to do. Continue reading →

BOJAN KRKIC EXITS THE PREMIER LEAGUE

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Bojan Krkic has exited the Premier League for the remainder of the season with his confirmed move from Stoke City to Mainz on a loan deal.


The 26-year old footballer agreed to a new deal last year but has moved on from the club as he struggled to make five starts in the Premier League this term.

When the winter window opened, there were numerous links to Premier League clubs like Middlesbrough but after Stoke acquired Saido Berahino from West Bromwich Albion Bojan moved to Mainz on loan.

The former Barcelona, who moved to Stoke in 2014, has featured for top clubs in the past like AS Roma, AC Milan and Ajax. Mainz, who are in the 11th spot in the German Bundesliga, want the player to bolster attacking options.

Bojan said he was excited with the move as he gets another chance to prove himself. Continue reading →

CANADA’S WOMEN’S TEAM WINS BRONZE IN RIO

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After Canada’s women soccer coach, John Herdeman expressed his dissatisfaction with the team’s slacking reputation. The Canadian women team seems to have bounced back against all odds and public criticisms.


Herdeman had said in an interview: “Let’s stop pretending we’re the old Canada that wins the odd game.”

With little expectation set for the team by fans, the coach said he was tired of showing up at tournaments and matches as the underdog, Herdeman wanted a new label. It should come as no surprise then that the women’s team was voted as postmedia’s 2016 team of the year.

No doubt, not a lot was expected from the team at the just concluded Olympic Games in Rio where the team had performed beautifully and won the bronze medal. Ironically, other Canadian teams like the Calgary stampeders, Toronto FC and the Toronto Blue Jays had garnered a lot of attention and expectations from fans and the general public, but unfortunately none of them won a cup or even qualified for the World Series tournament.

The women’s team had been written off about two months before the Olympic Games were they had lost at the BMO field in a sad 2-0 game to Brazil. Reflecting back on the attention their defeat had gathered, Herdeman said: Continue reading →

Doncaster Rovers Belles Relegation Confirmed after Notts County Loss

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Doncaster Rovers Belles were unable to sustain their position in the Women’s Super League 1 after their relegation to the second division was confirmed with a loss against Notts County.


The 2-1 defeat was very much expected considering that the team has been going through a very poor run of form throughout the campaign. The team has lost all of their league matches in 2016 and it has consequently resulted in their relegation to the second division after just one season in the top flight. Doncaster Rovers Belles manager Emma Coates claimed that relegation certainly is very painful to take, but she admitted that it has been coming for a while now.

Incredibly, Doncaster Rovers Belles suffered only one defeat throughout 2015 but a combination of factors seems to have resulted in their demise from the top division. A major absentee for the club during the 2016 season has been Courtney Sweetman-Kirk. She was the top scorer for the club in the previous season after having achieved an incredible tally of almost one goal per game

After suffering a broken leg in April, she has been forced to miss much of the season. She has not been the only injury concern, as new signing Jess Sigsworth has also missed a significant chunk of the campaign due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

“It hurts. Nobody wants to be relegated, let alone in the manner it’s happened to us this season,” said Emma Coates after the latest loss.”The injuries for Courtney and Jess and the departure of Tash Dowie didn’t help. We were left quite sparse up front.We also had the big gaps between games, which didn’t help with our continuity. Once you accumulate all these things together, it’s tough mentally for the players,” saidclub chair Faye Lygo after relegation was confirmed.

Manchester City Women Reach Continental Cup Final after Arsenal Win

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Manchester City Women managed to progress into the Continental Cup final after a win over Arsenal Ladies.


It was an extremely narrow result for the team and Manchester City Women only progressed after a late goal from defender Jennifer Beattie. The Scotland defender came in with an effort with 11 minutes of normal time remaining. As a result of this exit, Arsenal have failed to reach the final for the first time in the cup’s history. They have won the competition four times and were overwhelming favourites to reach the final. The joy of victory will be celebrated by City in front of their Academy Stadium as it will host to the final against Birmingham City.

Birmingham reached the final in a more comfortable way after having overcome London Bees 4-0 on Saturday. City goalkeeper Marie Hourihan had been busy early in the game and had to denyAsisatOshoala on numerous occasions. City seemed to have the luck of the moment after a freekick from Toni Duggan deflected straight into the path ofBeattie, who did not make any mistake from the ensuing finish. Ironically, this goal came just moments after the effort from Danielle Carter saw Arsenal rattle the goalpost. Despite the numerous chances, Arsenal saw City take the lead with an unlikely effort.
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Manchester City women’s team have continued their success

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Manchester City women’s team have continued their success and good form in the domestic league by securing a 2-1 win overReading Women.

The result maintains their unbeaten run in the last few weeks and it also extends the lead at the top of the table to 7 points over Chelsea Ladies.City, though, have played one game more than Chelsea Ladies. Izzy Christiansen gave Manchester City an advantage straightaway by scoring in the first half. Her England teammate Toni Duggan came up with an excellent goal from 18 yards out to make it 2-0 with only 10 minutes left in the game .Reading Women’s Lauren Bruton scored a goal late on but it was just a consolation from the penalty spot.

City have now managed to win nine matches in the opening 11 games. This impressive form sees them being branded as the favourites for the league title. Meanwhile, the other end of the table presents a different picture sinceReading Women are left searching for their first win of the season even now. They remain perilously close to the relegation zone with only a six-point difference separating them from the bottom club, Doncaster Rovers Belles. Just asReading Women, Sunderland Ladies also seem to be in the relegation trouble after having taken the same number of points.
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