French D1 Féminine Late Preview: Players to Watch Out For

Louisa Necib in Two Words? 'Female Zidane'

French D1 Féminine: Players to Watch Out For
Having previewed the teams in the last blog -which shows a guide to every team in the league- I’ll be taking it further to exposing the players with the qualities that stand above the rest in the top four teams.
Let’s start with the Champions;

Olympique Lyon
Starting from Lyon, there’s a host of players to keep your eye on, I could and should say the whole squad to save me the time, but let me take the trouble to help sharpen the microscope view on the French Champions;
In Goal and Defence
In defence, center back, Wendie Renard stands as the most outstanding defender in the country and some would say -arguably- Europe, she is difficult to miss at a height of 6 ft. 1, with her trademark big hair (which could be sometimes braided) her, alongside one of Asia’s best defenders, Japanese International, Saki Kumagai (who is quite popular for scoring the 2011 World Cup winning penalty vs. The US...right, you remember now), are quite the wall in the league, in front of goalkeeper, Sarah Bouhaddi, who is France's number one.
The Midfield
In midfield, there’s a host of more talents, a French quadruple of, Camille Abily, Amandine Henry, Élise Bussaglia and Louisa Nécib usually run the center park of the team. Henry and Bussaglia do the defensive work in the middle of the park but pay attention to Abily and Nécib. Abily is what you would refer to as the box-to-box engine of the team while Nécib can thread a pass through the eye of a needle, and score spectacularly, she’s commonly referred to as ‘the female Zidane’, no big deal.

(Link Here, Enjoy àhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Obi58AsrL6Q)

The Forwards
In Forward positions, Lyon prefer to play Swiss striker, Lara Dickenmann, on the wings, they have Élodie Thomis also on the flanks for pace, trickery and skill and for finishing they rely on Eugénie Le Sommer, Lotta Schelin -the main number 9- and most recently, Ada Hegerberg, acquired from German side Turbine Potsdam, the latest addition to the French champions to give them more goals even though the pair of Schelin and Le Sommer alone has 280+ Lyon -league- goals between them.

PSG
I think I almost mentioned the whole team in Lyon’s section but I’ll try to tone it down a bit in PSG’s as they have as much talents as their title rivals.
In Goal and Defense
The back four of PSG usually consists of Laura Georges, Sabrina Delannoy, Laure Boulleau and Jessica Houara d’H, all French internationals in front of Polish goalkeeper, Katarzyna Kiedrzynek. However, Laura Georges is the one to watch, formerly a defender at Lyon she switched to PSG last season to pair with club captain, Delannoy, in center back, Georges, in my opinion, is the best defender in Europe, does the last ditch defending for both country and club.
The Midfield
Most notably in midfield are French midfielders Kheira Hamraoui, Kenza Dali, German midfielder, Linda Bresonik and Costa Rican, Shirley Cruz. Dali and Cruz bring pace to the game while Hamraoui is as confident as you like on the ball in holding midfield and Bresonik assists upfront with the attack.
The Forwards
In forward positions, American hot prospect, Lindsey Horan, Swedish forward, Kosovare Asllani (no it wasn’t Zlatan’s idea) and French goal machine, Marie-Laure Delie all make up the interesting attack up front for PSG. 32 league goals in 39 games isn’t a bad return from Horan since she joined, Asllani plays more as an advanced forward and has 26 goals since she arrived while Delie scored 24 in her debut season joining from Montpelier.

New arrivals for PSG include, young German goalkeeper from Potsdam, Ann-Katrin Berger who could push Kiedrzynek for first team goalkeeping, Josephine Henning also arrives from the same club as Berger in Germany, Henning could disrupt the all French line in the back for PSG.
The next two arrivals for PSG are deemed World Class players, Caroline Seger is a box to box Swedish midfielder from disbanded Swedish Champions League finalists, Tyresö FF while Fatmire Alushi is a former World Player of the Year nominee from 2010, the German winger is extremely creative from the flanks.

Juvisy
Juvisy might not have as many stars on display as PSG and Lyon but they have enough to take the fight to both of them.
In Goal and Defense
In goal is former French number one, Céline Deville, still 32 and going strong between the posts, most notably in defence for the French team are, Julie Soyer and Sandrine Dusang. Dusang is a former Lyon central defender and Soyer is a former PSG Right Back.
The Midfield
In midfield following the retirement of legendary Sandrine Soubeyrand’s (the most capped French International), Juvisy would have to rely on a young Aissatou Tounkara in holding midfield and Belgian midfielder, Janice Cayman to help steady the middle of the park while the young Camille Catala handles things towards attacking.
The Forwards
Forward is where the joy lies for Juvisy as they boast 3 generations of strikers, Sandrine Brétigny and Gaëtane Thiney. Brétigny is now a veteran at the age of 30, her greatness is established at Lyon, being their top goal scorer of all-time while Thiney proves to be the modern day World Class attacker for club and country, whether it’s on the wings or in front of goal, she does get the goals (also 3rd on the all-time goal scorers for France list), both strikers have scored well over 100 league goals each, and are still going strong, having said that, there’s really no lack of joy for Juvisy upfront.

Montpellier
Like I said in the last blog this is the side to watch if you are looking for stars of the future and potential World Class French players, so here’s a look at the bunch on top of the bunch of talents.
In Goal and Defence
In goal they have Laëtitia Philippe, who is just 23 years of age with 3 caps already for France, not bad for third choice and substitute goalkeeper, Solène Durand is now well known nationally -to an extent- after representing the country in goal to a terrific U-20 Women’s World Cup tournament where they won the bronze medal.
In defence, Montpellier have added quality this season to bolster their squad, Swedish defender, Linda Sembrant, arrived from -the now non-existing- Tyresö FF, to help strengthen the back line.
The Midfield
World Cup winning Japanese midfielder, Rumi Utsugi, has become synonymous with the club since 2010 and puts in a solid shift for them defensively, last season she scored 10 league goals and showed she could be as dangerous up the park, alongside Scottish midfielder, Jennifer Beattie. Sandie Toletti was one of the regulars for France at the U20 World Cup and is deemed to be a big star for the future.
The Forwards
Attacking wise, Montpellier have no problems. A variety of French forwards of all ages are there to help stick the ball in the back of the net. First of all there's veteran striker, Laëtitia Tonazzi, who has pretty much done it all in the league with Juvisy and most recently, Lyon, winning league titles in both clubs, her experience will be vital.
Among the younger forwards, there's the powerful forward, Marina Makanza and the prolific Viviane Asseyi who already has 36 goals in just over 55 league games, which is quite the return and finally, Claire Lagovez, who really needs no introduction if you watched the U20 World Cup.
However among all these names, the arrival of big name forward, Sofia Jakobsson, stands out. Despite all these forwards the club have at their disposal, the Swedish international has arrived to set the standard. Expect the goals from her.

Done in a rush ahead of tomorrow's D1 Feminine games, here is a continuation from last blogs video (Linkà https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW_Y0oB-diE&list=PLaPBFRr7ext4uU9nutfhgGiozTAihrRRR), this link involves week 2 watch to get things into perspective as week 3 begins following the conclusion of the Women's World Cup Qualifiers which France did with ease.
On that note "Allez Les Blues!"
You can watch the game and celebrations after qualifying -both videos- here! à (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HF-ZEDJ-J4M&list=UUeJlXGyEl7kBgQJKADAHM3A&index=11

& https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tV7jI1mSkGc&list=UUeJlXGyEl7kBgQJKADAHM3A&index=12)

Remember to Follow on Twitter @thefemaledugout

Thanks : )

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The French Division 1 Féminine Guide for 2014-2015

Lyon's Where the Parties are Usually at...and Trophies

French D1 Féminine Guide

The thing about football is that it never really ends, there’s always a game somewhere, when a league is ending one is starting, it’s really like your favorite TV show that goes on and on and on and continues to live up to expectation, springing out shocks here and there, manages to constantly have your attention by having you glued to the thrills and… (Sorry, was thinking about Game of Thrones) well you get the idea.

In terms of women’s football, the NWSL is over, sure there’s the arrival of men’s football’s biggest leagues such as the English Premier League, the Spanish La Liga, German Bundesliga, but there’s also the start of some top women European leagues, among them is the French d1 Féminine and I’ll be all about previewing that in this blog.

So far only two rounds -or weeks- of games have been played, so it’s not too late to catch up to the building of the excitement over the long haul;

So here we go…

Brief History

The D1 Féminine obviously stands for Division one, which is the highest division of female football in France, it is contested by 12 teams, each team play 2 games against each other in a series of home and away matches amounting to 22 games played in total and the team with the highest points at the end of the season wins the league.

The league was initially created in 1981 and lasted 12 seasons before it came to halt following a ban on women’s football in France, however in 1975 it was officially back with appropriate funding from the French Football Federation (FFF) and as from 2009 professional contracts were given to female players to play football fully. Today the d1 Féminine is regarded as one of the top 3 European women leagues alongside Sweden's Damallsvenskan and Germany's Frauen Bundesliga.

Let's preview the teams ‘FourFourTwo Magazine’ style, shall we;


The Champions

Olympique Lyon 

Generally, they are one of the world’s heavy weights as long as female football goes, and they have an array of trophies in their cabinet to prove that.

They have Twelve, (yes 12), domestic league titles, eight of those they have now won back to back since 2007, which really paints a picture of their dominance in the France alongside six domestic cups and two European titles, that fully establishes their heavyweight status.

The Perception 

Think of Lyon as the modern day Barcelona, no team retains the ball better than the side in women’s football, much more of technicality and ‘tiki-taka’ to their game. They are always favorites when being matched up by any side and the score line can fully reflect the performance, teams play Lyon in the danger of being beaten from 3-0 to 15-0, even a draw could feel like a win over them.

The Reality 

Basically, if a team should finish above them on the league table, they might have well won the league.

The Title Chasers 

Paris St. German (PSG) 

Not yet established as a heavyweight club in women’s football, perhaps because of Lyon, but they are definitely the next side of attraction after the champions. PSG are not -yet- in the class of other French teams due to the lack of trophies, their last came in 2001 when they gained promotion to the top division winning the second division. However there’s always that feeling things are about to change in France as PSG always -of recent- give Lyon a run for their money. Fueled by the abundance of Arab riches -like the men’s team-, PSG Féminine are looking to break the strong hold of Lyon in France.

The Perception

(Another La Liga analogy, but it helps) Think of PSG as a desperate Madrid side -without the past history/trophies and prestige- trying to stop the dominance of Barcelona (Lyon). Money is no object in their recruitment and acquisition of world class talents around the world.

The Reality 

Yet to win a trophy yet with their ‘galatico’ squad but gaining popularity though, PSG’s spending could be declared or seen as pointless in many ways. The coach would have to maintain consistency in their pursuit for the league this season a lesson they should have learnt by now, for example, last season, after beating Lyon 1-0 away, they couldn’t maintain the pressure, closing on a 6 point gap that magically turned into a 10 point gap at the end of the season due to them drawing –tying- three crucial games against top opposition.

They have brought in world class players again this year, and that should prove vital for ‘crunch time’. 

Champions League Place Chasers 

FCF Juvisy 

For a team from France to get into the Champions League, it needs to finish in the top 2 after the end of the season and Juvisy are always candidates for the spot along with PSG and Montpellier and due to Lyon’s dominance only one spot is really up for grabs.

Juvisy were the last side to win the d1 Féminine before the start of Lyon’s dominant era in 2006. They have won the league six times, the joint-second highest after Lyon’s dozen and have a domestic cup to keep all six warm in the trophy room.

The Perception 

To get into the top 2 used to be easy but nowadays with Lyon on top and PSG's oil rich squad it's quite a huge ask. Juvisy have finished in third position two times in a row to PSG and with the retirement of the legendary club captain, Sandrine Soubeyrand, they might continue to finish outside the spot.

The Reality 

Juvisy might not have the dominance of Lyon or the exotic display of stars like PSG but they have quite the history and a player in whom they trust; Gaetane Thiney is a popular in figure in France as a whole, being the nation’s second all-time top scorer.

The Juvisy -now- captain won the player of the season last year for the second time -only the second player to do that, (Sonia Bompastor, the first) - the perception is she could contend for the World Player of the Year if she was in a bigger team.

Juvisy also have legendary striker –Lyon’s d1 Féminine's all-time scorer- Sandrine Brétigny, who joined last season upfront with a strike force of both legendary French forwards anything is possible, and they also have the talent in the midfield to deal with Soubeyrand's exit. 

Montpellier HSC

Just like Juvisy, Montpellier also -used to- have a habit of coming in top 2, the club have a little bit of history with 2 league titles and 3 domestic cups. They are usually the club with a lot of potential talent and stars for the future for the country, playing a role in developing most of today's world class French talents.

The Perception

They have a quality team full of talents and excitement, you would see that in the way they play but like a certain Alan Hansen once said 'You can't win anything with kids.'

The Reality

True, there's talent and excitement but they aren't all 'kids', Montpellier have acquired a couple of well-known established talents such as Swedish pair, Sofia Jackobson and Linda Sembrant to help out this season and former Lyon striker and veteran, Laëtitia Tonazzi.

And the saying 'You can't win anything with kids' was attributed to Man.Utd's David Beckham, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes...well, you get the picture, the rest of the story is history, if Montpellier do keep and develop these players, the same fate might await them.

The Top Half Teams

Soyaux and EA Guingamp

Two different teams entirely but I’ve managed to mesh them up under the same topic since they are the last teams in the top half of the division to talk about with a league title to their names each.

Soyaux won the d1 Féminine in 1984 while Guingamp did so in ‘89, it has been their sole league title till this day. Guingamp have been doing ok in the league so far while Soyaux are quite unpredictable, the club have gone on relegation twice in the last four years but came back last season to take a strong position at 6th just behind Guingamp.

Both teams complete the top half of the table.

The Bottom Half Teams

Rodez, Arras FCF, Saint-Étienne

The teams who usually maintain the other parts of the league table, last season Rodez came in 7th position, Arras in 8th and Saint-Étienne in surprisingly in an unfamiliar 9th position.

Rodez and Arras should be there or there about this season, but Saint-Étienne could and should push for a top half finish, that’s where they usually are.

Relegation Battle Teams

Algrange, ASPTT Albi, Issy

The lower league, D2 Féminine is divided into 3 groups, A, B and C and all three champions from each group gain promotion to the d1 Féminine. Algrange won the D2 Féminine (A), Issy won the D2 Féminine and Albi won the D2 Féminine (C) and therefore it’s clear to see why these are the three teams that would be in the mix for relegation back into the D2 Féminine.

Conclusion

So that about covers it as far as the French league, in the next blog I would give a low down for the players to watch in the league over the coming weeks when it is being played. Like I said, the league has already commenced but every team has played only two games, and it’s not too late to start following;

With that being said here’s a video compilation of the opening day games of the new D1 Féminine season;à (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5LW-mOD6DI) Enjoy!

Remember to Follow on Twitter @thefemaledugout

Thanks : )

Catching Up: The NWSL 2014

'How many domestic Championships have we won Amy?' A-Rod and Lauren Holiday with the medals

It hasn’t been that far off since Amy ‘A-Rod’ Rodriguez scored twice to put sunshine over the NWSL and end the Reign, so I decided to a piece on a -sort of- review of the league.

What a season this was, the very first time I had followed any American league down to the wire. I now get the ‘play-offs’ picture, I still don’t understand what ‘drafts’ and ‘trades’ are though, me being used to plain transfers and loans but I got on just fine along with the rest of the WOSO (Women’s Soccer) fans.

I also have to give my gratitude to the NWSL Fantasy League (@NWSL on twitter), it really made it interesting as sometimes after setting my English Premier League fantasy team for few minutes I would have to think extra hard about my NWSL one, but in the end I couldn’t follow through, I just gave Kim Little my captaincy till the end of the season…or maybe it was Sydney Leroux…anyway my overall position and points is nothing to write home about, but it was fun, so thanks.

Ages before Seattle Reign fell to FC Kansas City in the final, before the season started I think some of us ‘Europeanish’ fans were already attracted to the Reign, they had secured Megan Rapinoe on a permanent basis, Kim Little’s switch there even made it more interesting and the acquisition of INAC Kobe’s attackers, Berv Goebel and Nahomi Kawasumi really did us in. I already felt hands down this was the team to beat.

Having watched last season’s final and followed the regular season to a certain degree, I know Portland were also some sort of top dog, they always say it’s the ‘soccer city’ and securing Nadine Angerer was/is a great addition to any team in female football, as I still think there’s nobody better in goal than her and she’s 36 years young. Alex Morgan was still injured and had increased appearances on Chap Stick, McDonald’s adverts and the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition more than the pitch, so it was interesting to see how Portland would cope to defend their title.

Looking back at the 2013 season, I thought it was crazy how the top 3 teams all tied on points on the league table, Western New York Flash on top followed by FC Kansas then Portland. Apparently, Lauren Holiday was phenomenal last season as well, 12 goals and 9 assists, the signs were there for next season.

Fast forward to the end of the 2014 season, Houston Dash are last on the league table, expected really, being the ‘newbies’ and all that, Seattle Reign are regular season champions, expected as well, but then fall short to FC Kansas City in the playoff final, 2-1.

Kim Little wins the golden boot, 16 goals, and MVP as well, her 7 assists along with those goals showed her impressive class on the ball above the rest.

Becky Sauerbrunn won the Defender of the Year after being proclaimed ‘the best defender in the world’ by a couple of her team mates (no comments on that one), Chicago Red Stars’ starlet defender, Julie Johnston won the Rookie of the Year, Laura Harvey won the Coach of the Year, an obvious one, and Alyssa Naeher won the Goalkeeper of the Year, which I thought was an interesting one since her club side Boston Breakers were 8th in the league, although she made the most number of saves in it, all 106 of them.

The Team of the Year: GK: Alyssa Naeher; DF: Ali Krieger, Kendall Fletcher, Becky Sauerbrunn, Christie Rampone; MF: Verónica Boquete, Jess Fishlock, Kim Little; Lauren Holiday; FW: Nahomi Kawasumi, Amy Rodriguez.

There was also a second XI, but I think it’s all consolations, Jessica McDonald of Portland Thorns ends up there having scored 11 goals, none which were penalties, I thought that was impressive, she also scored the fastest goal this season in 33 seconds, which is now the fastest goal in NWSL season.

The match of the season for me is definitely the 9 goal thriller between Portland Thorns and Boston Breakers, which was on ESPN, Christine Sinclair with the hattrick to sink the Breakers. If you haven’t seen the highlights à https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaFfg2_9Hlg&list=UUL4xu08EDu0ZFZsBJUB0chw

In general what a fantastic season, remarkable how this is only the second season of the American league, I thought they would have had dozens of seasons beyond, so I hope this league continues to go on and grow stronger.

I won’t pretend like I watched every game but it was a pleasure watching the ones I could and following till the very end, my focus shifts to Europe and Australia now and so should yours but here’s the top 25 goals of the NWSL 2014 season to relieve some moments. à https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRUQT5KDCug&list=UUKZUJuid_BDveqz6Shyn4Xg

Catching Up (U20s World Cup)



Oshoala takes the spoils (Golden Boot and Golden Ball) at the U20 World Cup

Catching Up

So I figured I should write about the different headlines that have happened in the women’s game since I took my irrelevant sabbatical -or not- from blogging. So I’ll start at the Women’s U20s!

The U20 World Cup was a joy to watch, especially for me, Nigeria made it to the final but it ended in the most painful fashion for me, we fell to Germany 1-0 having made more chances than them and we even had the ball in the back of the net once but it was ruled out for offside due to huge inexperience from the number 7, Ayila, who by the way had a good game.

Nigeria could only blame themselves really, the star of the tournament, Asisat Oshoala, had a glorious chance to put the Super Falconets ahead way early in normal time, she beat the German keeper, Kramer and had the whole goal to finish, but she underrated the situation and used her weaker foot, when she really could have shown more composure on the day, her finish was abysmal in the end.

The Germans were always dangerous on the ball, every time they had the possession, I had the thought that they knew what they wanted to do it. The technicality that Sara Daebrtiz, Pauline Bremer and Theresa Panfill have at this age is quite something, but somehow Nigeria’s strength managed to match that, strength and resilience and we weren’t bad technique-wise as well.

We finally had the ball in the German net in the dying minutes of normal time, Asisat Oshoala struck quite a shot at Kramer which ratcheted off her someway to her back, she wasn’t in goal and just 2 German defenders were scrambling for cover, young striker, Ihenzuo, made an effort to head the ball, successful attempt and it was entering…until Ayila made sure with a shot to confirm the goal, only to see the lineswoman raise her flag.

I was so mad, I already knew that was what it would result to, Ihezuo was onside when Oshoala’s shot came off Kramer, and her effort would have counted but Ayila was way offside during the incident and her strike really didn’t do any favors for the side.

There’s still debates on if it was a legit goal or not, the replay shows the ball crossing the line before Ayila’s shot, but that’s asking too much of the officials even though most times, the officiating can be crazy in women’s football, especially the youth tournaments.

In the end, Nigeria paid the price for every chance they wasted in the worst way possible, defender Oguchi had looked suspect throughout the game and finally she got caught in possession in a very dangerous area, the ball was cut back to Lena Petermann, who scored the goal against France in the semis to advance Germany into the finals, she finished it calmly, nothing the Nigerian goalkeeper could do as Germany celebrated in the 1st half of extra time.

Nigeria had opportunities to get back into the game but you just have that feeling in football when you know you are going to end up on the losing side, I was hoping for an equalizer and never gave up on one, but it didn’t come.

Final whistle: Nigeria 0-1 Germany.

It was heartbreaking really, the Nigerian youth side or ‘Super Falconets’ rather, were on the verge of creating history, no African team had won the U20 World Cup at both the men’s and women’s level, it looked like it really might have happened but it did not.

However there were a few positives, Asisat Oshoala got the golden ball and golden boot award, she had just finished crying at the other side of the pitch so she couldn’t really manage a smile with those awards, but that aside, I’m really excited about the future of the Nigerian women’s senior team as it looks very bright.

Sure, we are the best African side hands down, having won our Nation’s Continental Cup a record number of times, that I’ve lost count (exaggerating…I think 6 times out of 7), but we haven’t really done much on the global stage. I’ve heard remarks about how we play, I once heard a ‘99er’ talk about how good an opponent we are and she’s encountered quite a lot of struggle playing against us (although the USA flogged us in 99…but,) I feel we’ve always had that talent.

Asisat Oshoala looks like a very creative attacker that could really be World Class, like majority of the golden ball winners at the U20 World Cups in time past and I really hope she makes an impression with the senior team (which she has already) but on the global stage, alongside our present hit striker, Desire Oparanozie, and advance from Rivers Angels club side in Nigeria to an European or NWSL team, club career wise, I mean she already has her own Adidas Advert people! She’s that good! (Watch! link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl6whJtKeBE)

Hopefully we can advance into the knockout stages next year in Canada, because I have no doubts that we would reach the group stages, the only thing that could prevent us from doing that is the Nigerian Football Governing body (which I might have to write about much later,) but for now, we are solid.

Also what a tournament by France, Claire Lagovez really captured hearts at the tourney, that goal against Costa Rica might very well be a FIFA Puskas Winner! Mbock-Bathy is unlike any defender I have ever seen at the youth level since Kim Kulig of Germany in 2010 and France really have a bright future, almost everyone was brilliant.

As for Germany, well I can’t even say much, Daebritz, Panfill and Bremer had a total of 13 goals and 10 assists, outstanding really. It’s just like English legendary striker, Gary Lineker once said, ‘Football is a simple game; 22 players chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win.’

My Return To Blogging

Returning To Blogging

It’s almost been a month since my last post and it was really something I did for my previous ‘so to say’ employer. So in reality, it’s been almost 3 months since my last post! Not that I haven’t been following the beautiful game, no, far from it, in fact maybe I was even more engrossed with it.

First of all, May/June marked the official end of all -or majority rather- European competitions, which I’m really into. The Men’s Champions League won by Real Madrid and Wolfsburg winning the Women’s Champions League against Tyresö FF, which by the way is up there with one of the most entertaining Female Football games I’ve ever seen (along with Canada/USA at the 2012 Olympics e.t.c.)

Wolfsburg went on win the domestic league, ‘Frauen Bundesliga’ as it’s called, in another thrilling performance, Alexandra Popp scoring the decider (whom I’m a very big fan of especially after that 2010 U20 World Cup), in a 2-1 victory over a very talented FFC Frankfurt , who had just won the domestic German cup, the Frauen DFB Pokal.

In France Lyon clinched their -new record- 12th Division 1 Féminine title, a remarkable achievement and I’m surprised they haven’t lost count yet. Nothing PSG Féminine could do as a 7 point gap left the heavy title contenders humble. Despite PSG managing to beat Lyon 1-0 away in their final league tie, a 1-0 loss to Juvisy, 0-0 draw with Saint-Étienne and a 2-2 draw to…wait for it…Juvisy, cleaned out their hopes on putting any more serious pressure on Lyon.

PSG managed to get their revenge on Juvisy for all their league troubles, the Paris side triumphed 6-0 over their –I would assume by now- rivals, but PSG met Lyon in the final who got the final laugh in France, doing the double over by beating the PSG Féminine, 2-0, Corine Franco with a very good acrobatic goal to seal the win and show the class between two sides.

Then that’s pretty much it, I went on a World Cup spree, supporting my three teams I’ve been supporting since 2002, the German machines, Argentina and my native home, Nigeria. It was a fantastic tournament for everyone, but of course, I just felt it was a much fantastic one for me.

I couldn’t believe it really, Nigeria qualified from their group for the first time since back in 1998, which I have very unclear memories about, Germany have always knocked Argentina from the World Cup since 2006, which I did cry (embarrassing) after their exit in 2006, but for the first time in 3 World Cups they didn’t face each other and both made the final! I was so happy; Miroslav Klose broke the World Cup record of most goals in the World Cup, which sent me into complete ecstasy, as I did when he scored his first 3 back in 2002 against Saudi Arabia. I’m already a fan of Thomas Mueller and I feel the record would be matched or broken by him…who knows, but it did pain me to see my Argentines in tears and despair, Lionel Messi and the rest, Bless them.

After the World Cup I got an offer by some website to write about football for them and the pay wasn’t bad either, but the demand was high, 14 articles a week seems like so little but it really wears you down, there was really not much news in Men’s football after the world cup so I wrote quite a lot of female articles along with the men’s.

I followed up on Chelsea Ladies, the NWSL, Marta’s situation and all that, however I couldn’t keep up as I had studies as well, and felt it was time to quit, if I was to write about football, it might as well be the Women’s game, people already know enough or more than enough in the men’s…e.t.c me…so I decided to come back here fully and ‘grow the game’ so to say and also learn because to be honest I’m quite the novice in the Women’s game.

I would also be doing things differently. This isn’t a website where you can get the latest news on what’s happening in the World of Female Football, although I wish it was, but I’m not Four Four Two, ESPN, BBC Sport or Sky Sport either…or even The Soccer Desk, I’m just a person blogging about my journey of being a fan of the Women’s game and giving my opinions on the latest various news and events.

So here’s to Female Football, or Soccer, whatever you call it, you are welcome to read anytime.

Do follow me on twitter @thefemaledugout.
Thank You  : )