All-Encompassing Womens Soccer Thread

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It didn’t come up here, but I don’t see Naomi Girma moving to Chelsea (despite me being a fan of Chelsea to the degree I am a fan of club soccer) as a positive for US soccer in relation to the hierarchy of the world. The US is/was supposed to be the top rung of the ladder in the sport for women. Now that the European powers have seen the light, and now buying the best American players, it just seems like all the top European nations are just going to blow by the US. Good for women’s soccer, but maybe not for the US, probably not Canada either.
 
It didn’t come up here, but I don’t see Naomi Girma moving to Chelsea (despite me being a fan of Chelsea to the degree I am a fan of club soccer) as a positive for US soccer in relation to the hierarchy of the world. The US is/was supposed to be the top rung of the ladder in the sport for women. Now that the European powers have seen the light, and now buying the best American players, it just seems like all the top European nations are just going to blow by the US. Good for women’s soccer, but maybe not for the US, probably not Canada either.
I think it’s good for USA. I think it is very bad for NWSL.
 
I think it’s good for USA. I think it is very bad for NWSL.
I kinda relate one to the other. It’s good that the richer teams want American players. It’s just that the NWSL should be that league since they had the jumpstart on the European leagues. The fact that it happened is a harbinger imo.
 
It didn’t come up here, but I don’t see Naomi Girma moving to Chelsea (despite me being a fan of Chelsea to the degree I am a fan of club soccer) as a positive for US soccer in relation to the hierarchy of the world. The US is/was supposed to be the top rung of the ladder in the sport for women. Now that the European powers have seen the light, and now buying the best American players, it just seems like all the top European nations are just going to blow by the US. Good for women’s soccer, but maybe not for the US, probably not Canada either.
Canada is definitely f***ed now that European countries have fully integrated the women in the existing club structure. US not as much, but they clearly won't be clear favorites anymore... maybe not even serious contenders.
 
I kinda relate one to the other. It’s good that the richer teams want American players. It’s just that the NWSL should be that league since they had the jumpstart on the European leagues. The fact that it happened is a harbinger imo.
Yeah but the talent in the rest of the world has certainly upleveled as well. It’s a different world. They had a head start but the top Europeans teams have certainly caught up. The players are going to be fine. NWSL, where the games are a ton of but the league isn’t exactly the highest attended, is where I worry because I don’t know how much talent drain that league can eat
 
Yeah but the talent in the rest of the world has certainly upleveled as well. It’s a different world. They had a head start but the top Europeans teams have certainly caught up. The players are going to be fine. NWSL, where the games are a ton of but the league isn’t exactly the highest attended, is where I worry because I don’t know how much talent drain that league can eat
It might be ok if they can establish themselves as the top league in the west, or bring in some top South American or even Asian or Australian players. Though I bet Australia wants to support their own league as well. But this is a clear signal that they’re losing that battle.

Are the club teams in Europe getting better attendance and whatnot? How often are they playing at the men’s club large stadiums?


Canada is definitely f***ed now that European countries have fully integrated the women in the existing club structure. US not as much, but they clearly won't be clear favorites anymore... maybe not even serious contenders.
The advantage they still have is that they will stay ahead of the other countries just based on money, because as much as they’re beginning to lag on that side, I’m not sure how soon anyone besides the US on this side of the globe passes them.
 
It might be ok if they can establish themselves as the top league in the west, or bring in some top South American or even Asian or Australian players. Though I bet Australia wants to support their own league as well. But this is a clear signal that they’re losing that battle.

Are the club teams in Europe getting better attendance and whatnot? How often are they playing at the men’s club large stadiums?



The advantage they still have is that they will stay ahead of the other countries just based on money, because as much as they’re beginning to lag on that side, I’m not sure how soon anyone besides the US on this side of the globe passes them.
NCAA vs full academies from the time the girls are like 10 is not a competition.

Now that every top club in Europe as a womens side and a womens academy, it is a matter of time before the USA are as irrelevant as they are on the mens side.
 
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And Arsenal goes through. Total domination. Dreadful performance for Real Madrid. They were way too passive from the start and could not recover after the quick two goals at the start of the second half.

Lucky it was not worse. Arsenal had two goals called back for very very close offsides.
 
Haha i know. Was only joking. This means nothing for the mens clash obviously. Arsenal were the favourites here and Real are favourites in the mens. Will be good matches i think. Much better than it would have been against Atletico.
I hope Arsenal can bear Lyon in the semis.

I also hope Real Madrid treat the womens side more seriously. Be the biggest club in the World. It is still in the early stages, but they need to start promoting more and playing some games at the Bernabeu.
 
I hope Arsenal can bear Lyon in the semis.

I also hope Real Madrid treat the womens side more seriously. Be the biggest club in the World. It is still in the early stages, but they need to start promoting more and playing some games at the Bernabeu.

Will probably be too tough. Lyon and Barca are head and shoulders above the other womens teams.

Yeah even though it will never be that important you have to think it still stings a bit for them to watch Barca dominate. They can’t tolerate that.
 
Will probably be too tough. Lyon and Barca are head and shoulders above the other womens teams.

Yeah even though it will never be that important you have to think it still stings a bit for them to watch Barca dominate. They can’t tolerate that.
Arsenal will catch up, they are treating the womens side as it should be treated.

I hope Perez decides that the standard for the womens team should be the same as the men. The team has only been playing about 5 years. Gonna take time, but it needs to happen.
 
Arsenal will catch up, they are treating the womens side as it should be treated.

I hope Perez decides that the standard for the womens team should be the same as the men. The team has only been playing about 5 years. Gonna take time, but it needs to happen.

At least they’ve had a couple of sold out matches at the Emirates in the last years. That’s a good way going forward. Matches like this is perfect since it’s international break and people are starving for club football.

It was a bit sad to see the terrible pitch they played on in Madrid. They deserve better. Yeah gonna have to be patient. Right now the ”galacticos” of womens football belongs to Barca. Pretty tough to steal Bonmati and Putellas from them :D
 
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I kinda relate one to the other. It’s good that the richer teams want American players. It’s just that the NWSL should be that league since they had the jumpstart on the European leagues. The fact that it happened is a harbinger imo.
Harbinger? It's already been happening over the last 5 years! Girma is just the newest apex, not an omen of things to come. The train left the station quite awhile ago, and was very much reflected in the poor performance of the USWNT between the decline of the Rapinoe/Morgan generation and the hire of Emma Hayes (which was a gamechanger coup). Europe caught up.

The last few major tournaments have made extremely clear that the early advantage which the US and Canada and Japan had (by virtue of being ahead of the curve) has been eroded by the large investment which major European club sides have put in their women's teams. The WSL has been a stronger league than the NWSL (at least at the top end) for a few years now. The UWCL gets stronger and stronger with each year. It's being reflected in the quality of the NTs, where Barcelona Femini have provided a spine for Spain to become a superpower and the combo of Chelsea/Arsenal/City have turned England into a top, top women's side as well.

It's bad for the NWSL, and it's bad for the Canadian Women's Team (which, regardless of a surprisingly solid performance at last year's Olympics, is poorly positioned long term), but it is IMO pretty unambiguously good for the women's game writ large.
 
Chelsea Women overturn a 2-0 first leg to beat Man City 3-2 on aggregate. Was already 3-0 at half time. Unbelievably one sided game - if not for great keeping it could’ve been 6 or 7-0 rather than 3-0. Shades of the last day of last season where the title was gonna come down to goal difference so Chelsea thrashed United away.

Thus culminates four straight games in two weeks between Chelsea and City ( League Cup Final, UCL QF, WSL). Three wins to Chelsea, one to City.
 
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God, Chelsea wants to be us so bad.
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No one’s overturned a 2-0 deficit in 20 years and then arsenal does it and Chelsea just HAS to copy us
I understood what you were referring to, thanks. Just rest assured that, especially in the women's game, Chelsea v. Arsenal is a classic case of the Mad Men bit - "I don't think about you at all." Why would we want to copy a team who doesn't win, when we can be ourselves en route to a sixth straight title, having only lost a single game in all comps this year?
 
I understood what you were referring to, thanks. Just rest assured that, especially in the women's game, Chelsea v. Arsenal is a classic case of the Mad Men bit - "I don't think about you at all." Why would we want to copy a team who doesn't win, when we can be ourselves en route to a sixth straight title, having only lost a single game in all comps this year?
I mean, great job of winning 6 straight titles, but your previous five have been won by a combined 4 points... including one won by point percentage.

The women's super league is super competitive and Arsenal is right there at the top every year.
 

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