Alexia Putellas, Pomigliano and why this season's Damallsvenskan title race could be close - your women's football roundup
It has been another hugely enthralling week around the women’s game, with several major divisions reaching their conclusions and crowning their champions whilst others continue to build momentum as each week goes by. There is certainly never a dull moment and always something for fans to take in.
As always, this newsletter will keep you right up to date on everything that has been going on, with a look at the on-field action and at what other people have been writing and talking about in the last week, ensuring that you are kept abreast of the very latest news and analysis regardless of how you prefer to dive into it.
3 key talking points….
Alexia Putellas is still a player to be admired
Ever since Alexia Putellas incurred her ACL injury back in the summer of 2022, just before the Euro tournament got underway in England, she has been on a gradual road to recovery and has been looking to rediscover her form and to get back to the performance levels that saw her become one of the world’s best players of the modern and perhaps of any age.
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Over the last couple of campaigns, there have been moments when she has demonstrated what she can do, but there have also been some situations when the fact that she is still getting back to full fitness and playing level has been clear, and that is understandable given the severity of her injury and the amount of time that she spent out of action.
The lack of consistency has led to a few believing that her best days might now be behind her, with her becoming more of a squad player for Barcelona this season and not one of the first names on the team sheet. However, whilst that might be the case, anyone who feel that she doesn’t have anything left to offer need only look at her performance against Eibar last week, with her having several neat touches, making sharp changes of direction and being central to everything that her side did well.
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Her role might have evolved since her reintroduction to the team, with her now being utilised in deeper positions and not making as many attacking runs, but there is no doubting that Putellas has just as big an impact on Barcelona’s fortunes as she ever did.
Pomigliano bow out of Serie A with a flourish
It might have been a difficult season for all connected to Pomigliano, with them at one point exiting Serie A over concerns with the standard of refereeing, seeing arguably their best player leave midway through the campaign as Ana Lucía Martínez joined Monterrey and struggling to get results throughout the duration of the campaign, but they did at least give their fans some encouragement in their final outing of the season and demonstrated that they do have the quality to be back playing at this level at some point in the future.
It was the type of performance that so many have been wishing would come sooner, with them controlling the flow of the game against Napoli and securing a morale-boosting win that sees them finish just a point behind their relegation rivals, and it will for many have given them a feeling of what could have been if they had played this way before the weekend or if there was even just one more week for them to attempt to finish above them.
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Tactically, there was a lot to admire about their display, with their expansive mindset allowing them to tease Napoli’s defensive line apart and to allow their key central threats to operate in their favoured areas, and that suited players like Zhanna Ferrario who was exceptional whenever she had the ball at her feet. In many ways, it felt that Pomigliano had had a weight lifted from their shoulders due to the fact that they had nothing to play for, and the quality of their performance will give them a lot of confidence as the make the drop down to Serie B.
It wasn’t a perfect performance and there is still a lot that they will need to sort out as they compete for promotion back to this level, but they will hope that they can achieve an immediate return and that they can do so with a better chance of staying up. It will not be easy, but there is nothing to say at this moment in time that they won’t be making the opposite move between the two divisions in a year’s time.
The Damallsvenkan could see a multi-team title fight this season
The Swedish women’s game has always been capable of throwing up surprises during each campaign and last time out was no different, with Hammarby ending their 38-year wait for another top flight title and securing it in style, whilst Rosengård suffered a season of disappointment and there were plenty of others who either did better or worse than expected.
For a look at Rosengård’s poor performances last season, have a look at my article for Total Football Analysis here:
The new campaign may only be seven matchweeks old, but it already looks as if it could provide just as much entertainment (if not more) for fans to become fully engrossed in, with several teams performing well at this moment in time and the fight for the title could be one that goes on for a long period of time.
To name just a few that supporters who don’t watch Swedish football that regularly should be keeping an eye on, Hammarby have shown that they are not willing to give up their place at the summit, Rosengård have looked back to their best and BK Häcken should not be counted out of anything just yet. At the same time, Norrköping have looked increasingly dangerous and both Kristianstads and Djurgårdens have also made really promising starts to the season.
There are still plenty of games to come and everything could change between now and the end of the campaign, but already there is a feeling that this could be a league that delivers twists and turns week on week, and those fans who feel that they were perhaps cheated of closer contests in other divisions around the continent should perhaps turn to the Damallsvenskan to satisfy that hunger.
Read all about it….
Lotte Wubben-Moy’s outstanding season - Arsenal might have looked a little haphazard at times in league and cup and have disappointed as an overall package, but there were plenty of individuals to admire who have played at a consistently high level. Defender Lotte Wubben-Moy was certainly one of those, and Emma Sanders has written for BBC Sport about how she has used different techniques to improve her game since last season.
Emma Hayes and Sir Alex Ferguson - on The Athletic, Michael Cox has drawn some interesting parallels between Emma Hayes and Sir Alex Ferguson when it comes to tactics, their management styles, coaching techniques and more, and it makes for a very interesting read.
How South America could benefit from the 2027 World Cup - one of the bigger news items of the last week was the announcement that Brazil will host the 2027 World Cup, and Steph Yang, Melanie Anzidei and Felipe Cárdenas have teamed up on The Athletic to look at how the tournament could help the wider South American continent to grow it’s women’s game.
Lend me your ears….
Jacqui Oatley talks commentary career - in this very interesting interview on The Offside Rule podcast, Jacqui Oatley discusses her career, any differences between commentating in the men’s and women’s game and in different countries and divisions and her thoughts on the modern game. It is a very interesting chat and is well worth a listen.
That’s all for now - back next week!!