Latest news with #WomensSoccer
CNA
a day ago
- Business
- CNA
OL Lyonnes appoint Giraldez to replace Montemurro as manager
OL Lyonnes have appointed former Barcelona coach Jonatan Giraldez as manager to replace Joe Montemurro, the French women's league champions said. Giraldez coached Barcelona from 2021 to 2024, winning two Women's Champions Leagues, three league titles, two Copa de la Reina trophies and three Spanish Super Cups. The Spaniard, who has signed a three-year contract, joins the French club from NWSL side Washington Spirit. Both teams are part of the multi-club structure operated by the Michele Kang-owned Kynisca Sports International. "The club's history, ambition, and talented squad represent a fantastic opportunity, and I look forward to building on the club's successes as it enters a new chapter," Giraldez said in a statement on Monday. Lyonnes, formerly known as Olympique Lyonnais Feminin, are widely regarded as the most successful women's soccer club in the world and have won a record eight Champions League titles. Under Montemurro, who was appointed coach of the Australian women's national team on Monday, Lyonnes were crowned Premiere Ligue champions for the 18th time in the 2024-25 season and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Reuters
a day ago
- Business
- Reuters
OL Lyonnes appoint Giraldez to replace Montemurro as manager
June 3 (Reuters) - OL Lyonnes have appointed former Barcelona coach Jonatan Giraldez as manager to replace Joe Montemurro, the French women's league champions said. Giraldez coached Barcelona from 2021 to 2024, winning two Women's Champions Leagues, three league titles, two Copa de la Reina trophies and three Spanish Super Cups. The Spaniard, who has signed a three-year contract, joins the French club from NWSL side Washington Spirit. Both teams are part of the multi-club structure operated by the Michele Kang-owned Kynisca Sports International. "The club's history, ambition, and talented squad represent a fantastic opportunity, and I look forward to building on the club's successes as it enters a new chapter," Giraldez said in a statement on Monday. Lyonnes, formerly known as Olympique Lyonnais Feminin, are widely regarded as the most successful women's soccer club in the world and have won a record eight Champions League titles. Under Montemurro, who was appointed coach of the Australian women's national team on Monday, Lyonnes were crowned Premiere Ligue champions for the 18th time in the 2024-25 season and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League.
CBC
4 days ago
- General
- CBC
Winnipeg's Desiree Scott bids farewell to soccer on home turf
It's not often the Canadian women's national soccer team comes to Winnipeg, but they're in town on Saturday to play a special match celebrating the contributions of Desiree Scott. The Winnipeg-born Olympian is retiring from the national team. Eager to pass the torch, she has advice for any aspiring professional athletes.
Associated Press
4 days ago
- General
- Associated Press
US defender Naomi Girma returns to the USWNT after an eventful year
It's been an eventful year for defender Naomi Girma, who not only moved to a new country but also dealt with an injury before winning a pair of trophies with Chelsea. Now Girma is back with the U.S. national soccer team for the first time in 2025, looking to build off last year's Olympic success and lay the groundwork for the 2027 Women's World Cup. '(It's) just fun to be back in the environment together, and for me to get back in the swing of things, and keep building on what I was able to do with the team last year,' Girma said. The United States is set to play China on Saturday at Allianz Field in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The team then travels to St. Louis to face Jamaica on Tuesday. Girma was called into January camp with the national team, but left prematurely because of a calf injury. That same month, Girma became the first woman to command a $1 million transfer fee when she was acquired by Chelsea from the San Diego Wave for $1.1 million. She dealt with another calf injury she sustained in her debut with Chelsea, but recovered in time to help her team win the Women's Super League and the FA Cup. Girma said the move to Europe has been a rewarding experience. 'It was a big move for me, not just soccer-wise, life-wise, too. I think it was a big step out of my comfort zone,' she said. 'Leaving California, living somewhere different and playing in a different culture and country. I guess for myself, it's a new challenge and new test, and that's been really exciting.' During last year's Paris Olympics, U.S. coach Emma Hayes couldn't believe how good Girma was. 'I've never seen a player as good as her at a center back. She got everything: poise, composure, she defends, she anticipates, she leads,' Hayes said at the time. 'I mean, wow. Unbelievable.' Girma, a California native who played at Stanford, made her debut for the national team in 2022. That same year she was the No. 1 pick in the National Women's Soccer League draft by the San Diego Wave and won both the league's Rookie of the Year and Defender of the Year honors. She was the U.S. Soccer women's Player of the Year in 2023. Girma was key to the U.S. team's success at the Olympics. The United States won all six games, and the defense with Alyssa Naeher in goal allowed opponents only two goals over the course of the tournament. While she's just 24, Girma is now one of the more seasoned players with the national team and has taken on more of a leadership role as Hayes looks to develop younger players. 'She said she was excited to have me back, and just wanted me to focus on feeling good within the team, getting comfortable with playing with new people and just enjoy being back in (with the team),' Girma said about her first conversation with Hayes upon her return. 'I think the leadership and other things will come as we're playing in sessions and in games.' The United States is currently missing several key contributors from last year's gold medal-winning squad. Sophia Wilson and Mallory Swanson are both on maternity leave. Trinity Rodman is dealing with a nagging back issue. Now a year into the role, Hayes has been expanding the pool of players with an eye toward the future. One newcomer on the roster for the two upcoming games is 32-year-old midfielder Lo'eau LaBonta, who could make her national team debut. 'My job is to develop a larger group of players that by the time we reach a tournament setting have been given the right exposures to put ourselves in the best position possible,' Hayes said on Friday. 'I think we're on track with that.' ___ AP soccer:
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
USWNT and Portland Thorns' Sam Coffey has navigated major roster changes, leading with devotion
U.S. women's national team and Portland Thorns midfielder Sam Coffey's affinity for Squishmallows, a plush, pillow-like stuffed toy, has reached international status. The 26-year-old Thorns captain had just finished a press conference in Monterrey, Mexico, during the Concacaf W Champions League (in which the Thorns placed third) when a local reporter approached her on her way out, Coffey tells . And she came bearing gifts. Advertisement 'A really kind young woman came over and gave me two small, almost Mexican-themed Squishmallows. One was, like, a guacamole with a little chip.' The other, Coffey added, had a 'chicken al pastor vibe.' Coffey is aware of how niche and 'maybe childish' Squishmallows are, but her devotion to them never required an audience. Perhaps that's why the reporter's gift nearly moved her to tears, as have those of the supporters who shimmy down stadium steps after her games, offering the stuffed toys in exchange for an autograph. That seems to be part of Coffey's approach to this phase of her career, one in which she must lead for club and, increasingly, for country, as USWNT head coach Emma Hayes chips away at the national team pool looking for her core group. The team's next two fixtures against China on May 31 and Jamaica on June 3 are among the last matches before Hayes plans to define that core, and Coffey has consistently been a part of that. It helps that she's stepped into a leadership role with her club. Advertisement At first glance, the Thorns roster this season could be described just as accurately by who's not on it: Christine Sinclair and Becky Sauerbrunn, who've retired; Sophia Wilson, who is on parental leave; and Meghan Klingenberg, who left the club last year. Sinclair, Sauerbrunn and Klingenberg were experienced veterans Coffey knows can't be replaced, and rather than force herself into their boots, she's polishing off her own, tucking in her shirt and getting to work as her kind of leader. After a shaky, 1-2-2 start to the NWSL season, the Thorns turned a corner on April 22 with an emphatic 4-1 home victory over 2023 NWSL Champions Gotham FC. Each Thorns goalscorer netted their first for the club that night, and one of them, rookie Caiya Hanks, attributed the team's performance to Coffey's pregame motivational speech. Her transition from pseudoleader last season to captain this year has been smooth. 'It's interesting to hear that it looks seamless because it doesn't always feel that way,' she said. 'There are days I look around the locker room and I'm like, 'Wow, this is new.'' Advertisement They're all learning as they go, as the newer players settle into the club and Coffey more deeply into her new role. 'I think I was coming into that position alongside Becky and Sincy, and obviously I look up to them so much and it was just such a privilege to do that alongside them,' she said. 'I took so many of the lessons that they taught me and shared with the team. I'm now trying to adapt that into my own leadership style now without them.' For Coffey, this means two things. 'Servant leadership is something that's really important to me and that does draw back to my faith,' she said. 'I want to be a leader who puts the team and those around me before myself and pours into those around me, whether that's someone who's playing 90 minutes or someone who doesn't make a game-day roster. I think as a leader, you are in such a unique position to pour into people in a really powerful way that transcends sport.' Advertisement The other is more easily ascertained on the pitch: setting the standard and driving the team toward its highest potential. The Thorns' nouveau-veteran trio of Coffey, Olivia Moultrie, and Japan international Hina Sugita has proven a sturdy midfield option, especially with the fresher-faced attack of Hanks, Deyna Castellanos, Mimi Alidou, Payton Linnehan, Pietra Tordin and Reilyn Turner. Outside of their 2-0 loss to Tigres UANL in the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinal, the Thorns are unbeaten in their last five league matches and are fifth in the NWSL table. 'We always will uphold the legacy and cherish so deeply the likes of the Sincys and Klings and Beckys (who) have quite literally laid the foundation for us to be where we are. And we don't ever take that lightly,' Coffey said. 'It is really exciting to be now writing this new chapter in their honor and hopefully making them proud.' Meanwhile, as the U.S. prepares for the international window, Hayes continues to make Coffey a consistent factor in her midfield plans. Her 33 appearances are second-most in the midfield after Lindsey Heaps, who's made 165 appearances. After that is 17-year-old Lily Yohannes with six, 19-year-olds Moultrie and Claire Hutton with five and two, and Lo'eau LaBonta, who earned her first national camp invitation at 32. Intergenerational as they may be, and varying widely in national team experience, Coffey is 'always passionate' about the USWNT's midfield. Advertisement 'I think we have ballers in this position, and I think that's only going to continue to unfold and to be witnessed as we continue to learn about each other and grow and develop new partnerships,' she said. With Hayes at the helm, she thinks players have a better shot at thriving than they have before. 'In the past, I think players have been put in positions maybe they weren't prepared for. Emma is one of, if not the most, methodical person I've ever met. There is a rhyme and a reason to everything. And I think she's all about preparation and putting players in the best position to succeed. And at first, that might mean putting them in a position that's uncomfortable,' she said, referring to the USWNT's 2-1 loss to Brazil in the second leg of friendlies between the two teams last month, in which Hutton, Yohannes and Korbin Albert started in midfield. 'But,' Coffey maintained, 'those are the experiences you need to have that ultimately prepare you for the likes of 2027 (World Cup) and 2028 (Olympics). We obviously never want to give up winning and that will never not be our priority. But at the same time, how do we kind of hold in tandem the necessity to develop and to kind of, like, fail upward?' Advertisement Looking ahead to China and Jamaica — who will be without the likes of star striker Bunny Shaw, midfield stalwart Drew Spence and goalkeeper Becky Spencer — the games won't likely offer the same possibilities for upward failure as Olympic silver medalists Brazil, but with just under 13 months to prepare for the World Cup, these games are also about the competition within the squad. Coffey is devoted to the process. 'I'm super excited about our young talent, like Lily and Claire and others,' she said. 'It's been such a joy to have them in the environment. I think they're so talented and, again, to be able to slowly but surely create those partnerships, I think by the time we get to the likes of 2027, that it's gonna be something to behold.' This article originally appeared in The Athletic. US Women's national team, Portland Thorns, NWSL 2025 The Athletic Media Company
