Lotta Schelin
Encyclopedia
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
football player who currently plays for Olympique Lyonnais
Olympique Lyonnais (ladies)
Olympique Lyonnais Féminin is a French women's football club based in Lyon. The club has been the female section of Olympique Lyonnais since 2004. Lyon currently play in the Division 1 Féminine and are the defending champions having won the league for five straight seasons.The club was formed as...
of the Division 1 Féminine. She plays as a striker
Striker
Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...
and is a member of the Sweden women's national team
Sweden women's national football team
Sweden women's national football team are a football team officially representing Sweden in women's football. They won the unofficial European Championships in 1984, a success the team has not managed to repeat, it has however won one World Cup-silver as well as three European Cup-silvers...
, having made her debut in 2004.
Schelin's height, strength, and offensive technique has led to former Denmark women's national team
Denmark women's national football team
The Denmark women's national football team represents Denmark in international women's football. The team is controlled by the Danish Football Association .-World Cup:*1970 : Winner *1971 : Winner...
manager Peter Bonde
Peter Bonde
Peter Bonde is a former Danish footballer and is currently the assistant manager of the Danish national team.-External links:* at the Danish FA...
comparing her to fellow Swede Zlatan Ibrahimović
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan Ibrahimović is a Swedish footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Milan and the Swedish national team for which he is captain....
. She credits her older sister and former teammate, Camilla Schelin, as well as Tina Nordlund
Tina Nordlund
Tina Nordlund is a Swedish football manager and former player, currently managing Umeå IK. She is one of the most well known Swedish female footballers. In 2000, she won the Diamantbollen, an award given the best female player in Sweden each year. She played for Alnö IF, Sundsvalls DFF and Umeå IK...
, as important role models for her.
Early career
Schelin grew up in KålleredKållered
Kållered is a locality and a township situated in Mölndal Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 6,784 inhabitants in 2005. Kållered is in geographical terms mainly a dell, surrounded by ridges and mountainous terrain, with partially dense forestry particularly towards the south. The...
outside Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
and began to play football for Kållereds SK along with her sister, Camilla. She has also played for Mölnlycke IF. Schelin was also adept at such sports as table-tennis, track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
, and snowboarding
Snowboarding
Snowboarding is a sport that involves descending a slope that is covered with snow on a snowboard attached to a rider's feet using a special boot set onto mounted binding. The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding, sledding, surfing and skiing. It was developed in the U.S.A...
before opting to focus on football full-time. As a teenager, she developed problems with her spine
Vertebral column
In human anatomy, the vertebral column is a column usually consisting of 24 articulating vertebrae, and 9 fused vertebrae in the sacrum and the coccyx. It is situated in the dorsal aspect of the torso, separated by intervertebral discs...
and was advised to stop playing the sport. Schelin went through intensive strength training and recovered by the time she turned 17.
Club career
In 2001, when she was 17 years old, Schelin made her debut in the DamallsvenskanDamallsvenskan
The Damallsvenskan, Swedish for ladies' all-Swedish, is the highest division of women's football in Sweden. It is also referred as to the women's Allsvenskan, this term being used alone to refer to the men's division....
for Landvetter FC, now known as Göteborg FC
Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC
Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC is a football club from Gothenburg, Sweden. The club was established in 1970 under the name Landvetters IF. In 2004 the team moved from Landvetter, a Gothenburg suburb, into Gothenburg city and changed its name accordingly...
. She played in over 100 league matches with the club establishing herself as one of the club's most prominent players. After an injury in August 2002, she was out of the league for almost a year and a half returning in June 2003. In 2004 Schelin was named Breakthrough Player of the Year after netting 14 goals in 15 games for Göteborg FC.
Despite offers from other Damallsvenskan clubs, Schelin opted to stay in her hometown. After the re-branding and re-launch of the new United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-based league, Women's Professional Soccer
Women's Professional Soccer
Women's Professional Soccer is the top level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded 6 teams for the 2011 season, with continued plans for future expansion...
, Schelin declared that she would be interested in playing in the league. However, after the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
, Schelin announced that she would be joining Division 1 Féminine club Olympique Lyonnais
Olympique Lyonnais (ladies)
Olympique Lyonnais Féminin is a French women's football club based in Lyon. The club has been the female section of Olympique Lyonnais since 2004. Lyon currently play in the Division 1 Féminine and are the defending champions having won the league for five straight seasons.The club was formed as...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Upon signing her contract, it was speculated that Schelin would be earning over 1 million kr ($160,000 USD) per year. On 24 September 2008, Schelin was drafted by the Saint Louis Athletica in the 2008 WPS International Draft
2008 WPS International Draft
The 2008 WPS International Draft took place on September 24, 2008. It was the first international draft held by Women's Professional Soccer to assign the WPS rights of international players to the American-based teams...
. She later declined the chance to join the club citing her contract with Lyon as the primary reason.
International career
Schelin made her national team debut for SwedenSweden women's national football team
Sweden women's national football team are a football team officially representing Sweden in women's football. They won the unofficial European Championships in 1984, a success the team has not managed to repeat, it has however won one World Cup-silver as well as three European Cup-silvers...
on 16 March 2004; a 3–0 Algarve Cup
Algarve Cup
The Algarve Cup is a global invitational tournament for national teams in women's football . Held annually in the Algarve region of Portugal since 1994, it is one of the most prestigious women's football events, alongside the Women's World Cup and Women's Olympic Football...
defeat to France
France women's national football team
The French women's national football team represents France in international women's football. The team is directed by the French Football Federation and competes as a member of UEFA in various international football tournaments such as the FIFA Women's World Cup, UEFA Women's Euro, the Summer...
. She later represented her nation at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Football at the 2004 Summer Olympics - Women's tournament
-Seeding:-Group E:---------Group F:---------Group G:---------------------Knockout stage:-Quarter finals:-------------Semi finals:-----Bronze medal match:-Final:-Medalists:...
in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. The following year, Schelin endured injuries to the groin
Groin
In human anatomy, the groin areas are the two creases at the junction of the torso with the legs, on either side of the pubic area. This is also known as the medial compartment of the thigh. A pulled groin muscle usually refers to a painful injury sustained by straining the hip adductor muscles...
and hamstring
Hamstring
In human anatomy, the hamstring refers to any one of the three posterior thigh muscles, or to the tendons that make up the borders of the space behind the knee. In modern anatomical contexts, however, they usually refer to the posterior thigh muscles, or the tendons of the semitendinosus, the...
, which required extensive rest.
In 2006, Schelin was a key player in the 2006 edition of the Algarve Cup; leading Sweden to a respectable third-place finish. She scored the only goal in the bronze medal victory over France
France women's national football team
The French women's national football team represents France in international women's football. The team is directed by the French Football Federation and competes as a member of UEFA in various international football tournaments such as the FIFA Women's World Cup, UEFA Women's Euro, the Summer...
. For her efforts, Schelin was awarded the Diamond Ball
Diamantbollen
Diamantbollen, Swedish for The Diamond Ball, an annual award for Sweden's best female football player. The award is currently given out by the Swedish Football Association and Sydsvenskans newspaper...
as the country's best female football player. That same year, she was named the Forward of the Year in the Damallsvenskan. Schelin's success made her a huge face in her country and she was rewarded when she was selected to attend the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup draw in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
on behalf of Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
Individual
- 95 Caps for Sweden National Team
- 40 Goals for Sweden
- 2004: Sweden Breakthrough Player of the Year
- 2006: Diamond BallDiamantbollenDiamantbollen, Swedish for The Diamond Ball, an annual award for Sweden's best female football player. The award is currently given out by the Swedish Football Association and Sydsvenskans newspaper...
Winner, Forward of the Year, Won the Swedish Premier Division, MVP of Kopparbergs/Göteborg FCKopparbergs/Göteborg FCKopparbergs/Göteborg FC is a football club from Gothenburg, Sweden. The club was established in 1970 under the name Landvetters IF. In 2004 the team moved from Landvetter, a Gothenburg suburb, into Gothenburg city and changed its name accordingly...
. - 2007: Played in FIFA Women's World Cup
- 2007: Most goals scored in DamallsvenskanDamallsvenskanThe Damallsvenskan, Swedish for ladies' all-Swedish, is the highest division of women's football in Sweden. It is also referred as to the women's Allsvenskan, this term being used alone to refer to the men's division....
: 26 - 2008: Played in 2008 Summer Olympics
- 2011: Diamond Ball Winner, Forward of the Year
Club
Lyon- Division 1 Féminine (3): 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–112010–11 Division 1 FéminineThe 2010–11 Division 1 Féminine season was the 36th since its establishment. Lyon were the defending champions. The fixtures were announced in August 2010 and the season began on 5 September 2010 and ended early on 31 May 2011 in order to increase the fitness of national team players ahead of the...
- UEFA Women's Champions League (1): 2010–112011 UEFA Women's Champions League FinalThe 2011 UEFA Women's Champions League Final was the final of the second season of the UEFA Women's Champions League and was held at Fulham's Craven Cottage in London, England, on 26 May 2011....