News of Note: FIFA Women’s Rankings, December Update… Christen Press now linked with Tyresö… Kick-off times for the 2013 Women’s EURO finalized… MAC Hermann Trophy finalists announced… And, if you missed it on Thursday: Norway brings back Even Pellerud.
FIFA Women’s Rankings, December Update: Earlier today, FIFA.com posted the latest rankings for women’s international squads (FIFA.com write-up, FIFA rankings list). The United States remains at number one, but drops 12 points from 2221 to 2209, mostly due to the home draws with #2 Germany, who only gain 3 points and now have 2171 points. (Germany took a small hit for its recent 1:1 home draw with France.) Thus, the USA’s lead over Germany has decreased from 53 to 38 points.
Christen Press now linked with Tyresö: The tabloid Expressen has an article out today (in Swedish) with quotes from Tyresö FF’s chairman, Hans Lindberg, who says that the current Damallsvenskan title-holders are pursuing the now free agent Press. Tyresö would like wrap up negotiations by the end of the first week in January. The Expressen article does not include any quotes from Press herself or her agent, so it is unclear how serious any contract talks are. The core sticking point for Press is her wish to be released to USWNT camps and matches outside of the FIFA reserved dates. Tyresö’s 2012 roster (SvFF) included fellow USWNT Olympic alternate Meghan Klingenberg, plus international stars such as Brazil’s Marta, Spain’s Vero Boquete, and Sweden’s own Caroline Seger.
Kick-off times for the 2013 Women’s EURO finalized: On Thursday, UEFA confirmed the start times for the matches of the 2013 Women’s European Championships, which will be hosted by Sweden. All group matches start at either 18:00 or 20:30 local time. Knock-out matches begin as early as 15:00 local time. See also: UEFA.com write-up with schedule, PDF version of schedule.
MAC Hermann Trophy finalists announced: On Thursday, the NSCAA announced the top three vote-getters for for the top award in women’s soccer, the MAC Hermann Trophy. The three finalists are defender/midfielder/forward Crystal Dunn, University of North Carolina; forward Caroline Miller, University of Virginia; and midfielder Christine Nairn, Penn State University. The winner will be announced on Friday, January 11th during an awards banquet. For more information on the voting process, see the NSCAA website.
Norway brings back Even Pellerud: On Thursday, the NFF announced that the new head coach of its Women’s National Team is Even Pellerud, who previously led that team from 1989 to 1996. For a full write-up on this curious development, see this post from yesterday.
Women's Soccer Express 
Press to Tyreso? Will Marta still be there? I hope not. Hard to see Press improving her own scoring ability if playing around a huge ego like that. If Christen is smart, she will find a club that will look to her to be the main scorer; that’s the club environment that will best improve her skills. (Will Tyreso still be coached by Tony Gustafson? Maybe he will be a positive influence?).
Also, I’ve read where the Goteborg general manager (Svensson) said that he wouldn’t re-sign Press because the team couldn’t afford losing her for important matches, “like Champions League Semi-Finals.” That is surely hyperbole. I really, really doubt that Press would fly to the U.S. for a USWNT training camp in mid-April of 2013 (even assuming there is a camp then) if her Goteborg team were going to be playing home-and-away Champions League matches against a team like Olympique Lyonnais. I think the Goteborg manager is trying to make his club look good in the eyes of the public, and make Press look ridiculous and too demanding. He’s acting like an ex-spouse after a divorce, pointing fingers at the other side.
I really feel no sympathy for Goteborg here. In 2012, they signed a player in Press that played at a level demonstrating that she should have been a full USWNT regular, from the outset. Most observers of the Swedish First Division cannot understand why she has yet to receive a single cap on the USWNT. It was only by dint of Sundhage’s blind allegiance to familiar players of lesser scoring ability (e.g., Rodriguez) that Christen was not fully integrated into the USWNT in late 2011, before the 2012 Olympic Qualifiers. And had such an integration then occurred, there is no way Goteborg would have gotten Christen to agree to a 2012 contract that did not allow her flexibility to attend numerous pre-Olympic USWNT camps & matches. Therefore, for Goteborg to insist on a 2013 contract that would not allow Press flexibility for USWNT commitments, is unrealistic and not reflective of her actual value. In other words, flexibility is the price Goteborg should bear, if it wants a player of Christen’s ability in 2013.
Anyway, it is interesting to see that even in women’s pro soccer, there are contentious negotiations and questionable statements to the media. We often think that happens only in the men’s game (like with Clint Dempsey and Fulham last summer), but I sense there is some of that happening here with Goteborg and Press.