In Focus: Lotta Schelin ( Olympique Lyonnais)

UEFA have released a list of players in the running for the 2013/14 UEFA Best Women’s Player in Europe Award. WNL.ie reporter Rachael Stack will be taking a closer look at each player on the list. This article focuses on Swedish player Charlotta Shelin.   

 

Charlotta Schelin is a 30 year old professional soccer player from Sweden. Famously known as Lotta, she is a key player to both her club and country.

 

A runner up at last year’s UEFA European player of the year awards, it’s no surprise she featured in this year’s shortlist. Lotta is a star in the women’s game and has been compared to be the female counterpart of Swedish men’s star Ibrahimovic. Lotta who comes from a sporting family, began her football career alongside her sister Camilla.

 

From a young age Lotta dreamed of being a professional footballer and her dreams came true in 2008 when she signed for French Division 1 Féminine team Olympique Lyonnais (Lyon).   Since joining the club, Lotta has been key part of the phenomenal squad having claimed the French league title for seven consecutive years 2008 – 2014 and the Coupe de France championship for the last three consecutive years. Lyon has not only dominated domestically but they are also a powerhouse in European football.

 

Lotta’s goals lead Lyon to winning the UEFA Champions League for two consecutive years in a row and were unlucky not to become the first male/female club to hold the title for a record 3 in a row when they were narrowly beaten in Stamford Bridge by a single goal vs Wolfsburg in 2013 UEFA Women’s Champions League Final.

 



Internationally, Lotta is a key component to the Swedish International team. She captained her country to the Quarter Finals of the European Championship when they hosted Euro 2013. A tough task lay upon her shoulders but once again Lotta did not fail to deliver and earned Sweden the Bronze with a third place finish. Lotta picked up the Adidas Golden Boot for most goals scored at the tournament. Lotta has won a lot of accolades in her career so far and listed below are some of her awards to date:

 

2004: Sweden Breakthrough Player of the Year

2007: FIFA World Cup All Star Team

2011: FIFA World Cup Bronze

2011: FIFA Women's World Cup All Star Team



2013: Best player in France

2013: Top scorer in the French League

2013: Golden Boot Winner UEFA Women's European Championship

2013: Euro 2013 Bronze

2013: Runner up UEFA European Player of the year

2006, 2011, 2012, 2013: Diamantbollen Winner (Swedish player of the year)

 

You can follow Lotta on Twitter – @L8schelin. 

 

 

 

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