Mighty Olympique Lyon

 This season's Champions League final was between the two best women's sides in the world: FC Barcelona had cruised to the final, and after last year's trashing of Chelsea, were probably slight favourites to continue their dominance in women's football. But facing them was Olympique Lyon, the most winning team in the women's CL, and one that had defeated FC Barcelona 4-1 in the 2019 final.

It was not to be a revenge for the Catalonians, who looked completely overwhelmed in the first half. It was only six minutes into the match when Amadine Henry scored a brilliant goal, and Ada Hegerberg and Catarina Macario scored as well to put the French ahead by the 33rd minute. And in particular the great Ada Hegerberg was playing a great match with vision and great technique.

Just before halftime Alexia Putellas scored for Barcelona, giving the many Barcelona fans in Turin hope for the second half. Surely FC Barcelona improved, but Lyon, whose defense is perhaps one of the best in the world, stood its ground, although they also made a lot of time-wasting which was surely frustrating to everyone (and largely unnecessary).

In the end Lyon won a well-deserved 8th title. And the final was a fantastic match with great atmosphere in Turin, continuing the growth of women's football!

Misogyny is alive and thriving

I recently heard that the best footballer in the world, Ada Hegerberg, has decided not to play in this year's World Cup for her country, Norway, because of what she describes as a lack of respect for women's football in Norway.
How is this not bigger news?
If any of the world's biggest players decided not to go to a World Cup for discrimination in the game, would it not lead to changes in the way the game is managed??? But not in football!
Remember that Ms. Hegerberg is from Norway, a country where women have a higher degree of equality than in other countries. So just think about some of the other countries, where outright discrimination is more or less taken for granted: Colombia, where the football association does not even take care of their female national team; the World Champions of USA, who are grossly underpaid by their male counterparts (who did not even make it to the World Cup); Afghanistan, where players were routinely abused.... And these are just the cases we know about...
Football has long traditions of discrimination for reasons of race, nationality, political allegiance, sexual orientation, and not least gender, where women's football was even prohibited until not long ago, and misogynistic comments are so common as to be institutionalized in the entire game (remember how it was ok to ask Ms, Hegerberg to twerk after winning the Balon d'Or!?). And despite advances over the last decade, all these things show that misogyny is not only alive, but even thrives as male chauvinism reacts against women footballers demand their rightful place alongside men in the world of football. The fact that Ms. Hegerberg has decided to fight against this by not going to the World Cup should send a strong message to the world of football: stop discriminating against the best because of their gender!
The World Cup will be weaker without Ada Hegerberg, but I hope her message resonates in a world of football where discrimination, in all its forms, is the norm, and the football world does so little to combat.