By David Gold
October 19 – Lara Dickenmann (pictured), Olympique Lyonnais’ midfielder who scored the crucial second goal in their Champions League final victory earlier this year, has told insideworldfootball of her hope to be involved in creating Switzerland’s first professional women’s football club after her playing career is over.
Dickenmann is taking part in next month’s International Football Arena (IFA) conference in Zurich, where she will be discussing women’s football with FIFA’s head of women’s competitions Tatjana Haenni and FC Zurich President Ancillo Canepa.
Having studied international business, the Swiss star is keen to remain in the sport long term and use her business skills.
“It’s much easier when [the players] are all professional and in Switzerland it is hard because they rarely have the whole team at practice because the girls work or are at schools,” she said.
“In Lyon we can focus entirely on soccer and it makes such a huge difference, so I hope one day we can have that in Switzerland and I can be part of it
“Right now all the best players in Switzerland go abroad, to Germany, Spain or France, so everyone goes away and the level drops.
“They find better conditions in other countries and if that changes the girls would come back and stay in Switzerland – who wouldn’t want to do what they love most at home?
“If I could I’d go home right away because I’ve spent seven years away from home but as long as I cannot play professionally there I’m not going to go back.
“That’d be a huge step for Swiss soccer to become a little more professional, things are going in that direction, we’re not far away from it.”
Despite her best efforts, netting 19 goals in her international career to date, Switzerland have never qualified for a Women’s World Cup, but Dickenmann says that the Champions League triumph with Lyon last season was what she had always dreamed of.
“For me it was always my number one goal in life, in soccer at least, to win the Champions League,” she said.
“Playing with the Swiss national team it is hard to qualify for the World Cup or European Championships so I have to focus on my club team.
“You practise all your life for a moment like that.
“It felt really good, overwhelming, you can’t really describe it in words.
“It’s like when your dreams come true, you put your heart and soul in it, it’s an amazing feeling.”
The 25-year-old played a significant role in Lyon’s victory, coming on to score the second goal in the 2-0 win over Poznan.
“I think it was a little less stressful to play after the second goal, it was hard for Poznan to come back after that,” she reflected.
“It felt great to score the goal but the really great feeling was to win the whole thing.”
Away from club football, Dickenmann believes Switzerland are making progress on the international scene, and says that the under 17 and under 20 World Cups, introduced by FIFA during the last decade, have helped her personally to develop.
“When I was 15 I started playing with the national team.
“Playing in the league in one country shows you one type of football but once you get out of the country and compete against other nations makes you progress and learn about new styles.
“Once I saw other nations play my goals started to change, I wanted to get much better than before and I started competing against better players.”
Dickenmann has high hopes for the future of the women’s game, with attendances up on last year in France thanks to the impact of the World Cup earlier this year in Germany, as well as the increasing interest sponsors are showing in the sport.
Though she is interested in remaining in the game after she finishes playing, Dickenmann expresses doubt about the prospect of a woman becoming the coach of a men’s team, suggesting that the differences between the two would make such a leap problematic.
“Personally I think men’s soccer world is a whole different world still,” she said.
“There is much more money involved, I understand the professional women’s soccer world now.
“I’m not saying it’s impossible but it’s a very different world.
“The men who have been in it for a while as players as staff understand it a lot better, I think it’s hard for a woman to understand it that well.
“It can happen maybe but it’s quite a different world so it might be quite hard.”
IFA Zurich 2011 takes place on November 7th and 8th at the Dolder Grand Hotel, Zurich.
To find out how to attend please click here.
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