Charlotta Eva Schelin (born 27 February 1984) is a Swedish former

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who most recently played as a striker for

FC Rosengård FC Rosengård (), known as Malmö FF Dam () until 2007 and later LdB FC Malmö until 2013, is a professional football club based in Malmö, Scania, Sweden. The team was established as Malmö FF Dam in 1970. It started out with playing 7 seasons ...

of the

Damallsvenskan The (; ), known as OBOS for sponsorship reasons, is the highest division of women's football in Sweden. It is one of the best women's leagues in the world, and was founded in 1988. The division consists of a league of 14 teams. From 2013, t ...

. She made her debut for the Sweden national team in March 2004 and was appointed joint

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

alongside

Caroline Seger Sara Caroline Seger (born 19 March 1985) is a Swedish former Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder and club captain for Damallsvenskan club FC Rosengård. She was the long-standing captain of the Sweden women's national foo ...

in October 2012. Schelin has represented her country in the

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, and

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

editions of the

UEFA Women's Championship The UEFA European Women's Championship, also called the UEFA Women's Euro, held every four years and one year after the men's UEFA European Championship first held in 1984, is the main competition in women's association football between nationa ...

, as well as the

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, and

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior list of women's national association football teams, women's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Footb ...

s. She also played at the Olympic football tournaments in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

and

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

. In October 2014, Schelin became Sweden's all time record goalscorer by scoring her 73rd international goal in a friendly defeat by

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Schelin began her senior club career with Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC (then known as Landvetter FC) in 2001. She developed into a prolific goalscorer in the Damallsvenskan then made a lucrative

transfer Transfer may refer to: Arts and media * ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović * ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film * ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies * ...

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

in 2008, rejecting a competing offer from the American

Women's Professional Soccer Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) was 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 six teams for the 2011 ...

league. During her eight-season stay at Lyon, she won eight consecutive Division 1 Féminine titles, five Coupes de France Féminine, three

UEFA Women's Champions League The UEFA Women's Champions League, previously called the UEFA Women's Cup (2001–2009), is a European women's association football competition. It involves the top club teams from countries affiliated with the European governing body UEFA. ...

s and was the top goalscorer in the 2012–13 and 2014–15 Division 1 Féminine seasons. In 2013, she became the first foreign UNFP Player of the Year. In 2016, she returned to Swedish football with FC Rosengård, departing Lyon as the French club's all time record goalscorer with 225 goals in 225 appearances. She has been awarded ''

Diamantbollen Diamantbollen, Swedish for the ''Diamond Ball'', an annual award for Sweden's best female football player. The award is currently awarded by the Swedish Football Association and Sydsvenskans newspaper, in conjunction with its male equivalent, ''Gu ...

'' (''the Diamond Ball''), given to the Swedish player of the year, a record five times, including four consecutive times from 2011 to 2014. On 30 August 2018, she announced her retirement due to chronic head and neck pain resulting from an injury suffered while playing for

in 2017.

Early life

Although Schelin was born in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, her family moved away from the capital when she was two years old. With her father Kjell and mother Nina, she grew up in

Kållered Kållered is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and a township situated in Mölndal Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 7,456 inhabitants in 2010. Geographically, Kållered is mainly a Dell (landform), dell, surrounded by ridges and ...

outside

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

and began to play football for Kållereds SK along with her older sister, Camilla. She has also played for Hällesåkers IF and Mölnlycke IF. Schelin was also adept at sports including table-tennis,

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

, and

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralym ...

before opting to focus on football full-time. As a

teenager Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated wi ...

, she developed problems with her

spine Spine or spinal may refer to: Science Biology * Spinal column, also known as the backbone * Dendritic spine, a small membranous protrusion from a neuron's dendrite * Thorns, spines, and prickles, needle-like structures in plants * Spine (zoology), ...

and was advised to stop playing the sport. Schelin went through intensive strength training and recovered by the time she turned 17. She credited her sister and former teammate Camilla and Tina Nordlund as important role models for her.

Club career

Göteborg FC

In 2001, when she was 17 years old, Schelin made her debut in the

for Landvetter FC, now known as

Göteborg FC Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

. Her debut season yielded eight goals in 19 appearances. 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. In 2006, Schelin scored 21 goals in 21 league games. At the end of season

Fotbollsgalan Fotbollsgalan is an official and annual Swedish sports awards ceremony honoring achievements in Swedish football. It is organised by Swedish Football Association The Swedish Football Association (, SvFF) is the governing and body of football ...

, she was named Forward of the Year, Player of the Year and Top Goalscorer. She was also shortlisted for the 2006 FIFA World Player of the Year and was recognised by Swedish referees with a special award for her sporting treatment of opponents and officials. In 2007, she retained her top scorer title by scoring 26 league goals. Despite persistent interest from leading Damallsvenskan clubs including

Umeå IK Umeå IK () is a women's professional association football club based in the city of Umeå, in northern Sweden, and currently playing Damallsvenskan, the first tier of women's football in Sweden. They were one of the most successful football cl ...

and

Linköpings FC Linköpings may refer to: *Linköpings ASS, Linköpings Allmänna Simsällskap is a Swedish swim team *Linköpings FC, an association football club *Linköpings FF, premier men's football team *Linköpings HC, Linköpings Hockey Club See also< ...

, Schelin opted to stay at her hometown team. She ultimately played in over 120 league matches with Göteborg, establishing herself as one of the club's most prominent players.

Lyon

After the re-branding and re-launch of the new

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

-based league,

(WPS), Schelin declared that she would be interested in playing in the league. However, after the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

, Schelin announced that she would instead be joining

Division 1 Féminine Division may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting of 10,000 to ...

club

Olympique Lyonnais Olympique Lyonnais (), commonly referred to as simply Lyon () or OL, is a French professional association football, football club based in Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. With origins dating back to 1899, they were founded in 1950 and p ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Upon signing her contract, it was reported by ''

Göteborgs-Posten (), abbreviated GP, is a major Swedish language, Swedish-language daily newspaper published in Gothenburg, Sweden. History and profile was first published in 1813, but ceased publication in 1822. It re-appeared in 1850. Publication seven day ...

'' that Schelin would be earning over 1 million kr (US$160,000) per year. The move to France was criticised in Sweden, as, although Lyon were a well-resourced club, the overall standard of the Division 1 Féminine was considered much weaker than the Damallsvenskan. On 24 September 2008, Schelin's American transfer rights were drafted by the

Saint Louis Athletica Saint Louis Athletica was an American professional soccer club that was based in the St. Louis suburb of Fenton, Missouri that participated in Women's Professional Soccer. Athletica started the 2009 season playing its home games at Ralph Korte ...

in the

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. For the 2009 season, teams ...

. She declined the chance to join WPS, citing her contract with Lyon as the primary reason. Saint Louis signed Schelin's compatriot Sara Larsson instead. Schelin arrived in Lyon in poor condition, after a thigh injury disrupted her 2008 spring season with Göteborg and migraines and stomach aches afflicted her at the 2008 Olympic Games. When she told Lyon's coach Farid Benstiti that she could also play on the

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

, he shook his head and replied that he had signed her to score goals. Alongside Brazil's Kátia Cilene Teixeira, Schelin formed a productive attack for Lyon as the club defended its French title and reached the

2008–09 UEFA Women's Cup The UEFA Women's Cup 2008–09 is the eighth edition of the UEFA Women's Cup football (soccer), football club tournament (since rebranded as the UEFA Women's Champions League), the most important trophy in European club football. The first qualifyi ...

semi-final, where they lost to

FCR 2001 Duisburg FCR 2001 Duisburg (full name: ''Fußballclub Rumeln 2001 Duisburg'') was a German women's football club from Duisburg. The first team played in the Bundesliga (women), Bundesliga. They originate from a women's team formed in 1977 under the umbrel ...

. The following season, Schelin was afflicted by injuries and was ruled out of Lyon's 2010 UEFA Women's Champions League Final defeat by

Turbine Potsdam 1. Frauenfußballclub Turbine Potsdam 71 e. V., commonly known as 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam (or Turbine Potsdam outside of Germany), is a German women's football club located in Potsdam, Brandenburg. They are one of the most successful women's footb ...

with ligament damage. Schelin did play in the 2011 final, as Lyon avenged the previous year's defeat to beat Turbine Potsdam 2–0 at

Craven Cottage Craven Cottage is a football stadium in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 29,589; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game agains ...

and secure their first continental title. She had scored nine times on Lyon's route to the final, including twice in the semi-final, to bring about what she termed "the proudest moment" of her career. Lyon won a domestic

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

in 2011–12 and retained their European title by beating Frankfurt 2–0 in the 2012 final at the Olympic Stadium in Munich. In 2012–13 Schelin was in the best form of her career and finished as Division 1 Féminine top scorer with 24 goals in 16 appearances. She was also named French Player of the Year for the first time, but missed out on a third successive Champions League winner's medal when Lyon lost the final 1–0 to

Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian language, Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg'') is the fifth-largest city in the Germany, German state of Lower Saxony, on the river Aller (Germany), Aller east of Hanover and west of Berlin. Wolfsburg is famous as the locat ...

at Stamford Bridge. In May 2013 she signed a new three-year contract with Lyon, reportedly worth an annual 2 million kr. In 2013–14 Schelin contributed 12 league goals to another domestic double but Lyon lost to Turbine Potsdam in the Champions League round of 16. Her form had slumped after a breakdown in her working relationship with coach

Patrice Lair Patrice Lair (born 16 June 1961) is a French football coach and a former player. He is the current head coach of Liga MX Femenil club Toluca. Career As a footballer Lair played in the lower categories in France. After spending a decade in Sta ...

. She rebounded the following season, scoring Lyon's 1000th Division 1 Féminine goal in a 7–0 home win over

Rodez Rodez (, , ; , ) is a small city and commune in the South of France, about 150 km northeast of Toulouse. It is the prefecture of the department of Aveyron, region of Occitania (formerly Midi-Pyrénées). Rodez is the seat of the communau ...

on 16 November 2014. Her second goal in the same match drew her level with Sandrine Brétigny as Lyon's all-time record scorer. She finished 2014–15 as Division 1 Féminine top scorer with 34 goals in 21 games, but Lyon were upset by French rivals

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

in the Champions League round of 16. Towards the end of another successful season in 2015–16, Lyon announced that Schelin would depart the club at the end of her contract. Her final game for the club was the 2016 UEFA Women's Champions League Final; in which she scored in the

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

win over Wolfsburg. With Lyon Schelin won eight consecutive Division 1 Féminine titles, five Cups and three Champions Leagues. She left as the team's all-time record goalscorer with 225 goals in 225 appearances. Schelin's 41 goals for Lyon in the UEFA Women's Champions League left her fourth in the competition's all-time top scorer list. She held the record for Champions League goals for a single club, since Anja Mittag (49), Conny Pohlers (48) and

Marta Marta may refer to: People * Marta (given name), a feminine given name * Märta, a feminine given name * Marta (surname) * Marta (footballer) (born 1986), Brazilian professional footballer Places * Marta (river), an Italian river that flow ...

(46) all accrued their totals with more than one club.

Rosengård

On 8 June 2016, Schelin was presented as a player for Swedish champions

, of Malmö. She rejected an offer to rejoin Göteborg FC because they were unable to offer Champions League football. Schelin made her Rosengård debut slightly earlier than expected, substituting in for the injured Nataša Andonova after 22 minutes of a league fixture against

Djurgården Djurgården ( or ) or, more officially, , is an island in central Stockholm, Sweden. Djurgården is home to historical buildings and monuments, museums, galleries, the amusement park Gröna Lund, the open-air museum Skansen, the small resident ...

. Schelin scored a 90th-minute goal to salvage a 2–2 draw.

International career

In March 2004 Schelin scored twice on her debut for the Swedish under-21 team, in their 6–0 win over the full Republic of Ireland national team in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. She previously scored three goals in six appearances for Sweden's under-16 team and two goals in seven appearances for the under-18s. 08 Schelin Lotta 130406 Sve-Isl 2-0 160915 9962

08 Schelin Lotta 130406 Sve-Isl 2-0 160915 9962

Schelin made her senior national team debut for

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

on 16 March 2004; a 3–0

Algarve Cup The Algarve Cup is an invitational tournament for national teams in women's association football hosted by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). Held annually in the Algarve region of Portugal since 1994, it is one of the most prestigious and ...

defeat by

. In the fifth place play-off against

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, Schelin was praised for scoring in Sweden's

win after a 1–1 draw. She had been called into the squad as a replacement for Sara Johansson who had

flu Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...

. Schelin retained her place and represented her nation at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. Throughout this period, Schelin endured injuries to the

groin In human anatomy, the groin, also known as the inguinal region or iliac region, is the junctional area between the torso and the thigh. The groin is at the front of the body on either side of the pubic tubercle, where the lower part of the abdom ...

and

hamstring A hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in human anatomy between the hip and the knee: from medial to lateral, the semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris. Etymology The word " ham" is derived from the Old ...

, which required extensive rest. She was selected by coach Marika Domanski-Lyfors for

UEFA Women's Euro 2005 The 2005 UEFA Women's Championship, also referred to as UEFA Women's Euro 2005, was a football tournament for women held from 5 June to 19 June 2005 in Lancashire and Cheshire, England. The UEFA Women's Championship is a regular tournament involvi ...

North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of 7,4 ...

. She entered play as a second-half substitute but failed to score as Sweden lost 3–2 to rivals

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

of the semi-final in

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

. Schelin was a key player in the 2006 edition of the

; leading Sweden to their third-place finish. She scored the only goal in the bronze medal victory over

. After overcoming her injury problems, Schelin was awarded the

Diamond Ball The FIBA Diamond Ball competition was an official international basketball tournament organised by FIBA,http://www.fiba.basketball/en/events FIBA´s official events by year held every Olympic year prior to the Basketball at the Summer Olympics, S ...

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 brought her to mainstream attention in her country and she was rewarded with selection to attend the

2007 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, the fifth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, was an international football competition for women held in China from 10 to 30 September 2007. Originally, China was to host the 2003 edition, but the outbreak o ...

draw in China on behalf of Sweden. At the World Cup in China, Schelin scored two goals in three matches (one start) but Sweden unexpectedly failed to progress out of their group. After that failure some experienced players retired and coach

Thomas Dennerby Thomas Lennart Dennerby (born 13 August 1959) is a Swedish football manager. He managed Sweden to a third place finish at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. He last served as the head coach of the India women's football team. Career Dennerby, the ...

gave Schelin and other younger players a more prominent role in the team. Back in China the following year for the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

, she contributed three goals in four games but the Swedes lost 2–0 to Germany in the quarter-final. Schelin helped Sweden to a bronze medal position at the

2011 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup was the sixth FIFA Women's World Cup competition, the world championship for List of women's national association football teams, women's national association football, football teams. It was held from 26 June to ...

in Germany and was named in the All-Star Team. She featured in Sweden's 3–1 semi-final defeat to eventual winners

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. Sweden secured third place by beating

2–1 in

Sinsheim Sinsheim (; ) is a town in southwestern Germany, in the Rhine Neckar Area of the state Baden-Württemberg about southeast of Heidelberg and about northwest of Heilbronn in the district Rhein-Neckar. Geography Overview Sinsheim consists o ...

, Schelin scoring her second goal of the tournament. Third place also ensured Sweden's qualification for the 2012 Olympic football tournament in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Dennerby kept Schelin in Sweden's Olympic squad for London, where they lost to France in the quarter-finals. Schelin scored twice in four matches but felt Dennerby's emphasis on defence had left her isolated in Sweden's attack. In October 2012, new national team coach

Pia Sundhage Pia Mariane Sundhage (, born 13 February 1960) is a Swedish football manager and former professional player. Currently, she is coaching Switzerland. As a player, Sundhage played most of her career as a forward and retired as the top scorer fo ...

decided that Schelin and

would share the captaincy. Sundhage named Schelin in the squad for

UEFA Women's Euro 2013 The 2013 UEFA Women's Championship, commonly referred to as Women's Euro 2013, was the 11th European Championship for List of women's national association football teams#UEFA, women's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament ...

, which Sweden hosted. Schelin finished as the tournament top scorer with five goals but was disappointed when Sweden lost 1–0 to Germany in the semi-final. She criticised the decision of Swiss referee

Esther Staubli Esther Staubli (born 3 October 1979) is a Swiss football referee. German-speaking Staubli is tall and has been on the FIFA International Referees List since 2006. An agronomist by trade, Staubli also lectures in a university. She was selected ...

, who disallowed her equalising goal for a very questionable foul on Germany's centre-back Annike Krahn. Schelin's goal against Germany in October 2014's 2–1 home friendly defeat was her 73rd goal for Sweden, which broke the national record previously set by

Hanna Ljungberg Hanna Carolina Ljungberg (born 8 January 1979) is a Swedish former association football Forward (association football), forward. She spent the majority of her club career at Umeå IK and was a Sweden women's national football team, Swedish intern ...

. Schelin arrived at the

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the f ...

suffering from persistent knee pain. In Sweden's opening game she was unable to make any impression on

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

's defence, as the Africans recovered from 3–1 down to draw 3–3. In the team's 4–1 second round loss to Germany, goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl made several saves to prevent an even heavier defeat for the disorganised Swedes. With 165 caps and 84 goals, Schelin was the most experienced member of Sweden's 18-player squad for the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

. When the team suffered a record 5–1 defeat by hosts

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

in the second match, Schelin scored the late consolation goal and tried to lift the spirits of her demoralised teammates. In the quarter-final against the United States, captain Schelin had an

extra-time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

goal incorrectly ruled out for offside and the match finished 1–1. She scored in Sweden's

win. Sweden reached the gold medal match, but lost 2–1 to Germany. Schelin was disappointed by the defeat but proud to win a silver medal.

Style of play

In June 2015 Schelin described herself as "not a typical center-forward" as she likes to drop deep or go wide in order to find space: "I always think of the collective because the danger can come from all players. Even if I do not score, I pass, I run to attract defenders. In the end, I want to win." She attributes her unselfish play to her upbringing in communal

Swedish culture The Culture of Sweden is characterised by its art, music, dance, literature, traditions, religious practices and more. It is similar to but distinct from the cultures of neighboring countries. Sweden's modern history has a well-established tradi ...

. After moving to Lyon, her instinct to pass to better-placed teammates annoyed her coach Farid Benstiti, who wanted her to concentrate on converting chances herself. Sweden's former coach Thomas Dennerby felt that Schelin became more comfortable on the ball after moving to Lyon, but retained her pace and ability in one-on-one situations. Schelin is capable of playing as a winger. But when Dennerby deployed her wide in the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, her Göteborg coach Martin Pringle called for her to be given a more central role: "she is too good a player to play out there". China's coach Shang Ruihua highlighted Schelin as Sweden's best player ahead of the countries' opening match at the 2008 Summer Olympics: "Schelin has fast pace and excellent technique, and few defenders could keep up with her." Although tall and slender, she is also physically strong;

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

captain

Steph Houghton Stephanie Jayne Darby (, , born 23 April 1988), commonly known as Steph Houghton, is an English former professional association football, footballer who played as a centre-back. Known for her leadership and commitment, Houghton was widely regar ...

rated Schelin as the "toughest opponent" of her career. As a tall, skilful and prolific Swedish forward, Schelin has frequently drawn comparison with the contemporary male footballer

Zlatan Ibrahimović Zlatan Ibrahimović (born 3 October 1981) is a Swedish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Ibrahimović is known for his acrobatic strikes and Volley (association footba ...

. Former Denmark national team manager Peter Bonde branded Schelin "the female Zlatan" in 2005. In December 2013, Ibrahimović made an outspoken rejection of any comparison: "I was asked y Swedish mediain the summer who was the better player, me or Lotta Schelin. You're kidding me, right? When I've broken all these records, this goal record, the goals in the national team, who shall I compare it to? Shall I compare it to whoever has the record, or the ladies?" Schelin's national team coach Pia Sundhage described his comments as sad and boring. Johanna Frändén, a journalist specialising in coverage of Ibrahimović, noted Schelin's contrasting temperament: "She is polite, charming, she does not have the same arrogance".

Personal life

Schelin came out publicly as a

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

in August 2018. She has been married to her wife Rebecca since 2018.

Career statistics

Club

''Updated 21 May 2018''

International goals

Matches and goals scored at World Cup & Olympic tournaments

Matches and goals scored at European Championship tournaments

Honours

Club

;Lyon *

: 2008–09, 2009–10,

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16 *

Coupe de France Féminine The Coupe de France Féminine (, ''Women's French Cup'') is the top annual cup tournament for French women's football clubs. The competition is open to all professional and non-professional women's teams in France. Founded in 2001 as Challenge ...

: 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16 *

, 2011–12, 2015–16 * International Women's Club Championship:

Valais Women's Cup The Valais Women's Cup was a Switzerland, Swiss invitational women's association football, women's football tournament played each year in Châtel-St-Denis and Savièse. It was part of the Valais Summer Cups. 2013 Held from 22 – 25 September, t ...

: 2014 ;FC Rosengård *

Svenska Cupen Svenska cupen (, ), also known as the Swedish Cup in English, is a knockout cup competition in Swedish football and the main Swedish football cup. ''Svenska cupen'' usually refers to the men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also ...

: 2016

Country

;

: Group stage *

: Third place *

: Round of 16 * 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens: Fourth place * 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing: Quarter-final * 2012 Summer Olympics in London: Quarter-final * 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio: Runner-up *

: Semi-finals *

UEFA Women's Euro 2009 The 2009 UEFA Women's Championship, or just Women's Euro 2009, was played in Finland between 23 August and 10 September 2009. The host was appointed on 11 July 2006, in a UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Berlin and the Finnish proposal won over ...

: Quarter-final *

: Semi-finals *

UEFA Women's Euro 2017 The 2017 UEFA European Women's Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Women's Euro 2017, was the 12th edition of the UEFA Women's Championship, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship organised by UEFA for the ...

: Quarter-final *

; Sweden U19 *

UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship The UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship or simply UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship, is an annual competition in women's football for European national teams of players under 19 years of age. National under-19 teams whose countries belon ...

: Group stage

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

; Sweden U17 * Nordic Cup: Runner-up 2001

Individual

*2004: Sweden Breakthrough Player of the Year *2006:

Winner, Forward of the Year, Won the Swedish Premier Division, MVP of Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC. *2006: Topscorer in

*2007: Topscorer in

*2011: FIFA Women's World Cup All Star Team *2011:

Winner, Forward of the Year *2012:

Winner *2013: Best player in France *2013: Topscorer in

*2013: Golden Boot UEFA Women's European Championship *2013: UEFA Women's European Championship All Star Team *2013: UEFA Best Women's Player in Europe Award Third place *2013:

Winner, Forward of the Year *2014:

Winner, Forward of the Year *2015: Topscorer in

* All-Time Top Scorer

Sweden women's national football team The Sweden women's national football team (), nicknamed ''Blågult'' ("The Blue-Yellow"), represents Sweden at international women's association football competitions. It was established in 1973 and is governed by the Swedish Football Associatio ...

with 88 goals.

In popular culture

Television and film

Schelin featured in the

Sveriges Television Sveriges Television AB ("Sweden's Television aktiebolag, Stock Company"), shortened to SVT (), is the Sweden, Swedish national public broadcasting, public television broadcaster, funded by a public service tax on personal income set by the Riksd ...

documentary television series '' The Other Sport'' from 2013. In 2021 Schelin participated in the Swedish version of the South Korean game show

Masked Singer ''Masked Singer'' is an international music reality game show franchise. It originated from the South Korean program '' The King of Mask Singer'', developed by Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation. Format The format features celebrities who perform ...

as Jokern (The Joker).

References

;Match reports

External links

* * *
archive 1archive 2
*
archive 1archive 2

Player French football stats
at statsfootofeminin.fr

at

pre-2004 Olympic tournament interview with Lotta Schelin at SVT's open archive
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schelin, Lotta 1984 births Living people Footballers from Stockholm Footballers from Gothenburg Swedish women's footballers Women's association football forwards BK Häcken FF players Olympique Lyonnais Féminin players FC Rosengård players Damallsvenskan players Première Ligue players Olympic footballers for Sweden Sweden women's international footballers Footballers at the 2004 Summer Olympics 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup players Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup players Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup players Footballers at the 2016 Summer Olympics FIFA Women's Century Club Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Sweden Olympic medalists in football Swedish expatriate women's footballers Swedish expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate women's footballers in France Swedish lesbian sportswomen Swedish LGBTQ footballers UEFA Women's Champions League–winning players 21st-century Swedish sportswomen