Sofia Jakobsson — Leading from the front
Around this time last year, Real Madrid announced they will be getting a women’s team (finally!). The stage was set after the success of FIFA WWC 2019 and fans were excited by the news. The club would launch it’s women’s side by absorbing a club established in 2014, CD Tacon, who had earned their promotion to the Primera Iberdrola (highest tier of Spanish women’s football) in 2019.
With the announcement came the hype; which players would be the club’s first signings? Which star would be playing in attack or defense or midfield? The club soon announced their first ever “Galactica” in Kosovare Asllani, who is very much the face of this new project. Following that announcement, they announced another Swedish star fresh from her World Cup exploits where she helped Sweden secure the Bronze medal, Sofia Jakobsson, who very much turned out to be the leader in attack.
Fast forward one year and the season has been called to an end due to COVID-19 with Tacon managing to finish 10th in the table and it wouldn’t have been possible without Sofia Jakobsson. The Swedish superstar has been directly involved in 45% of the team’s total goals. She had 7 goals and 8 assists(2nd highest in the league) to her name this season. She has started in all but one game since the start of the season, highlighting her reliability.
In this article, we will take a look at her career so far, her World Cup 2019 and her style of play.
Career overview & FIFA WWC 2019
Sofia Jakobsson has played all across the globe and has enjoyed a successful career. The 30 year-old Swedish star started her footballing journey at Hägglunds IoFK, a club based in Sofia’s hometown of Örnsköldsvik, she spent her youth years there.
In 2007, she moved to Östers IF, a club in the second tier of Swedish football, for a year before joining the dominant side in Swedish women’s football at the time, Umeå IK, at 17. She played with some big names (like Marta) during her 5 years at the club and won multiple titles including 2 league titles. She also made her UWCL debut with them. In her 5 years she managed to score 18 times in the league. Umeå IK was declining and at a rapid rate (more on that someday) which saw her move to her next adventure in Russia.
She joined WFC Rossiyanka, the then champions of the Russian League. She played there for 2 seasons scoring 9 times in the process. She then moved onto her next adventure in London with Chelsea. After signing for them in January, Sofia had immediate impact. She scored in her first three games and ended the season as Chelsea Ladies’ joint top scorer having played only 11 games for the side.
Her next move took her to Germany, where she joined BV Cloppenburg Frauen for the 2013–14 season. She managed to find the net 5 times during the season for the newly promoted side. Her next adventure took her to France where she’d spend the next 5 seasons playing for Montpellier HSC. Unfortunately she suffered a major injury blow in 2017 after injuring her ACL. In the 5 seasons there, she amassed over 100 appearances, finding the net 50+ times. Her time in France is one of her most cherished one.
n 2019, after a successful World Cup she decided to challenge herself again. This time by joining the new face in the women’s game, Real Madrid (CD Tacon). She signed with the Spanish Club for 2 seasons and will be seen donning the royal whites next season.
FIFA WWC 2019
This was Jakobsson’s 3rd World Cup after making her debut in 2011. She has 2 World Cup Bronze medals (2011 & 2019) and an Olympic silver (2016) to her name.
Sofia Jakobsson enjoyed a successful World Cup in 2019. Her 22nd minute strike against England (more on that goal later in the article) helped Sweden win the Bronze medal and secure a place in the Olympics. Her goal against Germany in the QF would break the long running curse for Sweden against the German side.
Her stats for WWC 2019
Apps: 6
Mins: 570
Goals: 2
Dribbles p90: 3.97
Keypasses p90: 0.63
Shots p90: 2.2
Progressive passes p90: 2.63
Tactical Profile
Sofia Jakobsson is a right footed winger. She starts wide on the right side and changes flank during the game. She is extremely quick and puts her pace to good use while in a 1v1 situation or going for a loose ball or while defending. Her work-rate is amazing and helps her team immensely.
Attacking
Sofia usually hugs the touchline on her side and attempts to stretch the field and drag out a defender. This helps either a midfielder or the fullback to attack the halfspace made up by her positioning.
When on the ball Sofia Jakobsson likes to dribble and take on defenders. This reflects in her stats as well. During the WWC 2019, she attempted 25 dribbles, 9 more than any other Swedish player.
She uses this to create chances as well. 14 shot creating actions during the WWC 2019 out of which 5 were through dribbles, underlines how dribbling is a big part of her attacking arsenal.
Her quick acceleration comes in very handy in these situations. With a little drop of the shoulder, she manages to move away from her marker and create space to put the ball in for her teammate or shoot, whichever is best.
Another aspect of Sofia’s game is her ball carrying ability. She is a brilliant ball progressor and does so via her superior ball carrying ability. This is again translated into her stats as well. During FIFA WWC 2019, the progressive distance of her carries was the highest in the team. On average she moved the ball 6.2 yards per carry (which is every time she controlled the ball with her feet). This highlights that she is always looking to move her team closer to goal.
In her run against Betis one can see her ball carrying ability.
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While attacking from the left she always tries to either cut the ball in and have a shot at goal or cross, whichever is best. Her quick change of pace and direction is at full display during this. She waits for the right time to separate from the defender, so that she has a clear shot at goal.
Her runs behind the defensive line are quite deadly. She is often the highest player on the pitch and drifts centrally to make a run behind the opposition defence. This particularly comes in handy for counter-attacking set-ups or while playing in teams that defend deep (like Sweden and Tacon). Her pace and timing of the run make it impossible for the opposition defenses to hold her down.
This particular trait can be seen in the game against Germany, where she created two big opportunities in this manner, one of them resulting in a goal. With the ball in Sweden’s half, she offers a direct threat moving centrally between the CBs. While in the first case it resulted in a corner [the ball was on her weaker foot],she made them pay the second time. Her amazing finishing abilities were on display here.
Sofia doesn’t shy away from shooting and most of her shots are on target. During the WWC 2019, she attempted 14 shots (2nd highest in the team). Her finishing is particularly good too. She always manages to slot the ball in goal when 1v1 with the GK and she can score from tight angles too, further increasing her value in the team.
Sofia is also press resistant. Using her quick one touch passing, close control and combination play with her teammates she manages to play through the incoming opposition press.
When not on ball in an attacking situation, Sofia tries to attack the box at the far post and makes herself available for a cross. Her movements in the final third make her a vital part of every attack.
Defending
Sofia’s contribution defensively is another facet of her game that makes her such an important asset for the team. She can be often seen helping her fullback double team the opposition winger and forcing the player to play the ball back.
While Sweden and Tacon aren’t particularly teams that press aggressively instead both defend quite deep. Sweden do apply some pressure when the ball is in the middle third of the pitch.
The press is often led by Asllani from the front, after marking the CBs when GK has the ball, they force the GK to go wide and this triggers the wide player, the nearby mid and Asllani to close down the player and try to regain the ball. Sofia’s intelligence & work-rate is on display in these situations. She uses her pace to force the player on the ball to make quick decisions often leading to a misplaced pass or throw-in.
Her work-rate comes under limelight again while tracking back during a set piece, she helps her side not get caught in transition by tracking back the runner.
Her awareness in the game is a big part of the defending side of her game. She knows when to close down lanes and constantly keeps a check on her marker and shadow blocks the passing option forcing opponents back and helps her team avoid immediate danger.
This is what makes her such a big asset for any team. Tactical intelligence coupled with the will to sacrifice and an amazing work-rate, her skillset is quite well rounded.
Struggles at Tacon
While this is a complete topic on its own, Jakobsson still has a lot more to offer than what we saw. Playing out of position as a part of the front 2 or with a midfield that doesn’t help in ball progression or not having a fullback who can make supporting runs isn’t the best possible situation to be in. Another issue that Tacon suffered with was the lack of understanding between the players. After having assembled the team quite late, it’s quite evident that the players were on a different wavelength when playing, often not reading the runs or making the wrong pass. While all of this would seem like it hasn’t affected her output goes to underline how good she has managed to be in an almost broken system but there is more to come. (More on this and other problems later).
Conclusion
Sofia Jakobsson is a vital player for any team she plays for and has certainly been the difference between CD Tacon finishing in the relegation spot and where they actually finished. Her contributions and impact on the game are clearly visible and hopefully we get to see her at her best the next season.
Real Madrid Femenino won’t just be a dream for long now, with the absorption set to be complete on 1st of July. Having Sofia Jakobsson in the side is a big plus going into the season and while it’s unclear which players will join and what changes will occur (more on that later) but until then just keep calm and pass the ball to Sofia!