Spanish media have recently argued that the Danish left-back, Sofie Svava, is set to join Olympique Lyonnais and sign a long-term contract following the end of her contract with Real Madrid at the end of this season.
It is true that with Olga Carmona being the starter at Real Madrid, Svava was not getting her full chance with the Las Blancas, as she was not getting the necessary playing time to improve in a remarkable way and showcase her excellent abilities in a regular fashion.
Svava started her career in 2017 at Brøndby IF, where she played for two seasons, winning the cup in her first season and the league title in 2019.
Afterwards, she went to Sweden to play for a top team, such as Rosengård, who paid a club-record fee to Brøndby IF to secure the services of the 17-year-old Svava.
This move represented a massive step for the Danish at that time, given that Rosengård were excelling in the Damallsvenskan and playing regularly in the UEFA Women’s Champions League as well.
It is worth mentioning that Svava won the Damallsvenskan with Rosengård that year and reached the quarter-finals with them, despite not being a starter at the time.
Following an enriching short experience at Rosengård, Svava went to VfL Wolfsburg Frauen and had some even more European experiences, playing against teams like Juventus and Servette, while the club was knocked out in the semi-finals by Barcelona Femení.
Although she was not a starter with Wolfsburg, especially on big occasions, reaching the semi-finals of the UWCL allowed Svava to gain a lot of experience, which she could later utilise when she joined Real Madrid in early 2022.
Svava has been pivotal in Real Madrid’s line-up, as she played more regularly with them and was able to showcase her talent more in the Primera División, despite the challenge presented by Olga Carmona.
Nevertheless, a new change was needed as Svava still did not get her full chance yet.
The time has come for her to “explode” football-wise and potentially become Olympique Lyonnais’ first-choice left-back.
In this Sofie Svava scout report, we will explore the Danish international’s defensive, playmaking, and attacking abilities while considering how she fits into Lyon Féminin’s tactics and whether she can battle Selma Bacha for the regular spot.
The analysis will, however, begin by focusing on Svava’s possible roles and positions at Olympique Lyonnais.
Sofie Svava Possible roles and positions
Svava is a left-footed player who always plays on the left wing, whether as a left-back, left wing-back or left winger.
Her main position, however, is left-back, since that’s the position she occupied the most in Real Madrid’s 4-3-3.
Nevertheless, she was often used as a wing-back with Denmark in their 3-4-3 or even as a winger in their 4-4-2, as Andrée Jeglertz prefers to use her more in advanced positions, exploiting her attacking abilities in a more frequent and consistent way.
If she joins Lyon, Svava will undoubtedly be battling Selma Bacha for the left-back role, but she can also play as a winger when needed, as she is accustomed to this position and can be a threat when occupying it.
Svava’s roles are often mixed; she is a pacy player with fairly good dribbling abilities, especially on the wing.
More importantly, she usually has a good vision of the pitch and provides a lot of key passes per game, making her very valuable to the teams she plays for.
Her ability to always find a passing solution quickly and accurately makes Svava a very efficient full-back, as she makes things look easy on that side whenever she plays.
Defensively speaking, the 23-year-old surely has to mark opposing wingers often and usually does so with success, although she can always improve in this regard.
Overall, Svava is a reliable defender who can mark well and use her pace to prevent counter-attacks or penetrations from the wing.
In addition, the Danish international can be a goalscorer and has shown some glimpses of what she can do when she gets goalscoring opportunities.
It is true that Svava has not scored many goals in her career so far; yet, she has proven on numerous occasions that she has the potential to score more goals per season, especially with long-range shots.
With a bit more concentration and training on this type of shots, Sofie Svava is capable of increasing the number of her goals because we noticed that she gets a lot of shooting opportunities thanks to second balls, but does not always exploit them in the best possible way.
The following heatmap highlights Svava’s positioning and shows that he covers all the left flank and is comfortable playing in all positions on this side.
This, however, does not mean that she cannot be used as a right winger, for instance.
Playing her as an inverted winger can prove to be a useful experiment, as Svava has the ability to succeed in that role as well.
Sofie Svava Heat Map
Sofie Svava Goalscoring and Playmaking
In terms of goalscoring, the Danish left-back shoots 1.02 times per game with 36.8% shots on target, and that’s a bit low average.
However, we should take into consideration Svava’s defensive position and the fact that her main roles do not include shooting or goalscoring.
Subscribe To TFA To Unlock All Posts - Free 7 Day Trial
Try TFA Free For 7 Days
Gain access to all of TFA's premium contents.More than 12,000+ articles.
