“A genuine team player”: How BK Häcken have tactically adjusted to cope without Stine Larsen – scout report

When asked to describe striker Stine Larsen, Denmark and former BK Häcken teammate Mille Gejl used the phrase “the ultimate team player”, which is incredibly high praise from one player to give to another and shows the high esteem within which she is held.

There is little doubt over Larsen’s talent, but what makes her such an intelligent player is the way in which she operates, with her often making moves and creating spaces for others without being noticed, and that is why, despite not being a double-digit goalscorer for Häcken since joining them in 2021 from Aston Villa Women, she is someone that they hold in very high regard.

It was therefore a huge blow for the Swedish side when the news came out last month that, just three games into the 2023 Damallsvenskan season, Larsen had joined the long list of female players to have suffered an ACL injury, with the announcement of her long-term absence coming just days before England captain Leah Williamson’s. With Häcken allowing last season’s club top scorer Pauline Hammarlund to depart in January for Fiorentina Femmenile, there was suddenly some concern as to how they would deal with the losses of their two first-choice centre forwards.

Häcken, to their credit, have found a way of playing without them and are still picking up results, with the decision being to use Canada forward Clarissa Larisey in the central attacking role and to change their tactics to suit her abilities. This tactical analysis will look at how they have made that transition and why it has helped them to maintain their strong start to the campaign.

With Stine Larsen

The most obvious thing to see when watching Larsen play is that she is not someone who tends to drop back as often, with her very much at home when playing in advanced areas and looking to get into spaces behind opposing defensive lines.

As a result, BK Häcken have more often than not deployed a direct style of play that sees them move the ball towards her at the earliest opportunity, allowing her to break behind opponents before they have had a chance to close off the gaps ahead of her.

However, there is more to her play than that, with many who have studied her performances noting that she doesn’t only stay in the central channel and instead drifts out towards both wings as well. This is evident in this situation, during the game against Vittsjö, with the ball just inside the opposing half and already being sent towards the Denmark international, but whilst staying inside the far channel due to Larsen moving over towards that side of the field.