Lara Joy Dickenmann (born 27 November 1985) is a Swiss

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 le ...

. She played for German club

VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg () or Wolfsburg, is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of W ...

and with French club

Olympique Lyonnais Olympique Lyonnais (), commonly referred to as simply Lyon () or OL, is a men and women's French professional football club based in Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The men play in France's highest football division, Ligue 1. Founded in 1950, th ...

. She is a versatile footballer who can play as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

or a full-back on either side of the field. She formerly played on the college level at the

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

breaking many records and earning several player honors. In 2008, Dickenmann departed the university and joined D1 Féminine club Lyon. Dickenmann is also a member of the

Switzerland women's national football team The Switzerland women's national football team represents Switzerland in international women's football. The team played its first match in 1972. Switzerland qualified for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada by winning their qualifyin ...

. She starred for the national team at youth level and made her senior debut in August 2002 at the age of 16 against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, scoring in a 2–1 defeat.

Career

Youth career

Dickenmann was born in the town of

Kriens Kriens is a city and a municipality in the district of Lucerne in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. The municipality lies at the foot of the mountain Pilatus, and is a western suburb of Lucerne. History In the oldest documents of the Bened ...

located in the

Canton of Lucerne The canton of Lucerne (german: Kanton Luzern rm, Chantun Lucerna french: Canton de Lucerne it, Canton Lucerna) is a canton of Switzerland. It is located in the centre of Switzerland. The population of the canton (as of ) is . , the populati ...

. She began her career with the boy's section of local outfit

SC Kriens SC Kriens is a football club based in Kriens, Switzerland, who currently play in the Swiss Challenge League. They currently play at the Stadion Kleinfeld and form a local rivalry with FC Lucerne. SC Kriens women's team plays in the Nationallig ...

spending seven years at the club. In 2000, she joined DFC Sursee. Dickenmann gained notice for her performance with her national team's youth sides helping the Swiss U-19 team reach the 2002 and 2004

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

and winning three league championships and two league cups with Sursee. For her efforts during the 2003–04 season, Dickenmann was named the Swiss Player of the Year.

Collegiate career

In 2004, Dickenmann decided to move to the United States of America to play

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

at the

. In her freshman season, she was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, as well as the nation's Freshman of the Year by numerous publications. She was also deemed a second-team All-American by the

NSCAA The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than 30 ...

. Dickenmann established single-season records for OSU in goals scored (13) and assisted on (12) helping Ohio State reach the

Elite 8 In the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship or the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight teams, representing the regional finals, or national quarterfinals. In Division I and Divis ...

in the NCAA national tournament. In her

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

season, due to earning call ups to the Swiss national team, Dickenmann missed significant playing time. However, she still earned all-

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

honors after being selected to the second team. Her

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

season was more spectacular as she was named Ohio State's

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

and was also selected as a first-team All-American by the NSCAA. On 14 December 2008, Dickenmann graduated from the university after completing a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

international business International business refers to the trade of goods, services, technology, capital and/or knowledge across national borders and at a global or transnational scale. It involves cross-border transactions of goods and services between two or more ...

. She departed the university the career leader in assists (32), second in total points (89), and seventh in goals scored (27). Dickenmann was also a three-time

Academic All-American and a four-time Ohio State Scholar Athlete. She was the first Ohio State women's soccer player to earn an appearance on the

Hermann Trophy The Hermann Trophy is awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top men's and women's college soccer players. History In 1967, Bob Hermann, the president of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and the ...

watch list. The trophy is awarded to the top soccer player in the country. Lara Dickenmann (Olympique Lyonnais)

Professional career

During the offseasons when Dickenmann was in college, in an effort to continue playing high level soccer and still maintain her college eligibility, she starred with the

New Jersey Wildcats The New Jersey Wildcats is an American women’s soccer team, founded by Vincent Baldino in 1996. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues W-League, the second tier of women’s soccer in the United States and Canada. The team played ...

in 2006 and in 2007, played for

Jersey Sky Blue Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues was an American women’s soccer team, founded in 2006. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues USL W-League, W-League, the second tier of women’s soccer in the United States and Canada. The team p ...

. With Jersey Sky Blue, Dickenmann was named the W-League Most Valuable Player for the 2007 W-League season. Following her senior season at Ohio State, she played half a season with

FC Zürich Frauen FC Zürich Frauen is a women's association football club from Zürich, Switzerland. Its first team plays since the founding of the Swiss national league in 1970 in the first division. The team has won 23 national championships and has won the Cup ...

, the women's section of popular Swiss club

FC Zürich Fussballclub Zürich, commonly abbreviated to FC Zürich or simply FCZ, is a Swiss football club based in Zürich. The club was founded in 1896 and has won the Swiss Super League 13 times and the Swiss Cup 10 times. The most recent titles a ...

helping the team win the 2008–09 league championship. Prior to graduating, it was announced that Dickenmann would be joining Division 1 Féminine club Olympique Lyonnais in 2009. Dickenmann joined the club mid-season during the 2008–09 season and was limited to only four appearances, though she did score two goals. Lyon were later declared champions of the league winning by a very wide margin. For the 2009–10 season, Dickenmann was named a starter and began the season on a positive note scoring a goal in Lyon's 6–0 win over

Montigny-le-Bretonneux Montigny-le-Bretonneux () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the south-western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris, in the "new town" of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines ...

. On 29 November 2009, she scored her first professional

hat trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

in a 9–0 victory over

ESOF Vendée La Roche-sur-Yon ESOF Vendée La Roche (''Etoile Sportive Ornaysienne de Football Vendée La Roche-sur-Yon'') is a French women's football club founded in 1978 and is based in La Roche-sur-Yon, in the Vendée department of the Pays de la Loire. The women's footb ...

. In April 2015 Dickenmann agreed a transfer to

International career

Dickenmann starred with the Swiss women's under-19 team in both the 2002 and 2004

. In both editions, the Swiss failed to get out of the group stage. On 14 August 2002, at the age 16, she made her international debut in a match against

. Switzerland lost the match 2–1, but Dickenmann was responsible for the Swiss's only goal scoring it in the 33rd minute. Since her debut, Dickenmann has been a regular in the squad appearing in teams that attempted to qualify 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, England and Cheshire, England. The UEFA Women's Championship is a regular tournament ...

, 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 association football competition for women held in China from 10 to 30 September 2007. Originally, China was to host the 2003 edition, but th ...

, and

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 ...

; all of which the Swiss have failed to qualify for. Dickenman and Switzerland also missed out on qualification for 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 women's national association football teams. It was held from 26 June to 17 July 2011 in Germany, which won the right to host the even ...

. She scored her first goal of the qualification process in a 2–0 victory over the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

converting a penalty.

Career statistics

Club

''Statistics accurate as of match played 13 September 2015''

International

C11 Lara Dickenmann 111023 Sverige-Schweiz 3-0 8409

:''(Correct as of 18 May 2012)''

Honours

Club

;Zürich Frauen * Nationalliga A: Winner 2008–09 ;Lyon *

Division 1 Féminine The Division 1 Féminine, shortened as D1 Féminine or D1F, and currently known as D1 Arkema for sponsorship reasons, is the highest division of women's football in France. Run by the French Football Federation, the league is contested by twel ...

: Winner 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15 *

Coupe de France Féminine A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...

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

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. The ...

: Winner 2010–11, 2011–12 ;VfL Wolfsburg *

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

: Winner 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20 *

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considere ...

: Winner 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20,

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

Personal

She is openly lesbian and married with her former teammate Anna Blässe.https://www.blick.ch/sport/fussball/frauen-fussball/womens-super-league/champions-league-siegerin-wechselt-nach-zuerich-gc-sportchefin-dickenmann-nimmt-ehefrau-unter-vertrag-id17538880.html

References

External links

*
Reference website

Lyon player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickenmann, Lara 1985 births Living people Sportspeople from Lucerne Swiss women's footballers Swiss expatriate sportspeople in France Swiss expatriate sportspeople in the United States Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Germany Ohio State Buckeyes women's soccer players Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States Expatriate women's footballers in Germany Olympique Lyonnais Féminin players VfL Wolfsburg (women) players Expatriate women's footballers in France USL W-League (1995–2015) players Switzerland women's international footballers 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup players Women's association football midfielders Women's association football defenders FIFA Century Club New Jersey Wildcats players Swiss Women's Super League players FC Zürich Frauen players Division 1 Féminine players Frauen-Bundesliga players UEFA Women's Euro 2017 players Swiss expatriate women's footballers