‘We suck, plain and simple’ Say Norwegian female Football Team

These Norwegian football players took to film-making, and the result is hilarious

PROFESSIONAL sportsmen and women are usually so guarded, often dishing out the standard cliches about “taking it one game at a time” and “giving 110 per cent” when forced to comment at compulsory, often yawn-inducing press conferences.That’s what makes it so remarkable that Norway’s national women’s football team has done what it has with their time away from. the pitch.

Teaming up with Norway’s national TV broadcaster NRK, the side has produced a hilarious “mockumentary” addressing sexist stereotypes and critics who say the women’s game is no match for the men’s.
During the four-minute video, the Scandinavian players — in mock seriousness — reveal to an “interviewer” how much they struggle at soccer.
Midfielder Emilie Have acknowledges how she sometimes forgets to use her feet and instead tends to pick up the ball.
Goalkeeper Ingrid Hjelmseth complains the goal is too large, and says it would be easier with two keepers or, better still, three.
“We suck, plain and simple,” veteran defender Trine Ronning says in the Norwegian-language film, which features English subtitles
The Norwegians pretend to send FIFA suggestions on how to improve the women’s game. Their proposals include smaller pitches, lighter balls and having players throw the ball off free kicks.
They even produce a letter from FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who sums up his “response” to the proposals by writing: “HAHAHA these suggestions made my day. LOL.”
Posted to YouTube on June 15, the video has attracted nearly 270,000 hits.
“For me, it’s good humour,” said Ronning.
“It was a way for us to tell the people that we don’t care about it, because the product is very, very good, as it’s been shown in many matches in this tournament. We just have to joke about it.”
Norway’s run at the Women’s World Cup is over after England defeated them 2-1 in their Round of 16 clash.
Sixth-ranked England were trailing after Solveig Gulbrandsen headed in for Norway after 54 minutes in Ottawa.
But second-half goals from captain Steph Houghton and defender Lucy Bronze gave England their first win in the knockout round of the tournament.
Bronze got the winner with 14 minutes to go with a powerful long range shot from 25 metres out.
“England scored on their first scoring chance to level the game and we started to struggle. We became stressed,” lamented Norway coach Even Pellerud.
England will meet Canada to play off for a berth in the semis, while in other quarter-final matches, Germany play France, the USA play China and Australia will meet either Japan or the Netherlands.
— with AP & AFP