The French national team is one of the strongest teams currently and historically in Women’s football. Lyon are probably the most decorated club in Women’s football and are the current Champions League holders. Leading the line for both sides would come with a lot of pressure and expectation to keep up the reputations and some would be crushed with that responsibility, Eugénie Le Sommer leads the line with pleasure.
Born in Grasse, in the south east of France, Le Sommer was one of seven children and took after her mother in wanting to be a football player. That infatuation shaped her formative years and she constantly pleaded with her mother to allow her to join a football academy. Le Sommer’s relentlessness eventually broke her mother down and she was allowed to join Trelissac FC.
As she grew up, she continued going through the youth system in France and that led her to joining FC Lorient, one of the biggest clubs in women’s youth football in France in 2004. The 15-year-old enjoyed plenty of success at Lorient as she helped her side win a number of youth trophies. Her progression allowed her to be selected to join France’s feted and most recognisable academies; CNFE Clairefontaine. That year in Clairefontaine prepared her for top level football in France and she was signed by Stade Briochin.
Her debut season with the Brittany club saw the forward score four goals and she appeared in every single league game. She built on that first season with an improved second season where she got into double figures and scored 10 goals in the full 22 game league schedule. Her breakout year came in her third season of Division 1 football, she was the league’s top scorer as she got 19 goals in 22 games and was named UNFP Player of the Year.
As a reward for her progress in the French league, league champions Lyon took an interest and she joined them at the beginning of the 2010/2011 season. Since then Le Sommer hasn’t looked back. She has plundered goals in the league, in the cup and in Europe continuously every season as the Lyon team has gone on to unprecedented success. Lyon have won the Division 1 title 11 times in a row; Le Sommer has been a part of the last 7 titles and they are currently well on their way to number 8 this year. Le Sommer’s arrival coincided with the beginning of success in Europe for the French side. In her first season with the club, Lyon won the Champions League and have won it another three times since then. Le Sommer was even top scorer in the competition in the second of those triumphs.
Le Sommer has all the attributes of a fantastic goal scorer, she very rarely misses the target with her efforts and her work rate and aggressive pressing means she can always create an opportunity out of nothing. However, for the French national team, Le Sommer gets the chance to display a new set of talents as she is often deployed in an attacking midfield position as the main creative hub in the side. Le Sommer has one of the best touches in the game and her vision never lets her down. As of today, she has 138 French caps with 61 goals.
Le Sommer has built a reputation for herself as a player that can always be replied on. She will always stand up and be counted and that has been reflected in the number of important goals she scores.