Real Madrid: A thank you to Sofia Jakobsson for setting the foundation

As Real Madrid fans rejoice extensions given to a few key players, including leading goal-scorer Kosovare Asllani, we must also acknowledge the players who will be departing the club after a historic first season under the “Real Madrid” name. And no absence will loom larger than that of fellow Swedish international and original Galactica, Sofia Jakobsson.

Real Madrid’s best player in that first 2019-2020 season as CD Tacon when the transition was beginning, Jakobsson stood out as a model of consistency. Las Blancas were not yet even close to the finished product, yet Jakobsson, Kosovare Asllani, third Galactic Chioma Ubogagu, and the other key veterans, such as Jessica Martinez up top, helped ensure Tacon would remain in the top flight for a Real Madrid takeover with even more new faces in 2020-2021.

Las Blancas changed for the better this past season with shrewd signings like Marta Cardona, Maite Oroz, Misa, Olga Carmona, and so many more emerging as stars, and Asllani was the Player of the Season with a team-high 16 goals.

Jakobsson played a more low-key role on the wing as compared to the central exploits of Asllani, but she was still plenty influential in Real Madrid’s historic achievement of qualifying for the Champions League in their first true season.

Sofia Jakobsson was a hard-working, world-class attacker for Real Madrid

She scored eight goals and nine assists, tying Asllani’s 17 total goal contributions. In fact, no player had more assists than Jakobsson, with only Flash Cardona beating her out in the total goal contributions column with 20.

There are so many things that stand out about Jakobsson, who is as true of a professional as you will find in football. Her pace and non-stop energy reserves made her a constant threat down the flanks, to the point where you knew you always had a chance of a comeback when she was on the pitch. And Jakobsson had the versatility to score or assist from either flank, giving a fluidity to the Real Madrid attack that benefited Cardona and Asllani in more ways than even the stat sheet shows.

Jakobsson has not received the same plaudits as some of her teammates, but Madridistas very much understand how central she has been to their success. And although we are sad to hear that she will be leaving for a new opportunity and wish the club could have given her a more competitive salary (she has made it clear she did not want to leave the club), we are incredibly grateful for the foundation she has helped set here with her quality and equally classy attitude.

It’s so important for a new club to have experienced leaders who can set the tone and create the professional environment necessary in the dressing room, especially a club with the prestige of Real Madrid. Jakobsson was a massive part of this, and I cannot thank her enough for being one of the perfect people to create this quick standard of high sporting success. It is thus no surprise to see that she is a wanted player on the market, and I wish her nothing but the greatest of success in her next steps.

Thank you for everything, Sofia Jakobsson.

And Hala Madrid!