Coach Patrice Lair came to Lyon in 2010 and had four successful years at the club.

Among other things, the team went undefeated for 3.5 years.

From the beginning, Lotta Schelin also had a good picture of her new coach.

"When he took over the team, he initially contributed to a necessary change.

He shook, raised the level of training.

He was straightforward and really dared to speak out, he made demands and was clear.

We built a winning culture ", says Schelin in the book she has written together with her wife Rebecca.

But when Lair had been in the club for over a year, things had changed.

"He became more and more paranoid, read everything in the newspapers to see what we had said to journalists, was around people at the club and checked if we players had talked to anyone in the management."

"We were broken down"

Schelin describes an environment where Lair had a lot of power that he abused.

"During the four years Patrice was in Lyon, I rode a mental roller coaster, his leadership was extreme, it was sick how he broke down players, how he controlled us and punished us.

We were devastated by the destructive environment, we were like zombies.

He made it burst for me many times.

Sometimes when I was standing in the shower, the water mixed with tears, when I could not keep up the guard. ”

According to Schelin, Lair often punished his players.

The former national team star writes about a time when she was a few minutes late for training and was forced to run around the pitch the entire training, even though she had a sore knee.

"Some of what I'm most proud of"

Schelin suffered from headache problems during large parts of his career and that was also what made him have to quit in 2018.

"I suspect it has not been good for my headache problem.

That I became an expert at pushing myself rock hard, not listening to my body.

Like when we did nod training for 90 minutes, something I for medical reasons should really avoid but which Patrice did with great respect. ”

Looking back, she is still proud that she managed that time and delivered at the highest level.

"That I managed to withstand the brutal mental pressure it meant during these four years and also managed to perform at a high level, that is one of the things I am most proud of in my career."