Van Wyk excited about Champions League debut
Janine van Wyk has expressed her excitement about the opportunity of playing in the Uefa Women’s Champions League for Glasgow City FC.
Banyana captain Janine van Wyk (Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix)
The Banyana Banyana captain will be hoping to make into the starting line-up when they face German side Wolfsburg in the one leg quarterfinals clash at Anoeta Stadium in Spain on Friday.
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Having played at numerous international tournaments, Van Wyk says playing in the Champions League is something that she always wished for.
“I’m super excited to compete in the Champions League,” she told The Guardian. “It was always something I wanted to achieve, so I’m super stoked about it. I’ve played in the World Cup, I’ve played in the Olympic Games, in the African Cup of Nations for Women and now another major tournament in the Champions League. It’s a real accomplishment for me just to play in this game.”
The central defender, who has been hailed as a top signing for the Scottish side, says they know what they are going up against with Wolfsburg, but they have been working hard to prepare for the clash.
“We know that we’re the underdogs in the last eight and the teams we’re going to be facing are giants in European football, so they would come out and probably underestimate us and the quality we bring,” Van Wyk added.
“We’re working extremely hard in training to get the best out of each other, to get as fit as possible, to be able to maintain the level that Wolfsburg will bring. But we’re putting no pressure on ourselves, we’re going to learn as much as we can from this game and the pressure will basically be on Wolfsburg to try and break us down. It’s a one-off game in a neutral venue, anything can happen, football is unpredictable.”
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