Meet Cardiff City’s potential Champions League opponents
In three weeks’ time, Cardiff City will know who their first opponents will be in this season’s UEFA Women’s Champions League.
Barcelona were crowned champions for the third time in their history as they defeated Lyon in Bilbao, but the next edition of the competition is about to begin, with the final being held at the Estádio José Alvalade, home of Sporting Lisbon.
For the Bluebirds, they enter in the first qualifying round of the champions path. They will be an unseeded team for the initial semi-final draw and will have to face off against a seeded team.
We take a closer look at just some of the teams that could be lying in wait for Iain Darbyshire’s team.
erhaps the best side in the first qualifying round are Portuguese giants Benfica.
The Eagles have really come into their own in the past couple of years, putting together a squad of young players with high potential. That decision has really paid off, as they’ve won four consecutive league titles, along with one Portuguese Cup and three Portuguese League Cups. They were, however, pushed all the way by Sporting Lisbon this year, and pipped their city rivals to the title by two points.
But what of that young squad, and who are the danger players? Well, striker Kika Nazareth finished as the league’s top scorer, and has already been linked with Chelsea and Barcelona. Fellow forward Jéssica Silva has played in the NWSL, while midfielder Andreia Norton is the team’s creative force.
Benfica are also a very experienced European side. Since group stages became part of the UWCL three years ago, the Eagles have reached that stage every single time. In the first two seasons they finished third in the group, but last time out reached the knockout stages for the first time, pipping Eintracht Frankfurt to second place, and even managed to pick up a 4-4 draw with Barcelona. However, they were drawn against Lyon in the quarter final, and lost 6-2 on aggregate.
Another team who are serial winners in their own country are Dutch side FC Twente.
Based in the city of Enschede, Twente have been the most successful side in the history of women’s football in the Netherlands. With nine league titles, including winning this year’s Eredivisie, no other team has won more than them, including giants Ajax. Add to that three Dutch Cups and two Dutch Super Cups, and you realise just how driven this Twente team are.
The team also boasts a lot of talent, and it isn’t surprising. Twente have produced so many talented Dutch players. Kerstin Casparij is now at Manchester City, Daphne van Domselaar is Aston Villa’s number one, while Lynn Wilms is a regular for Wolfsburg. Looking at this current crop, the danger players are certainly Kayleigh van Dooren, Elena Dhont, and Marisa Olislagers.
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