Renée Slegers was delighted with our performance as we secured a historic victory over Corinthians in the inaugural FIFA Women's Champions Cup Final.
We led twice in normal time, only for the South American champions to equalise as many times, before Caitlin Foord struck the winner in the first half of extra time.
Our head coach felt that we earned the right to win against a difficult opponent.
“Very proud, in the semi-final we said we had to earn the right to play together in the final, and we did," Renée said after the game, "“It was a hard game and we knew it was going to be much more difficult, this one.
"Corinthians did really well against Gotham. They played with a lot of intensity, energy, passion and very high discipline defending their goal and that’s what they did tonight so it’s hard to break down.
“But of course, after the penalty, 2-2 and it going to extra time, I’m just really proud with the different momentum shifts in the game and how we managed that, it wasn’t easy for us tonight, but we got the win.”
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Success in the Champions Cup follows on from our historic Champions League win in May, and Renée felt that our win over Corinthians was a fitting way to continue that journey.
“Definitely, that’s why it’s a special trophy, it’s what we achieved last year and also it puts us in the position to compete in this competition.
“So really proud, it was really nice and challenging to play against the champions from other continents, and of course I’m happy we won it.”
“Before the game we spoke about staying in the middle (emotionally), not too high, not too low, always bring yourself back to the middle, the controlled middle because that’s when we perform at our best and I think the players were excellent tonight.”
With a new piece of silverware to add to the cabinet, Renée was asked if there's a spot waiting for the Champions Cup trophy.
“I’m not sure, it’s quite heavy! It can have different functions but I think we’ll just put it somewhere nice so we can see it and remember."
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