Sydney FC Westfield W-League Head Coach Alen Stajcic believes the Sky Blues progress in the International Women’s Club Championship is putting Australian women’s football firmly on the map.
Sydney FC Westfield W-League Head Coach Alen Stajcic believes the Sky Blues progress in the International Women-s Club Championship is putting Australian women-s football firmly on the map.
Stajcic-s team beat the highly fancied Japanese league runners-up NTV Beleza 1-0 in their opening match of the tournament on Saturday afternoon and will now face Chelsea Ladies FC in the semi-finals on Wednesday night.
“We celebrated Saturday night by acknowledging a great team effort and great discipline to beat a world class team,” he said.
“We also celebrated the fact that the Westfield W-League is powerful, strong and an essential component of Australia’s football landscape.
“Hopefully we-ve gained some more international respect as well.”
Following the win Sydney FC have had a recovery session and are focusing on their next opponents but they have found time to experience the other things around them.
“We are all enjoying Japan,” Stajcic continued. “The culture, the people and everything away from football is amazing.”
“The players are all healthy and the mood in the camp has been great.
“It-s a fantastic bonding experience for the group but we-re fully focused on the fact that only one part of the job is done.”
Although Japanese clubs are considered among the best in the world, Stajcic is under no illusions about the size of the upcoming task.
“We-ve two massive games to go to finish as high as we possibly can in this competition.
“They [Chelsea FC] have added four quality internationals for this tournament so they will be an extremely tough opponent,” he concluded.
Sydney FC W-League Memberships are now on sale from the Sydney FC website or by calling 02 8314 5101.
Membership is priced at $80 or $55 for existing Sydney FC Members and provides access to all home games, including the double header at Allianz Stadium, plus exclusive Sydney FC W-League Merchandise.
