The United States captain, Lindsey Heaps prepares to take on two of her national team colleagues on Saturday, one of eleven members of the squad playing in Europe.
Heaps (née Horan) is one of a select group of United States internationals to have won the Champions League having played for Lyon in their 2022 victory in the competition. This season, she is one of five players from the country still involved at the semi-final stage (a sixth Mia Fishel is ineligible to play this season).
Facing Arsenal in the semifinals, with the first leg in London on Saturday, Heaps will come face-to-face with her international teammates Emily Fox and Jenna Nighswonger guaranteeing that a United States player will feature in May’s final in Lisbon. The captain of the national team said she will not talk to either Arsenal player ahead of the game, beyond a nod of acknowledgement, but has indulged in some trash-talking during this month’s international camp.
Heaps said, “these moments don’t happen a lot. I think this past camp, I was giving Foxy as much crap as I possibly could and trying to, you know, chip at her a little bit. For me, it’s really cool to see her thriving in that environment in a team that, like I said before – I love the way Arsenal play.”
“I really respect the team in general and to see her go and make that big move and play well and be a very impactful player for the team as well. That’s really special for me to see as a captain. I’m someone that I want all of my players to be doing well – not just this weekend I hope!”
On paper, Arsenal and Lyon are the two most consistently successful sides in the history of the women’s Champions League. In terms of games played and won in the competition, Arsenal sit second on the all-time lists behind Lyon, only the French side have played in more semifinals (13) than Arsenal who have reached their eighth this season.
However, while Lyon has gone on to win 11 of those previous semifinals, winning the Champions League a record-breaking eight times, Arsenal has only won once at this stage, in 2007, on their way to their only victory in the competition. They remain the only English side to lift the trophy in 23 years.
14 years ago, Lyon won their only previous semifinal against Arsenal on their way to their first European victory in 2011. Captain Wendie Renard, who will make her 125th appearance in the Champions League at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, and Éugenie Le Sommer survive in the French side from that tie as does current Arsenal captain Kim Little.
Ahead of Lyon’s quarterfinal against FC Bayern last month, the German team’s defender Magda Eriksson picked out the French side’s front three of Tabitha Chawinga, Melchie Dumornay and Kadidiatou Diani as their “x-factor players”. Each player scored in the second leg against FC Bayern.
Dumornay scored in both legs after being voted the Best Young Player in the Champions League last season. Heaps lavished her with praise. “For me personally, she is one of the best players in the world. She makes my life easier. I think she makes her team’s life easier. The things that she can do, it’s incredible.”
“I think she relieves so much pressure and to have that kind of player up high on the field to be so dominant a goalscoring threat, getting in behind the back-line and things you’ve probably seen of her but also to be able to hold up the ball, and play, and to combine.”
“I think her game has taken a different turn this year. It’s not just the goals that you are seeing, I think you are seeing so much more. Even off the ball, the defensive work, those type of things – defending transitions – the really little nitty-gritty things. Some people don’t see them, but I get to see them every single day in training and I think she gets rewarded with the goals she scores or with assists. I think her game has come full circle there, where there’s so many attributes that she has now. I mean what a special player.”
“I always think, ‘how the heck would I play against her?’ That’s the big question for their back-line – how do you want to play against our back three? With the things that they can do, they can make it really difficult in all areas of the game. I think that’s just the special quality that we have up there.”
“They can get it to feet, they can get it behind, they can hold up the ball. There’s a lot of different things, but Arsenal has a very strong back-line and we have to be good too. We have to be at our best to exploit them, so again that’s why it makes it a special challenge for both teams.”
It is games like these which persuaded Heaps to lead a growing exodus of leading United States internationals to join leading clubs throughout the big European leagues. The captain is now one of eleven members of the squad who could play in the women’s Champions League next season.
Heaps admitted that the competition and the increased earning potential of playing in Europe could persuade more to cross the Atlantic. “You play a lot of time in the NWSL like I did, I wanted a different challenge. It wasn’t anything against the NWSL but I wanted to come and play in the Champions League again, I wanted to come and play for a big club like this. Maybe it’s also what these players felt.”
“I think also the salary cap – there’s a salary cap in the NWSL and I think that’s an ongoing issue there that hopefully can be changed or increased. I think that’s a factor in the NWSL and for players coming overseas.”
The first leg of the UEFA Women’s Champions League semi-final between Arsenal and Olympique Lyonnais will be streamed live on the DAZN platform on Saturday at 1730 EST
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