CanWNT hopeful Clarissa Larisey on time in NCAA, first professional contract in Iceland 2021-05-20
Benedict Rhodes, CanPL.ca Contributor
After turning heads at the University of Memphis, Canadian forward Clarissa Larisey is jumping straight into the professional game.
When the NCAA season came to a close, the Ottawa, Ontario native wanted to start playing professionally “sooner rather than later,” and with the Úrvalsdeild kvenna (the top women’s soccer league in Iceland) season beginning this month, she packed her bags and headed to Reykjavík.
She announced on May 5 that she had signed with the country’s top club, Valur, where she made her debut on Wednesday. After a seven-day quarantine period in Iceland, and a few weeks of training, she started for the reigning title-holders, playing the first 64 minutes in a 4-2 win over ÍBV.
Former Canadian international Rhian Wilkinson now part of England coaching setup ckom.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ckom.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The 38-year-old left Canada Soccer in January to join interim England head coach Hege Riise as an assistant. Wilkinson wanted to get out of her comfort zone and add to her skill set with an eye to coaching Canada in the future. I m really loving it, Wilkinson said in an interview Monday. Obviously it s a scary thing to do, to leave what you re used to and leave the people you re so close with after so many years of working together. But I ve been very welcomed into this environment. The players have been fantastic and very willing to have new coaching leadership but also new ideas brought to the field. So it s been a lot of fun.
Neil Davidson
Canada s Rhian Wilkinson, from left to right, Mexico s Renae Cuellar and Canada s Emily Zurrer vie for the ball during the first half of a women s international friendly soccer game in Vancouver, B.C., on Sunday November 24, 2013. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck April 12, 2021 - 12:40 PM
After representing Canada 181 times as a player and then serving as a Canada Soccer staff coach, Rhian Wilkinson will get a different view of the Canadian women when they play England on Tuesday in Stoke-on-Trent.
Wilkinson will be in the English coaching dugout.
The 38-year-old left Canada Soccer in January to join interim England head coach Hege Riise as an assistant. Wilkinson wanted to get out of her comfort zone and add to her skill set with an eye to coaching Canada in the future.