For Lara Schenk, a new adventure has started in her extraordinary football career. The defender from Hanover moved from Spain to Canada. The 25-year-old is now running in the newly founded Professional League Super League.
The Montreal Roses responsible received a first impression of who they had signed on on the day of the arrival of Lara Schenk. That was the past Tuesday. Despite the long flight from Spain to Canada and the associated jet lag, the former German junior national player stood on the training ground with her new teammates on Wednesday morning. In the dense snow and at temperatures just over zero degrees, the defensive specialist played her first exercise unit.
The first impression is right before
That made an impression on her teammates and coach Robert Rositoiu. “She is only here for a few hours and could have taken the day. The fact that she still appeared showed who she is,” praised the Romanian, praising the Lower Saxon, who had previously lived in Andalusia and was used there other, more pleasant temperatures.
“Last week it was 20 degrees in Spain. This is quite a change. But I’m used to snow, rain and cold from Germany, so it’s okay,” explained the 25-year-old with a laugh. She was recently accumulated for the second division team CD Sporting Club de Huelva. For the “adventure of Canada”, the defender Europe, who came from the town of Seelze in the Hanover region, now left Europe a second time.
Second division games For VfL Wolfsburg
For the first time, Schenk had already dared to jump over the big pond in 2018. At the time, however, not for sporting reasons. She moved to the USA to study at the renowned Harvard University.
The defender gave a great chance of football. Because she had previously played for the B-juniors of VfL Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga. In 2020 she celebrated a comeback at the factory club and ran for the second team of “wolfing” in the second division.
Lara Schenk (right) was trained at VfL Wolfsburg.
Schenk, which also played 25 games for the DFB’s young teams, the door to the professional area was wide open. But the chance to learn at the Elite University in Harvard was more appealing. Especially since she was still young and was able to pursue her big passion there, football, in the college team.
Studied in Harvard – professional debut in Belgium
Schenk studied psychology as well as global Health and Health Policy. After graduating in December 2022, she again hit a new way of life. The defender made a somersault backwards. Because now football was the focus of her life again. The former Wolfsburg woman moved to Belgium to FC Bruges and signed her first professional contract there. A year later, Schenk joined the RSC Anderlecht. There she became a master. However, the Lower Saxon did not set football entirely.
She also worked as an educational and sports consultant at an agency who helps sports students to visit a college in the USA with a sports scholarship. “It is very important to me to offer female players the same opportunities as I had to become a player and people who I am today, through the unique cultural, academic and sporting experiences that US college sports can offer,” explained Schenk in an interview with the “International School Hannover”, which she had visited for 13 years.
Sport -on moving to Spain a step backwards
What the young woman has always driven was curiosity, the world to explore. And also the longing for new football challenges. And so the next stop of the defender was called Huelva in 2024. Sportily, the change should turn out to be a great misunderstanding. Because the team was hardly competitive in the Primera Federación. The German celebrated a success with the club, for which her compatriot Imke Wübbenhorst once had played.
Schenk still enjoyed life in Andalusia with all its advantages (climate, beach, culture). And in the globalized football business, in which almost every professional player is now under constant observation of scouts, her reputation had by no means decreased despite the bankruptcy series with Huelva.
In Northern Super League only German player
“She is an incredibly versatile player. Her two-footed ball control, her tactical skill and her technical skills make her great reinforcement for our defense,” enthused Montreal sports director Marinette Pichon after the 25-year-old’s commitment.
With so much advance laurels, Schenk could not help but praise the praise immediately. “I am very happy to be part of this historical moment for women’s football in Canada. The authentic and community -oriented spirit of the Roses corresponds exactly to my values,” said the defender.
History has already written Lara Schenk. She is the first and only German footballer in the premiere season of the Northern Super League. With a view to her career so far, it can be assumed that she will follow the adventure of Canada many more exciting chapters in her biography.
