The Big Interview: Olivia Clark
The Wales international goalkeeper took a first step abroad in the summer, leaving Bristol City for FC Twente, and now she's preparing to face the likes of Chelsea and Real Madrid...
Goalkeeper Olivia Clark is currently in the midst of one of the busiest months of her career so far, but she’s far from complaining about it.
Last week, she was in Scotland playing for new club FC Twente in the Champions League against Celtic, and this week she’s preparing to face Barclays Women’s Super League champions Chelsea, with Real Madrid still to come.
With domestic duties in the Eredivisie occupying her weekends, once her two games in quick succession this week are done, she’s heading back to the United Kingdom for crunch Euro 2025 play-off matches for Wales against Slovakia.
“It’s a busy month, but hopefully a good month,” says the 23-year-old, who is still taking in the opportunities her move to the Netherlands has afforded her. “Playing the Champions League is like…crazy, but that’s why I mainly chose to come here. The opportunity to play Champions League was mad.”
To understand the context behind Clark’s comments, you have to delve deeper into her journey.
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As she admits herself, it’s not that long since she was playing at the seventh level of English football, and even after spending years working her way up, she was generally a number two in the second tier Barclays Women’s Championship, until last season a stroke of luck put her on the map, and potentially led her to getting a move which may never have shown itself otherwise.
Playing for Bristol City, who had just been promoted back to the WSL, Clark was essentially number three behind Fran Bentley and loaned in Arsenal goalkeeper Kaylan Marckese, seeing Clark loaned out to Watford, who were struggling at the bottom end of the Championship after being promoted from the FA Women’s National League.
But injury to Bentley saw Clark recalled, and when Marckese suffered a season-ending injury soon after, Clark found herself starting against the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and this week’s opponents, Chelsea.
“Last season in itself was a rollercoaster,” she laughs. “When I got recalled, I didn’t know what it would mean. I enjoyed it at Watford, I loved the environment there and I was playing every week. I didn’t want to just be sitting on the bench, but as things turned out I ended up playing in the WSL and was thrown into games with not much time to prepare.
“For a long time, I was the only fit goalkeeper, which was interesting! I look back now and those games were some of my favourite games and individually it was something I’d not really experienced. I’d hardly played in the Championship, so to play in the WSL against the very best really helped me, helped me with Wales too.”
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