The Lionesses are ready to kick off the 2021-22 campaign
The Lionesses are ready to kick off the 2021-22 campaign
Iturregi calls for a “clean slate” after pre-season ahead of the Lionesses’ Primera Iberdrola start on Sunday
Athletic Club Women begin their 2021-22 Primera Iberdrola campaign on Sunday evening with a trip to the Estadio Antiguo Canódromo to face Madrid CFF (18:00 CEST).
Last season the Lionesses finished 12th in the competition and head coach Iraia Iturregi wants to see her side progress after a successful pre-season in which Athletic remained unbeaten and picked up two friendly-tournament trophies.
Nonetheless Iturregi stressed that the pre-season preparations mean nothing if the Lionesses can’t keep their good form going into Primera Iberdrola.
“Now we have to wipe the slate clean, you might have a good pre-season, but not have a good season or the other way around,” Iraia said at a press conference on Friday morning.
“Now the league is starting, the serious stuff begins and we must put pre-season behind us.
“I’m not going in with high expectations just because we’ve had a good pre-season. I know that we’re starting from scratch.
“We are in good shape mentally, physically and in terms of tactical concepts, although we still have plenty of room for improvement in the latter.”
Madrid CFF finished seventh in 2021-22 and Iturregi said they were “an intense team which can hurt you on the counter-attack”.
“They’ve got quick players who can run into space, and do well in the 50-50s. It’s a team that likes to press you,” Iraia said about Sunday’s opponents.
“We’ll be playing on a small pitch where the ball doesn’t roll smoothly, so I’m expecting a tight game. The way I see it, Madrid CFF is a direct rival.”
Iraia Iturregi is certain which teams are likely to lead the way in the standings this season, saying: “In my opinion there are four teams who are a few steps ahead of the rest: FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid and Levante.
“We can get into that second group with teams like Madrid CFF, Granadilla, Sevill FC, Real Sociedad and Valencia CF.”
Athletic Club Women will follow up their match against Madrid CFF with a Basque Derby at San Mamés on the morning of Sunday September 12 (12:00 CEST).
It will be the first time this fixture has ever taken place at The Cathedral. What’s more, with the subscription period for Club Members to obtain tickets ending, the match is now open to the general public.
Tickets will be available on the official club website from Tuesday 7th onwards and will cost €5 for adults and €2 for anyone under the age of 15.