She is a European champion, a two-time treble-winner and now she is a She-Wolf! Shanice van de Sanden has made the move from Olympique Lyon to VfL Wolfsburg with immediate effect, with the 27-year-old striker signing a contract to keep her at the club through to 30 June 2022. The German double-winners have given her the number 22 jersey.
Van de Sanden has scored 18 goals in 79 appearances for the Dutch national team, helping them win the Euro in 2017 and finish runners-up at the 2019 Women’s World Cup. With Lyon, she has won the past three Women’s Champions League titles in a row, defeating VfL Women in the final both in the 2017/18 season and just a few short weeks ago in the finals tournament in San Sebastian.
Impressive haul of silverware
Utrecht-born Van de Sanden has a bulging trophy cabinet, with three French league titles and two cup wins, two BeNe-League titles with FC Twente and another two Dutch Cup winners’ medals, which she picked up with FC Utrecht in 2009/10 and Twente in 2014/15. She joined the French record champions in summer 2017, just after playing her first ever season abroad with Liverpool. Prior to that, the right-footed striker had plied her trade with Utrecht (2008 – 2010), SC Heerenveen (2010/2011) and Twente (2011 – 2016).
“Outstanding individual qualities”
“I’m really looking forward to moving to VfL Wolfsburg,” said Van de Sanden. “VfL have been at the absolute peak of European football for a number of years now and I obviously want to be challenging for titles with them in the future. I can hardly wait to join the team and take up this new challenge.”
“I’m absolutely delighted that we’ve managed to sign Shanice,” added Ralf Kellermann, sporting director of VfL Women. “She’s a successful player with international experience who was part of the Olympique Lyon team that has dominated the Champions League in recent years, and also played a big role in the success of her national team. Shanice will be a great addition to our squad with her outstanding individual abilities and I’m confident that her qualities as a team player will see her fit in right away.”
