Canada's Vanessa Gilles ready to hunt for soccer trophies with new club Bayern Munich
While winning and having fun can often go hand in hand, they are not always synonymous. Just ask Vanessa Gilles, fresh off a successful soccer season filled with pressure and high expectations playing for a French league powerhouse.
Sure, Lyon went unbeaten in 24 league and playoff matches and the Canadian international played all 90 minutes of a 3-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain for her third straight Women's Champions League title, but there were trying times.
"Winning a trophy is probably the most fun you'll ever have in a career, so I don't take that for granted," the defender told CBC Sports' Andi Petrillo from Winnipeg, where she is preparing for Saturday's international friendly against Haiti with the Canadian national women's team.
"Football-wise, it was very hard, confidence-wise, getting [in a] rhythm and feeling good on the pitch. When the expectation is excellence, it's very hard to live up to."
It was an eye-opener, added the 29-year-old Ottawa native, who often needed to remind herself to enjoy the game.
"When you have the pressure and expectations [placed on you] to be at your best, we're just human," she said, "whether you're Christine Sinclair [the world's top goal scorer among both women and men] or a 12-year-old. It was a huge reminder for me this year."
Next season, the pressure and expectations will follow Gilles to Germany, where she will play for FC Bayern Women, which was knocked out of the Champions League by Lyon in the quarterfinals. The team also cruised to a third consecutive Bundesliga title after finishing the season with a 19-1-2 record.
Gilles, a centre back who was born in Chateauguay, Que., was sold to Bayern Munich after three seasons with Lyon while on loan from Angel City FC of