Booth insists City’s fancy flight is no Euro flight of fancy
Glasgow City face a trip into uncharted territory when they fly out to Spain on Wednesday.
Scott Booth’s side play Wolfsburg in a one-off Women’s Champions League quarter-final on Friday.
If they lose, the 13-times Scottish champions will return to Scotland on Saturday.
Should they upset all the odds and beat the German champions, however, they will stay on in San Sebastian and play either Atletico Madrid or Barcelona in another oneleg semi-final a week on Tuesday.
All seven games, including next Sunday’s final in Bilbao, will be played behind closed doors, with the eight competing teams subject to stringent Covid-19 protocols.
The other four clubs involved are Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and holders, Lyon.
It is the second time Glasgow City have made the quarterfinals, the previous being in 2014-15 when they lost 7-0 on aggregate to PSG.
At the time, City co-founder Laura Montgomery summed up the huge financial gulf between the clubs when she quipped: “PSG fly by private jet and Glasgow City by easyJet.”
On Wednesday, for the first time in their 22-year history, City will also be on a specially-chartered flight.
They are able to do so, thanks to the generosity of Edinburgh philanthropist James Anderson.
The financier, who has also donated money to the SPFL clubs and grassroots football, is picking up the tab for the return flights.
He has also met the costs of all of City’s Covid-19 testing.
Without his extraordinary support, the Scottish club might have been forced to withdraw from the tournament, giving Wolfsburg a bye.
City head coach Booth said “He’s a remarkable man, he really is. I’ve never seen anything like this in all my days in football.”
City have strengthened their squad with a number of summer signings, including South Africa captain and central defender, Janine van Wyk.
Even so, they face a massive task against Wolfsburg, who have won the Champions League twice.
Their stars include German captain, Alexandra Popp (inset), Polish striker, Ewa Pajor, and Danish playmaker, Pernille Harder. “They are a top, top team, particularly going forward when they are world-class,” Booth confirmed. City’s last competitive game was on February 21, when they lost 2-1 to Celtic in the only game of the now null-and-void 2020 SWPL1 season.
Wolfsburg, by contrast, were able to return at the end of May, thanks to the German Solidarity Fund.
They wrapped up a fifth-successive Bundesliga title the following month.
“We know they’re a better side with better money, but it’s a one-off game,” Booth pointed out.
“When you get a game like this, with one team the massive underdogs and hungry to play a game after five months, you just never know.”