FA WSL Preview: Anouk Hoogendijk, Bristol Academy

Tony Leighton interviews Anouk Hoogendijk, the 25-year-old Netherlands international midfielder who has left FC Utrecht for Bristol Academy. After four years in the Eredivisie she wanted a new challenge and to improve her English; Bristol manager Mark Sampson came to talk to her on a Sunday and she decided the next day. It helped that Jessica Fishlock and Alex Culvin were signing from Eredivisie clubs at the same time – Fishlock, whose family live near Bristol, offered her a Sunday roast, which Hoogendijk had to Google before deciding roast beef sounded good. She argues the Eredivisie, which she helped launch four years earlier, has made Dutch players much fitter and stronger, so they no longer tire against Germany and England, as Euro 2009 showed. She regrets missing out on the World Cup, and jokes that her name may be too long for a shirt.