Shelina Zadorsky: ‘I have so much pride playing for Spurs’

Leading Tottenham Hotspur Women out at the Emirates Stadium for a record-breaking North London derby in the Women’s Super League on Saturday - it’s going to be a proud moment for Shelina Zadorsky.

Ahead of the weekend, we caught up with our Canadian defender to chat about excitement for the season ahead, living in London, and the upcoming release of FIFA 23.

Shelina, quite simply, what does the North London derby mean to you?

“I have so much pride playing for Spurs. To see where we’ve come from and all the people before me who put in the work to build it up to where it is now, that stage for women’s football, how much support it’s getting and the direction it’s heading in, to play a derby game in front of that many people, I’m really excited.”

As captain of Spurs leading the team out in front of 50,000 plus fans, how will that feel?

“In those moments, you try to just be yourself. I always want to try to bring positive energy and build people’s confidence. It’s going to be loud out there, but I think communication, body language and putting in strong tackles to lead by action - all of those things influence your teammates. We have such a good group of people and I just want to help people get their best performances out.”

Is it important to try not to pay too much attention to the occasion of the day and focus purely on the game?

“Yeah, I’ve played plenty of massive games that have a lot of meaning but at the end of the day it’s the process. We’ve played football how many times? It’s about being able to channel any sort of nervousness or anything like that into excitement and being able to take it step by step to focus on the process rather than the outcome, to be able to be present.”

The dressing room footage from Leicester showed Rehanne’s team talk and how much of an encouraging environment it is to be in.

“One hundred percent. I look up to Rehanne, how hard she works and how committed she is to continuing to push us to higher levels. She leads us in that every single day. She challenges us to be better in so many ways. At the end of the day, she also cares for us as human beings, and I think that’s massive too. I’m sure she’s just as excited as us.”

You’re a friend of Leah Williamson and must be really happy for what she’s done over the summer, but you’ll have to put that aside for 90 minutes on Saturday!

“There are so many friends within football but once you cross the white line you’re there for your team. Those friendships will stay and remain no matter what happens in the game, but in the game you’re focused on getting your job done and how you bring your absolute best performance on the day.”

Were you happy with how we played against Leicester last weekend?

“Yeah, I think it was kind of a game of two halves. In the first half we had more possession, more control of the game. Two incredible goals, so kudos to Drew and Ash for taking on opportunities and having the confidence to do that. 

“In the second half, it was a little more scrappy. There were some more giveaways but I think we can build off of that first half and how we got a win. It’s important to start the season with confidence, take the three points and be able to build to play better football.”

What were you thinking when Ash shot from there?

“I mean, to be fair, when she hit it, I was thinking, ‘this is looking good!’ I was just excited for her because she’s continuing to develop as a player and has taken on such a good leadership role for the team and I was thrilled for her to get that. You can really catch teams off guard with great vision."

We saw a few of our new signings in that game against Leicester. How different do you think the strength in depth we have is with the options that Rehanne’s got now compared to last season?

“We’ve signed a lot of exciting players who love to be on the ball. It's awesome to have people who want to be on the ball, create and play forward. That gives us a lot of options to create more goal scoring opportunities, feeding players to get in behind.

“We have a creative midfield and players who want to play free and create for us, so that’s really positive. We’ve brought in quite a few players who make an impact, whether it’s physically dominating one-v-ones or being able to score goals. I’m excited to continue to see them.”

How are you feeling physically because you had a busy couple of weeks with Canada at the start of September?

“Obviously, heading to Australia was a quick trip around the world! But we went there and got two wins and it was amazing to get those two wins against a top side. I was coming back buzzing for the season. We have such a good group here and a lot of people to take on leadership roles, driving the team when internationals are away, so we have such a good mix in that way.

“Kicking off the second game against Arsenal, what more could you ask for? I feel good, excited and motivated to see where we can get to this season.”

Do you have time to unwind on days off in London and are there any particular places you like to go?

“Good question. I love London and I feel like it has so much to offer in terms of food definitely. There are so many good places, like this tapas restaurant I tried called Soukra, which is really nice. I definitely have plenty of restaurants I can recommend, but it depends on the loading of the week.

“Sometimes I love to do hot yoga on days off and keep my body moving and recovering the best I can. It depends on the week and what I’m prepping for. I definitely take advantage of it and it’s such a great city too. We’re spoiled at the training ground too!”

Lastly, are you going to put any time into playing FIFA 23 in your spare time now that we’re in the game?

“I mean, it’s awesome that we’re in the game, but to be honest I’m not much of a gamer so it would probably be quite embarrassing! I’m more into mind games like chess or sudoku, things like that. Maybe I’ll get on there with Jess and play on an away trip.”

Was it cool to have the EA Sports team come to do the head scans?

“Yeah, I think it’s great that they’re building the women’s game by having women players in FIFA. It’s a step in the right direction in terms of having those opportunities that the men’s players do as well, so it’s just pushing the game on more and more and involving the fanbase in new and creative ways.”