Manitoba Bisons leading soccer scorer adapting to life in Canada

As if being a student-athlete wasn’t stressful enough, Florin Wagner picked up the role far from home.

The German midfielder came to Canada this summer to play soccer for the Manitoba Bisons. It’s a rare move for someone from a country that lives and breathes the beautiful game.

“The experience to have in Canada to play soccer and study at the same time is a good deal,” Wagner said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The experience to have in Canada to play soccer and study at the same time is a good deal," Wagner said.

But living abroad had its challenges. Specifically for Wagner, being nearly 7,000 kilometres away from her family.

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“It’s a different time at home so if I want to talk to them, they’re already sleeping,” Wagner said. “Even when we come back from a trip and everyone is being picked up by their family. It would be great if your parents were also there.”

To kick her homesickness, Wagner relied on soccer. The rookie scored a team-high eight goals this season including one from roughly fifty yards out.

“She’s a great competitor and also has a great vision of the game,” Bisons head coach Vanessa Martinez Lagunas said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "She's a great competitor and also has a great vision of the game," Bisons head coach Vanessa Martinez Lagunas said.

“She has a really strong defensive game as well. I think all of our players can learn a lot from her.”

A teacher to those who taught her so much about life in a new country.

“The team helped me with everything,” Wagner said. “I feel the people around me made it really easy.”