Kadeisha Buchanan wins fifth European Champions League title

Kadeisha Buchanan won her fifth UEFA Women’s Champions League title in six years with Olympique Lyonnais after a 3:1 victory over FC Barcelona. Buchanan from Brampton, Ontario featured as a first-half substitute in the Saturday 21 May 2022 final at Juventus Stadium in Turin, Italy. Still only 26 years old, Buchanan is the most decorated Canadian in the history of the competition having won the European title in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022.

Since making her professional debut on 14 January 2017, Buchanan has also helped Lyon win the Championnat de France four out of five times and the Coupe de France three out of five times. She could add a fifth Championnat de France title in less than 10 days as Lyon hold a five-point lead in the standings with two matches remaining.

This season, Buchanan featured in all 13 UEFA Women’s Champions League matches with Olympique Lyonnais, a new career high. She scored two goals in a 5:0 win over Benfica in the group phase. All-time, Buchanan has featured in 35 UWCL matches, made 31 starts, scored three goals as a centre back, and won five titles.

This year marked the sixth year in a row that a Canadian dressed for the UEFA Women’s Champions League Final since Buchanan and Olympique Lyonnais faced Ashley Lawrence with Paris St-Germain FC in the 2017 European Final (both played 120 minutes before Lyon won on kicks from the penalty mark). Buchanan also dressed for the 2018 and 2019 finals, then featured for the full 90 minutes in Lyon’s 3:1 win over VfL Wolfsburg in 2020. Last year, Jessie Fleming of Chelsea FC dressed for the 2021 European final, a 4-0 loss to FC Barcelona.