AS Roma centre-back Shukurat Oladipo shifted to right-back for Nigeria at the Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), but ahead of UEFA Women's Champions League (UWCL) league phase clashes with OH Leuven and Barcelona this month, she is ready to be utilised in any position.
The 21-year-old is no stranger to being moved around the pitch, and is ready to be used anywhere as she prepares for Wednesday's visit to Den Dreef in Belgium, and the home match against Barcelona on Sep. 30.
Oladipo said in response to ESPN at a virtual press conference: "I am really familiar with different positions, because I started out as a striker and a winger when I started playing.
"Then, I played centre-back. Sometimes, at my former club before AS Roma (Nigeria's Robo Queens), I played right-back -- I played different positions."
She is all too aware that her team will need her at her sharpest when she comes up against a Barcelona side featuring Vicky López, who plays for Spain but is of Nigerian heritage through her late mother.
Roma lost that game 4-0 last season, but Oladipo is raring to go for the rematch after the visit to Belgium.
"I would say Vicky Lopez," Oladipo said when asked if there was a particular Champions League opponent that has impressed her.
"I just like the way she [plays]. I found it hard [to defend against]. I know we'll play against [Barcelona] again, so I'm prepared for that.
"My first Champions League game, we played against Barcelona. It's a big team and it's a dream come true to play against a team like that. I [was] a little bit nervous."
This year's WAFCON in Morocco ended in heartbreak as Nigeria lost 1-0 to Cameroon in the quarter-finals and 2-1 to South Africa in the subsequent World Cup qualification play-in match.
Part of the tournament-winning Super Falcons team last year, Oladipo now experienced the other side of the coin as a member of the first Nigeria side to miss out on a Women's World Cup.
"To be honest, it's very sad we are not going to the World Cup... It is what it is, but I learned a lot from it," Oladipo said.
She was given time off after the tournament, but returned to action in Saturday's Serie A Women's Cup final defeat to Juventus - coming off the bench.
The UEFA Women's Champions League is available to watch on ESPN Africa's DSTV channels 218 and 219, as well as Disney+ for South African viewers.
