BRONZE Lucy

General
RETURN TO ENGLAND
In 2020 she returned to the English Women's Super League [WSL] to join Manchester City after spending the previous three years playing for French Division 1 Feminine side Olympique Lyonnais. "When you look at the signings [across the league], I feel fortunate to move back now [to England] and I would have been sad to miss out on this season with all the stars at all the teams. I've said every year, the English league is going from strength to strength and will only get better. It's not surprised me. When you look at the teams in WSL they are Premier League teams and the Premier League mentality is to get big hitters in your team and win silverware. This year I think will be the year the English league takes over all the other leagues. There's world class quality in all the teams." (mancity.com, 10 Sep 2020)

WORLD CUP WOES
She received the Silver Ball at the 2019 World Cup as the tournament's second-best player, but said the award was no consolation for England's semifinal defeat to eventual champions the United States of America. "I won the Silver Ball, for second-best player, but all it did was upset me and remind me of what might have been. It's a team sport and an individual award doesn't make up for not winning the World Cup." (metro.news, 11 Jul 2019)

LIFE AFTER FOOTBALL
When her playing days are over, she has indicated a desire to remain involved in the game. "What I'd like to do is what they do in the FA and UEFA. I really like the idea of changing the game, like Baroness Sue Campbell, the head of women's football [at the Football Association]. I want to help. I've played it, I know everything about it, and so many things could be done to change it, things that aren't that hard. Or I might just retire, then buy a bar in Spain and run that." (thegentlewoman.co.uk, 01 Mar 2019)

USA STINT
She played on boys teams throughout primary school until age 11 when the Football Association [FA] rules in England no longer allowed mixed gender football. "And that was when my mother said, 'Right. No one is telling my little girl that she can't do something'." Her mother, a secondary school maths teacher, began researching women's football online and found a female talent camp in the United States of America. "So we went, there were 500 girls, and the head coach said, 'Bring her back when she's 17 and I'll give her a scholarship'." She returned at age 17 and spent a year at the University of North Carolina on a football scholarship. (reuters.com, 01 Jul 2019; thegentlewoman.co.uk, 01 Mar 2019)

NEVER GIVE UP
She had to work various jobs throughout her time at Leeds Metropolitan University, and at one point contemplated quitting the sport due to injury. "People only see where you are now, and they probably think that it's all been easy for me. But I had so many problems when I was starting out, the big knee injuries especially. I definitely wondered at times whether I should just forget about doing anything in football and get a proper job. At the same time, I actually look back with a lot of fondness on that time. I loved working in Dominos [pizzeria], I loved working in the bar and being at university, getting an education. I didn't love being injured but that whole experience, struggling a bit and working proper jobs, has helped me a lot and kept me grounded." (fifa.com, 22 Aug 2018; thegentlewoman.co.uk, 01 Mar 2019)