This weekend I will play my last game for Juventus, bringing to an end a year and a half of great success and lots of learning. When I arrived in the summer of 2018 I was attracted by a big club still in its infancy as a women’s team, and a big project on and off the pitch that I could be a part of. On the pitch, we achieved a lot of rapid success: a league title, the domestic cup and the Supercoppa. Off the pitch, I think it is fair to say things have been a little more uneven.
Looking back at my achievements with this team, which included finishing last season as top scorer, I feel proud. When I arrived I did not know whether I could adapt to the style of play, or the culture, language and city of Turin. I knew I would play, but I did not know where, or how well. In a team built around a core of nine Italy internationals, I managed to seamlessly fit in. I do not think that is an easy thing to do for an international striker. This season I have moved position, playing wide on the right with different responsibilities. It has been difficult to maintain my goalscoring form and I have not always been the best version of myself, but it has been yet another learning experience.
I have worked with some brilliant people. The team’s sport scientist, Emanuele Chiappero – we call him the Prof – is the best I have worked with in football and completely changed my body, fitness levels and general athletic feeling going into games. Rita Guarino is an extremely technical coach who gave me a lot of freedom last season to express myself on the field. The sporting director, Stefano Braghin, is a visionary, a true gentleman, and someone I would love to continue to see as a mentor. I owe huge thanks to the physios, led by Ottavia Maffei, and the media team. Lastly there are players such as Lisa Boattin, Aurora Galli and Michela Franco who could not be kinder, more selfless teammates. I will never forget how quickly two of them were at my hospital bedside after I had a serious car accident in Turin earlier this year.
So leaving 18 months into a two-year contract has not been an easy decision. I realise my focus needs to be on the next three to five years of my career rather than the next few months, but it also reflects the fact that off the pitch I have found the last six months very difficult.
For a while after I arrived I was discovering the city and discovering Italy. I would travel to other cities on my days off and grasp whatever opportunities I could find. I am very curious, I like to go to events, galleries, shops, and there is not as much variety as I would like in Turin.
More importantly sometimes Turin feels a couple of decades behind in terms of its general openness to different kinds of people. I have grown tired of walking into stores and feeling as if the owner expects me to rob the place. There is only so many times you can arrive at Turin airport and have the sniffer dogs treat you like you are Pablo Escobar. I have not experienced any racism from Juventus fans or within the women’s league, but there is an issue in Italy and in Italian football and it is the response to it that really worries me, from owners and fans in the men’s game who seem to see it as a part of fan culture.
Beyond that, if the club want to continue attracting Europe’s talent to Italy there needs to be some focus on making internationals feel at home and an important part of the long-term project. Even if the team are playing well, if things are not going right off the pitch it will only be a matter of time before a player thinks, sod this, I’m going home. I think you can definitely tell the clubs with the best cultures, the ones that are genuinely open to what everybody brings to the table, by how long they keep hold of their international players.
But I believe the global awareness of Juventus Women has grown in the time I’ve been here. I have tried to help, by writing this column and speaking in the media about everything that sets the club apart and the nuances that make the women’s Serie A such an interesting league. I know that more and more international players are interested in Juventus, and maybe I have played a small part in that.
Juventus and the league have more changes to make if they are to compete with Europe’s best. There are rumours of a shift from amateur to professional status for women in Italy, which would be a big step. Top players want to be part of a culture that always seeks to evolve and to excel. The old saying has it that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I would say that is not the best approach in football: you should always try to improve, and that means you’re always looking for ways to change things for the better. I think many see a club that has won the last two league titles and conclude nothing needs fixing.
My last game is against Fiorentina, last season’s runners-up. It is a big game in the title race against a key rival. I am looking forward to waving goodbye to the Juventus fans who have shown me respect and support. On Sunday I fly back home.
I have had my ups and downs in Italy and learned a huge amount about myself. When you play abroad it is often the bad days that really shape and strengthen you. When our players return to England they are judged by what they achieved on the field while they were away, but I am sure players such as Toni Duggan in Madrid, Jadon Sancho in Dortmund and Chris Smalling in Rome will agree that adapting to cultures outside your comfort zone is a significant success that improves you.
I think I have achieved a lot in Turin. I have won trophies, scored goals, played at the Allianz Stadium, learned Italian and explored Italy. Now I am excited about being back in London, not just because I will have my friends and family around me, but because there are so many exciting opportunities.
Between now and Christmas I will be working for Amazon at Premier League games, working at WSL games, and doing some more exciting things with my book. A lot of people see the end of the year as a time for reflection and also for making plans and setting goals for the future, and I’ll certainly be doing that. An 18-month chapter is closing, in a long career. I am going to be back on home soil, where it all started, and once again I am excited about what the future has in store.
