Olympics 2020 football – Lucy Bronze interview: "Seeing those iconic five rings on the Team GB kit sends shivers down my spine"

This exclusive interview with Lucy Bronze first appeared in the July 2021 issue of FourFourTwo. Subscribe now!

This will be your first Olympics – how are you feeling about it?
I’ve been playing for England for a long time [since 2013], but it’s funny thinking about the Olympics – I’ve heard so much about London 2012 from my team-mates who bang on about it... especially Jill Scott! Jill, Steph Houghton and Ellen White describe the Olympics as an experience like no other – that being an Olympian can’t be replicated, as you’re part of something that transcends our game. They say the Olympics are so much bigger than anything you could imagine, so I’ve got huge expectations because they’ve sold us the experience of a lifetime. I’ve been told that only when you take part will you understand what it means to be an Olympian.

Team GB Olympics 2020 football squad: full women's team

Team GB Olympics 2020 football fixtures: Who do Team GB play in Tokyo?

What are your memories of London 2012 as a supporter?
I didn’t go down to London but I did get to St James’ Park, which is closer to home – the USA beat New Zealand and that was a really cool experience. It made up for the fact that I couldn’t get to Team GB matches, as they were so far away and sold out so quickly. The whole nation watched on TV and it ignited careers for people like Steph; it created a real buzz around women’s football. I hope Tokyo will give it another boost.

How concerned are you about the impact of COVID-19 on the Games?
We’re disappointed that we won’t have any family and friends watching, but playing in empty stadiums has become something of a norm. It won’t dampen the experience. You see those iconic five Olympic rings and the Team GB kit, and that’s a prospect that sends shivers down my spine. It’s so inspirational.

How do you rate Team GB’s prospects of striking gold on August 6?
We have every chance to be on the podium, because we’ve got a hugely talented squad with loads of players capable of playing in the gold medal match. We have players who’ve won things and played in Champions League finals with masses of experience, so we have our sights set on gold. The hard thing is that we don’t have anything to compare ourselves against, whereas sides like the USA do. Team GB will be a brand new team, but a lot of us have played together and enjoyed success. We’re an unknown quantity – another way to look at it is that we haven’t lost a game at the Olympics for nine years! [Team GB didn’t send a side to Rio 2016] 

How have you found interim England boss Hege Riise during her short time in charge?
She’s very different personality-wise to what I’ve experienced before at international level. She’s pretty quiet and composed, but when she speaks you really do listen because she drip-feeds little gems of information. Hege has kept everyone on their toes because her style is so different to what we’ve been used to. She’s told me, “You’re very much like me when I was a player”, which is nice to hear. It’s good to have a coach who understands me as a player and a person, and how I work as part of the team. In terms of winning top honours, you won’t get anyone much more experienced than Hege Riise. She’s won it all at international level, so she’s able to share personal experiences as a player to help us on our journey. That’s potentially invaluable.

So, how does she differ from Phil Neville?
Everyone knows Phil is lively and an extrovert character, who likes to have a laugh and be friends with everyone. He wears his heart on his sleeve, and his emotions on the touchline are there for all to see. With Hege, you look at her and think, ‘Was that good or bad?’ She’ll give you a little smile, but it’s never over the top. Then again, she’d never say something was awful and start shouting and screaming. We might have that to come, who knows!

How does it feel to be the current holder of the FIFA Best Women’s Player award?
I was so chuffed to win that. Along with the Ballon d’Or, it’s one of the highest individual accolades in women’s football, so when you look at it from that perspective it’s incredible. When I set out, I wanted to be the best player in the world and I wanted to win everything. I hadn’t dreamed of seeing that trophy on my shelves, but it was a seal of approval for everything I’ve put in. My mindset has always been to push myself to constantly improve, so the trophy vindicates what I’ve been doing. I’m still going in the right direction and want to help club and country win major honours.

On the club front, how do you reflect on your trophy-laden three years with Lyon?
They were easily the best years of my career. Playing with the best players in the world and getting to know them was amazing. I saw what it takes to become the best in the world, and how to excel in terms of my mentality. It’s where everything clicked for me, which may sound silly as I could have stayed there and remained on that route to success, but I wanted to challenge myself on home soil. 

Is Lyon’s failure to win the league for the first time since 2006 – and defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Women’s Champions League – proof of a changing of the guard?
That Champions League quarter-final was so tight, but games between them have always been close – the margins are small. When we won the Champions League we just had that extra edge over teams, but the gap between us and our rivals wasn’t that huge. We never trounced teams 5-0 in the semi-finals. Yes, we beat Barcelona 4-1 in the 2019 final, but that was down to nerves on Barcelona’s part. 

PSG pipped Lyon this season but there’s no chasm, and if you look at the bigger picture it’s getting tougher to win – the Champions League is getting better as women’s football gets bigger and better. Even in the quarters you can’t avoid facing a strong team now, so it’s similar to the men’s competition in terms of strength in depth. Barcelona’s victory this year should inspire other clubs like City that it’s not simply the preserve of Lyon. There’s a chink in the armour in terms of perceptions about Lyon, but they’ll want to bounce back.

They say you should never go back, so why did you return to Manchester City in 2020?
I wanted to replicate that Lyon success with more English players. I’d been at City before and it seemed like the right fit, because they want to push forward and achieve big things, but it’s more of a project. We won the FA Cup and pushed Chelsea close [in 2019-20], and if we’d got off to a stronger start we could have won the WSL and made more progress in the Champions League. City have always been pretty successful, but need a mentality shift to push forward – as was the case with England. We’ve constantly hit the semi-finals and that next level was elusive. I know what it takes to get there and now I want to help others, especially English girls, get there too.

Subscribe to FourFourTwo today and get a FREE England Euro 96 shirt!

NOW READ

OLYMPICS FOOTBALL Team GB Olympics 2020 football squad: full women's team

ANALYSIS With Phil Neville gone, what's next for England Women?

QUIZ Can you name every country from the 2019 Women's World Cup?