the english defense Lucy Bronze, signed this summer by Barça, is a highly ambitious and competitive player. So much so, that she wrote herself a very inspiring letter to motivate herself for the quarterfinal match against Spain. It is a letter that she herself has made public and in which she describes the story of her overcoming, the support of her family and the long road she has traveled to reach this magical moment in her life.
The letter, written before England’s quarter-final win against Spain, reads as follows:
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“Dear Lucy,
As I speak to you now, You are an eight year old girl. You won’t realize right now how lucky you are to have the family you have.
It’s something you probably take for granted until you grow up and realize the difficulties other people have, but your family is the best
Whatever dream you have, your mom will make sure that dream comes true, and she’ll make sure your dad does too.
Your brother will support you in a very funny way pushing you, challenging you and never letting you win. Always making sure to be the most competitive version of yourself. And your sister, although she is very shy, she is very proud of you.
You are now a 12-year-old girl and have had your first taste of what women’s football is really like. You have the opportunity to see these superstars who are idols for you now. You see how successful they are, you see how much they inspire girls like you and it’s the first time you realize that you too could be a superstar.
never doubt yourself. These role models are there for a reason, and they are the people you will become.
You are now in your early 20s. You have signed your first professional contract at Liverpool. Although there is not much support, there is not much support, you support yourself more than anyone.
You come to finish your career, work at Domino’s, work five-a-side places pulling pints, some of the best moments of your life to be honest, because you learned to graft and work hard and you realize that nothing comes easy. But you know your time is yet to come.
You have your first major injury. People are starting to say that they won’t choose you anymore. That you’re not good enough. You have no support apart from the family that loves you so much.
Your rehab goes wrong, you re-injure yourself. You feel like nothing is going right for you right now. There are some nights when you cry alone, but know that these are the days that are going to push you even further, because for every step you take back, you end up taking two leaps forward.
You go to your second big tournament, in Canada in 2015. The coach sat you down before the tournament and told you ‘you’re going to be a team player, but if they call you, you know you’ll be ready’.
Then comes the first knockout game and you’re on the team sheet ahead of Alex Scott for the first time in history. And interestingly, Alex is the one who says to you in training ‘Lucy, why don’t you shoot more?’
You score the winning goal to send to England, everyone knows your name. This moment changes your life forever.
Here we are today. We have broken so many records as a team that you have reached the heights you always thought you could reach. You are part of a European Championship like no other and everyone is full of confidence.
The next thing we need to do is get to the final, and that’s the missing step that you know you need to take.
You never know what the future holds, but right now you couldn’t be happier with what you’ve already achieved, so let’s go and get more.”