Sports
Provocative from Arsenal to Manchester City on right this moment time and age makes sense for a whole lot of WSL gamers, with each and every side extraordinarily competitive at the top of the ladies folks’s sport – but in 2013, they were incomparable.
In the 2013 WSL season, Arsenal had real skipped over out on the Champions League by finishing third, whereas Manchester City were merely awarded divulge entry into the first division for the 2014 season, no matter their ends in 2013. Correct, City were the rising force, but Arsenal had confirmed time and again their skill to earn trophies.
For Arsenal defender Steph Houghton, that did no longer cramped to dampen her enthusiasm. Signing a contract with Manchester City for the initiate up of the 2014 season, Houghton was giving up her captaincy in substitute for a mission.
Steph Houghton gave up her Arsenal captaincy to be half of Manchester City
“I was Arsenal captain and I really enjoyed it there, but when Man City come calling, you have to listen,” Houghton tells FourFourTwo. “Their men’s team was developing so much, I felt they were potentially going to do the same with the women’s team.
“As soon as I’d listened to what they wished to originate, no longer real with the crew but in and across the coaching ground and city, I purchased into it. It was the flexibility to disclose every single day, too.”
Houghton, who also played for Sunderland and Leeds Carnegie in her career, won eight trophies with the Sky Blues and performed as league runners-up on seven more events. While she could presumably presumably without complications have added more silverware at City, the medals she did earn positively vindicates her decision.
Although now retired, when Houghton was playing she would in most cases disclose alongside the Manchester City U18s side in portray to enhance her skill and successfully being. While doing so, she stumbled on a young Phil Foden.
“He was doubtlessly 14 and you knew he was going to originate it,” Houghton adds. “Making an strive to run him around for 90 minutes was tough! But I cherished it.
“Only five or six of us trained full-time. Jason Wilcox was the Under-18s manager and he was really good with us, just treating us like the lads.”
Houghton is one of the vital very finest gamers to ever play in England, in FourFourTwo’s behold. As successfully as her contributions to totally different clubs, she was also a stalwart for England’s nationwide crew.
She made her debut for her nation in 2007 whereas playing for Sunderland, before occurring to earn 121 caps, 72 of which have been as captain. She was named skipper below head coach Designate Sampson in 2014, but Sarina Wiegman stopped selecting her for the nationwide crew – her closing cap coming in 2021.
