Shyness and football is a curious combination.
Football fundamentally depends on being part of a team, the constant presence of others and interacting with different people – on the surface, not the ideal environment for a shy person to thrive.
But there also aren’t many social situations where you can consistently not speak for 17 weeks and still get invited back every Sunday.
“Like, unbelievably shy,” triple Champions League winner Lucy Bronze tells 90min with a laugh when asked to paint a picture of just how shy she was growing up. “I think my mum always spoke for me. People must have looked at me and thought I was like a puppet on a string because the words never came out of my mouth.
“Fara Williams always makes a joke now; I joined Everton at 18 years old, and she was like: ‘I don’t think I ever heard your voice until two years later’. I just didn’t know how to speak to people, didn’t know how to make conversation and keep the conversation going.”
While off the pitch Bronze may be introverted, on it she exudes confidence. The Manchester City full-back is renowned for her all-action style, with her marauding charges down the right flank and lung-busting recovery runs a real trademark. She scored long-range screamers against Norway in successive World Cups, and features alongside Lionel Messi, Paul Pogba and Ronaldinho in Pepsi’s 2022 Play to Inspire campaign, where her strength, power and ferocious shot are celebrated.
Bronze admits that in the early stages of her career, the contrast between her on and off the field personas resulted in some people getting the wrong impression of her.
“I think when I was younger I was very misunderstood, especially in the England setup. I think because I didn’t speak but on the pitch when I’m playing football I’m always really confident. On the pitch I’m like hell for leather, I’ll run through a brick wall, I’ll do anything, and then I’ll come off the pitch and I won’t say a word.
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Source: https://www.90min.com/posts/lucy-bronze-how-shyness-impacted-her-football-career