Lucy Bronze - the making of England's most decorated player

England defender Lucy Bronze is nary alien to winning. It's portion of her DNA.

She has embarked connected a hugely palmy career, becoming England's astir decorated pistillate footballer, and the 33-year-old is astir to statesman her seventh large tournament.

"I play each crippled similar it could beryllium my last. When you enactment connected that England shirt, you don't privation to permission thing connected the pitch," said Bronze.

With 134 caps to her sanction and a 12-year planetary career, Bronze hopes to pb England to triumph erstwhile again astatine Euro 2025. This is her story.

Born to a Portuguese begetter and an English mother, Bronze grew up successful north-east England, surviving connected Holy Island - a tidal land successful Northumberland besides known arsenic Lindisfarne - with her older member and younger sister.

She present speaks aggregate languages, including Portuguese, and was adjacent to being recruited by the Portugal nationalist squad astatine the property of 16.

Bronze's shot travel began astatine Alnwick Town and it was present that she became adjacent friends with aboriginal England midfielder Lucy Staniforth - her classmate astatine the time.

"I retrieve seeing this miss with a reddish bob hairstyle and I thought she looked funky," Staniforth told BBC Sport.

"I was trying to find a section girls squad successful Alnwick. I was introduced to her mum. The unusual happening was our gardens backed connected to each other.

"They were similar a 2nd household to me. I spent a batch of my puerility astir Lucy's house, causing havoc."

Opportunities to play girls' shot past were hard to travel by.

But surviving up to her afloat sanction of 'Lucia Roberta Tough Bronze', that did not halt her, oregon her mum Diane.

"When Lucy was 11, I knew thing astatine each astir shot until they said she couldn't play due to the fact that she's a girl," Diane Bronze told BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour successful August 2023.

"I said 'don't archer maine my girl can't bash thing due to the fact that she is simply a girl' and that was the change. It ne'er crossed my caput that it was an issue.

"I had to bash a batch of probe to find determination she could spell to play with girls."

Bronze yet joined Blyth Town and past Sunderland, with Staniforth pursuing successful her footsteps.

The 2 shared car journeys from schoolhouse to Alnwick Town, with Diane often the driver, and years aboriginal Bronze would beryllium a bridesmaid astatine Staniforth's wedding.

"Those car journeys were fun. We would person weird conversations," said Staniforth.

"In that sense, I deliberation maine and Lucy were meant to conscionable due to the fact that we were 2 misfits that recovered relationship successful each other. Diane conscionable encouraged it.

"We've known each different for 20 years now. I would picture the narration arsenic an ever-lasting one. She's the large sister that I didn't inquire for - but I'm truthful gladsome to have.

"We some felt we could beryllium ourselves and not beryllium judged. We said what was connected our minds, did the weirdest things and that is the portion of Lucy that I love.

"She is astir apt not excessively dissimilar from the idiosyncratic I met each those years ago. Football was not the making of Lucy, but it decidedly helped marque her the idiosyncratic she is."

Bronze's athleticism had been wide for a while.

She played hockey and tennis astatine school, and was a keen athlete, competing successful the 800m, cross-country and pentathlon.

Staniforth knew challenging Bronze - who started disconnected arsenic a striker successful shot - to a moving contention was a mislaid cause, but keepy-up battles were a bully mode to compete.

"We would substance each different backmost and distant saying I did 'x' amount. I'm beauteous definite astatine 1 constituent we got up to similar 800. That's however superior it was," said Staniforth.

"We would walk hours kicking the shot to each other, doing tricks and learning caller skills. We had a truly large power connected each different successful those aboriginal years."

Staniforth believes Bronze stood retired from the assemblage due to the fact that she was "willing to bash much than anyone successful the pursuit of her dreams".

She moved to the United States to articulation the University of North Carolina aged 17 - a important measurement successful Bronze's travel to becoming an England international.

Having been awarded a scholarship, Bronze studied sports subject and was a freshman connected the acclaimed Tar Heels assemblage team.

She would permission the US arsenic the archetypal British subordinate to triumph the collegiate National Championships and made an content connected erstwhile manager Anson Dorrance, who had antecedently led the US women's nationalist squad betwixt 1986 and 1994.

"She was shocked astatine her ain level," Dorrance told BBC Sport.

"I don't deliberation she understood however bully she was due to the fact that I asked 'what are your dreams, Lucy?' She said: 'I privation to play for England.'

"I said: 'Well, I deliberation you tin play for England.' She said: 'They volition ne'er find me. No 1 volition ever travel to Sunderland.'"

Dorrance reached retired to a interaction astatine Arsenal and wrong weeks, Bronze was called up to the England Under-17s squad.

The 2 worked unneurotic for respective years, and reunited astatine Wembley successful November erstwhile Dorrance was invited by the Football Association to ticker the 0-0 gully with the USA.

It was successful North Carolina that Bronze developed the winning mentality that has go synonymous with her success.

Dorrance was passionate astir processing "aggressive, combative women" and designed a programme that encouraged that.

He created a 'competitive cauldron' that pitted players against each different successful grooming matches and head-to-heads.

"When I started coaching women for the archetypal time, I did not condescend to them," said Dorrance.

"I wanted to make an situation wherever each azygous signifier was a competitory warfare that was documented with data.

"They were evaluated connected a regular ground connected however often they won. They were besides evaluated connected wherever their team-mates picked them successful the draft.

"Every subordinate had a fertile connected what their team-mates thought of them. In a batch of cultures radical privation to play with their champion friends - not successful my culture.

"They wanted to play with the champion players. They wanted to win. They didn't privation to beryllium connected the bottommost of the database connected the bulletin committee the adjacent day."

Bronze thrived successful the situation but it besides tested her resolve.

She volunteered to spell head-to-head successful the 1v1s with USA planetary Tobin Heath - a elder subordinate astatine the clip - but "the nighttime earlier she couldn't sleep", said Dorrance.

"She was surely going to lose. That wasn't a question. The fearfulness she had was the borderline of defeat," helium said.

"Why did I plan it this way? Because astatine the extremity of practice, I wanted it to beryllium certified with information who the champion subordinate was."

Bronze's vocation sky-rocketed aft her clip successful the US. She had impressed England younker manager Mo Marley and aboriginal joined her astatine Everton.

Moves to Liverpool, Manchester City, Lyon, Barcelona and Chelsea followed, with Bronze winning a full of 5 Champions League trophies, 9 league titles and six home cups.

Former Ballon d'Or victor Ada Hegerberg, who played with Bronze astatine Lyon, describes her arsenic a "hard worker" and idiosyncratic she has a batch of "respect" for.

"I'm impressed by the level she's playing astatine contiguous arsenic well," she told BBC Sport. "She's been done a batch successful her career, injury-wise, and with antithetic experiences.

"The information she's been astatine antithetic clubs and ever competed astatine a precocious level says a batch astir her. She's an awesome player."

On the planetary stage, Bronze has go a leader.

"During the 2019 World Cup I sat connected the seat for the full clip and I watched her a lot," said England's existent skipper Leah Williamson.

"I watched idiosyncratic who, astatine times, picked the squad up and enactment it connected her shoulders. I had ne'er seen anyone get each azygous ounce retired of themselves similar she did.

"The devastation erstwhile we mislaid successful France and successful Australia [in 2023] shows maine what it means and it makes maine privation to beryllium bully for her due to the fact that she deserves it."

Her show against Norway successful the 2019 World Cup, scoring a stunning long-range goal, helped England scope the semi-finals.

Four years earlier, she had done the same, against the aforesaid opponent, to denote herself to the satellite successful the past 16 of the 2015 World Cup successful Canada.

Staniforth believes that was erstwhile radical archetypal noticed Bronze, who was aboriginal named Fifa Best subordinate successful 2020, and Ballon d'Or runner-up successful 2019.

Now, her bequest is clear.

She has a bursting trophy furniture but she is besides alert of her level and has utilized it to raise consciousness connected topics specified arsenic her autism and ADHD diagnosis.

Bronze is besides a committee subordinate of the Professional Footballers' Association and connected FifPro's subordinate council, often taking younger players nether her wing, including England guardant Lauren James.

"I'm incredibly arrogant of her. I'm successful awe of what she has done and continues to do, knowing the toll it takes connected her assemblage and the mentality that's required," added Staniforth.

"I ticker her and think: 'How are you inactive going? How are you inactive running?' She is simply a superstar.

"Everyone wants to beryllium a small spot similar Lucy Bronze."

Additional reporting by BBC sports analogous Katie Gornall.