Lucy Bronze: My game in my words

This article is the latest in our My Game In My Words 2024 series. Click here to find all articles in the series.

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Defenders rarely win the individual awards. So when Lucy Bronze was voted The Best FIFA Women’s Player in 2020, it demonstrated the degree to which she made the right-back role exciting.

Renowned for explosive speed, attacking drive and increasingly for her aerial ability, Bronze has won five Champions Leagues with Lyon and Barcelona, as well as the European Championship with England on home soil in 2022.

Having recently signed for Chelsea, her third stint in the WSL, this is her game, in her words.

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A header vs Sweden in a 4-0 win, Euro 2022

I probably don’t need to tell you what goal this is.

Yeah. Euros. Corner. People actually took the mick out of me a little bit. They said, ‘Oh, it floated in’. It bounced before it went in, it went through someone’s legs.

You seem quite surprised that the ball goes in.

It went through so many people. It swung so far out, so it was hard to get any power on it because I was already running. It was like, ‘Just get it on target’. And just like, ‘If I get it back in the box, if I don’t score, someone else will.’ Funnily enough, that’s what happened for Chloe Kelly’s goal in the final.

This seems like a typical move for England. Is it a training-ground routine with you lingering on the edge and coming in late?

Yeah. Millie (Bright) is a great threat for England because she’s so powerful and strong, and she likes to get in the thick of it. With me, I can surprisingly jump quite high, and I like to watch the flight of the ball. Sometimes I don’t end up attacking it because it’s gone. This was just about heading it down. Ellen (White) kind of got in the way of people, and I think she deserves a bit of credit for that. It was a good moment to score for us right in the second half. And that was the moment it felt like we were off to Wembley.

You talk about your jumping there, that’s really noticeable. You’re quite tall, but it feels like you’ve got a really good spring. Is that something you can improve over the years?

Funnily enough, when I first played for England, at left-back or right-back, on corners I was left at the halfway line to defend because I was really quick when I was younger. It was like, ‘You’re the defender, let the big centre-halves score’.

It took a while for any of the coaches to be like, ‘Oh, actually, Lucy you can jump’. So it was probably midway through my career when I started becoming this threat at corners, but then I had to learn the whole, like, ‘When do you jump to head and score?’ And I think, early on, I was jumping and missing it. Over the past few years, people probably think of me as more scoring headers and goalscoring set pieces. But in the beginning of my career, I don’t think I scored anything from a set piece because I was never there. I didn’t know how to do it.

You’ve got 15 goals for England now. Do you consider that a bonus? Or do you think that’s a big part of your game now?

I think being a threat at set pieces is a big part of my game now. I’ve got a good physicality. I think I can read the game quite well in terms of set pieces, especially with England, and knowing how the players like to deliver. Like with Chloe Kelly (taking a corner), I know I’m going to get my head taken off. She absolutely wellies it.

Just understanding those things which took a long time to learn and really appreciate. In my younger days I probably didn’t score as many goals because I was known more for dribbling and crossing, and people saying ‘Shoot!’ because I was always attacking. I was never actually shooting, because I don’t really like to shoot. My goals have come now because I’ve mastered set pieces a little bit more.

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A header vs Atletico Madrid in a 6-1 win, 2022

I hope you’re not too bored of set pieces, because we got a couple more.

This was a training-ground goal; this was one we practised the day before. And again I start so far out. I’m giving my tricks of the trade away here! But I start quite far out because I’ve always had a little bit of speed and I think it’s quite hard for defenders if you stand far out. You can get past them and then it’s just the timing, and Mapi Leon is known for having a fantastic delivery. My first few goals at Barca, they all were assisted by Mapi. Because I practised so much with those deliveries, I knew exactly where they were going.

A centre-back assisting a full-back for a header at a corner feels like a role reversal.

Yeah. It was like, everyone makes a bit of space and I come through.

It’s obviously a different kind of header, but it’s similar to the Sweden one in that you were always the last one there.

The last one, yeah, and if there’s a bit of space, I’ll find it. Even if someone kicks me in the face, it doesn’t bother me.

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A last-minute equaliser vs Benfica in a 4-4 draw, 2024

This is a slightly different one because you’re you’re starting more in the mixer…

We were losing and it didn’t matter (in terms of staying in the competition), but it did to Barca, it did to us (in terms of pride), we were like, “We can’t lose a game.” The corner right before was the same delivery from the same player, Claudia Pina, and Keira (Walsh) stood in front of me and I think she went for it, and I said, “Next time, leave it, I’m behind you” and we said to Pina, “Do the same delivery.”

So then Keira moved out the way, and it was literally an identical corner from two minutes before. But this time, because I knew I was free, I just had to put it on target in one of the corners. And more of a looping header than a crashing header.

I don’t want to paint you as someone who just scores headers…

I know, what’s next?

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A one-two then an assist for Ella Toone in the Finallissima vs Brazil, 2023

We’ve got an assist next, the Ella Toone goal against Brazil at Wembley, which was a really nice move.

Yeah, I enjoyed that one. That was like when you think of me in my early days, constantly down the right, one-twos, cut-backs, crosses. That’s the part of the game that I’ve always loved as a full-back, having that licence to just find all the spaces that the winger doesn’t pick up. I love it.

It feels like that kind of assist, that cutback for a player coming in, has come into the game more in recent years, with maybe less crossing and more getting to the byline and picking someone out.

Yeah, definitely. It’s something that I did a lot when I was at Man City because I had Izzy Christiansen and I think the girl got me like six assists one season, purely off cutbacks because she had such good finish, placing it in the corners. But we’ve got a lot of No 10s now in the game. They hang off the box and they can find the spot. So it’s easy to just do that pass because you know they can finish it.

Brazil were playing a back five that day. Does that change your game? Maybe you don’t have to think so much about leaving a winger free and more space to get forward.

A little bit. But the hard thing about being a full-back is as much as you attack, you leave a big space for them to attack, and it’s knowing the right balance: Can you get back? I think this game was different for me because LJ (Lauren James) was my winger, who is a player I’ve got a good relationship with.

But it’s very different to a Chloe Kelly and Beth Mead who like to stay wide. They want to go one-v-one. LJ wants to go one-v-one, but she also wants to go looking for the ball, she wants to play passes. As soon as she gets on the ball, I’m thinking, ‘You’re not losing it, and I know you’re going to pass to me, and you’re going to be an option’. In this game, it was building a relationship with her because she’s a winger who leaves different spaces compared to another winger, so I get to play more wide with someone like that.

In this game in particular, there was a lot of rotation. Sometimes she was going outside, sometimes inside. Do you prefer that? Do you think that suits your game more when you can come inside?

Yeah. I like both. I always say to the wingers that I play with: ‘You dictate what I do. If you don’t move, then I can’t move. If you move, if you do good movement, I’ll do good movement. I’m not playing to get the best out of me, I’m playing to get the best out of you’. And in turn, I’m a player that can pick spaces up. I’m not technically the best winger in the world, but I know I can run a lot. I’ve got explosiveness so I can get to those spaces, if you give me that.

That’s something that I did well with someone like Nikita Parris in the past, for England, someone who wants to be on the move all the time. I think we brought out the best in each other. Beth Mead at the Euros, she was on the move all the time. It was like, ‘OK, now I can find you and I’ll pick up the spaces you leave, and give you more space to attack and go one-v-one or I’ll create two-v-one’. I love thinking of those things on my own.

And when you get the ball here, do you know that you’re going to play a one-two, before you’ve played the pass?

Yeah. I think it depends on the player that you’re passing to. If that’s the striker, you’re thinking, ‘Are they really going to give me it back? But it’s Georgia Stanway, again a player that I’ve played so much with for England, so I’m thinking, ‘If I make the move fast enough, she’s going to give it’. If I didn’t sprint straight away, she’s gonna turn and shoot. I have to move quicker, to make the decision for her almost.

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A headed clearance in the 2-0 Champions League final win over Lyon, 2024

I want to include a bit of defending, since you’re a defender. So I just went for this simple clip at the end of the Champions League final last year, because Lyon were hitting so many crosses into the box. And it felt like you defended that back post really well throughout that game.

Yeah, I think this is the game when a lot of people spoke about my defending. It’s easy to criticise full-backs maybe not always defending properly. But as a full-back, you’re asked to do so many different jobs constantly, and you’re constantly one-on-one out wide, you’re never going to take 100 per cent of duels playing against a good player.

But this Lyon game, the manager was like, ‘You do not let your player touch the ball, sniff the ball, shoot the ball’. That was my whole focus for that game, that I was gonna be the best defender on this pitch and I really, like, really, really enjoyed that game. Even though, attacking-wise, I didn’t add loads to the attack, but defending, I felt like I was just on it. I had a really good relationship with Irene Paredes, the centre-back next to me. The movement that the Lyon players were doing constantly — they were on the move. Having to stay focused for 90 minutes… I really, really enjoyed that game.

It must be quite unusual, because for Barca you’re used to dominating the game in terms of possession. It felt like you were on the back foot for a long period of this second half as Lyon tried to get an equaliser. Does it feel like a different challenge?

Yeah, it is. But I think in that moment, that was when the likes of myself and Paredes, we flourished. I think we’re players who want to defend for the team, we want to do that and 90 per cent of the games for Barca you don’t get to show these great assets that you have. But at Barca, you have to be ready because there is going to be a time, and it’s going to be the crucial moments, it’s going to be, you know, Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, the Champions League final against Lyon.

I think we really flourished in that game with good old-fashioned proper defending, blocking shots, being in the right place, positioning and reading where the ball’s going the whole game. It was so much fun. I think we had similar two seasons ago when we played at Stamford Bridge and you can see us pumping each other up when we slide-tacked someone, and we’re just two players that really enjoyed those things and work really well when it becomes that kind of game.

And obviously this is you playing against one of your former sides. You’ve gone to France and come back, and then gone to Spain and come back. How did those experiences change your game individually?

I think Lyon really made me appreciate how the best players in the world are the ones that make the players around them look better. That’s where I started to understand that if I can make my winger play better, I’m playing better. It’s not just about, ‘Oh, Lucy wants to overlap every time’. I want to take that space so you can play better as well. Everyone did better passes, did better movement so that the players look better, and in turn it works vice-versa.

And then at Barca, as well, if the better players are on top of their game, anyone can play on that team because the team is that good that they can make them look good.

Barca obviously bring through a lot of young players, a lot of Spanish players. It feels like when they bring in a foreign player, it’s often as they want…

Something different, yeah.

So how does that work? Because on one hand you’re there to provide something different, and on the other hand, you’ve got to try and fit into the style?

Wow, it’s so difficult. It’s something me and Keira spoke about a lot. Barca is the one of the hardest teams to go in and play for because they’ve got such a distinct style, and that style demands so much quality and demands so much expectation from you individually. You feel the weight of the Barca badge when you go there.

Going to Lyon, I was told, ‘Be the best Lucy Bronze you can be and that you’ll fit that in the team and the team will play off the best players in the world playing’ and then at Barca, it was like, ‘You’ve got to be your best, but in a Barca style which actually doesn’t really suit you, but we need you for this, but it’s only in these moments’.

Like I said, 90 per cent of the games when I’m not getting to defend and trying to find a space… I’m actually in the way of someone… and maybe it’s about not doing as much because it’s someone else’s game to play, it’s a little bit difficult. And, yeah, the psychology of playing in that Barca team, it’s intense, and learning that is intense.

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A good forward pass in the build-up to a Nikita Parris goal vs USA, 2020

So here’s something different…

I know this one.

So I’m obviously not asking specifically about the goal, but this is one of the first times you played central midfield…

(Laughs) Yeah!

And that was a big, almost controversial, talking point at the time.

The thing with playing for Phil Neville was, the guy had so much confidence in me. I was one of the best players in the world at the time. I’ve always been someone who’s been able to do everything to a decent level. Maybe I’m not the best directly at loads of things, but I’ve got a high level and high-level expectation and I understand how to play with other players. And yeah, he was saying, ‘We need to try different people in different positions. You’re obviously in the best place in your career. We want to get you more involved in the game because at right-back it’s dependent on how we play. Let’s try you in midfield against USA’. I was like, ‘What?’

And in a 4-4-2 next to Keira, who’s more of a ball player, and it was like, ‘They’ve got wingers who come inside, you’ve got to pick these up, you’ve got to learn to do that, then you’ve got to learn to pass and stuff’. But I loved it. I know I was never going to be a midfielder, but I think it taught me more about the game, and even my own position.

You were recognised as the best player in the world that year. But to have everyone debating your position, was that a bit strange?

At the time it was really frustrating because I was playing so well at full-back and Phil wanted to try something that would benefit the team. Maybe I’m not then at my best, but maybe it brings out the best in the team and actually I did quite well in midfield. Me as a midfielder actually worked well, but obviously it changed the dynamics of us on the right-hand side. Not necessarily because the player playing there was bad, but the whole dynamic changed, and then it became ‘Lucy’s fault’ for playing in midfield and I was like, ‘But I’m actually doing alright in midfield’.

I brought out better things in the likes of Keira. I remember playing with Keira and Georgia against Norway and they had really good games. It was so nice to be able to help them play better. But obviously Phil got criticised because it changed a dynamic that everybody was so used to seeing.

And with the men’s team during the summer, there was a debate about it with Trent Alexander-Arnold, and it felt like five years ago.

Yeah, 100 per cent. I feel that. I understand that. Sometimes it’s about the dynamic of the team. What brings out the best in each player? But then, it might change the dynamic somewhere else, but that’s not directly your doing.

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A dribble through the midfield against Chelsea, 2021

This is more about your role at the time, where, rather than going wide, you asked to come inside a bit more into midfield.

I joined City and it was more about coming inside as a No 6 and I was thinking, ‘This is not really the strengths of my game’. I didn’t really understand why I got signed to then play as No 6 when I was a wide full-back who could dribble, I could attack, I was up and I was down. I was being held back.

But in this moment I felt like I had an opportunity and at this time, when I was at the top of my game, it was speed, it was power, it was athleticism, it was like, ‘I’m gonna dribble past everybody’. I knew that and I felt that. At the start of this clip, I even run into someone and they fall over because I know I’ve got that power to just stride past people and create opportunities, which I’ve always really enjoyed. I think I’ve changed that, and maybe don’t do it as much any more. I’ve got different focuses, but it was something I used to love doing.

And so, in terms of energy and stamina, those things you’re renowned for, did you find it quite difficult when asked to hold your position?

Yeah, it was really difficult. I think it didn’t really get the best out of me as a player. I don’t think it got the best out of the team either. I think it was obviously a tactic that was being used in a lot of places, but it wasn’t really suiting the team. City that year, our team was unbelievable. The talent that was there was fantastic, and I don’t think we really got the best out of players because we were trying to fit a system, rather than fit the players and get the best out of the players.

In an England setting, it was trying to get the best out of the players, or in a Lyon setting, trying to get the best out of the players rather than fit a system, and it maybe let us down a few times. But in moments like this, I went off-plan!

That thing with the full-backs was something the men’s side was doing. Do you think the women’s side doing it was too systemised?

Yeah, definitely. Pep Guardiola is renowned for changing his style of play. But it’s based on the players that he signs and he signs them for that reason. Sometimes people get too caught up in wanting to copy that. But actually, if you don’t have those players, you need to get the best out of your players in their positions. It’s a system that works, but it doesn’t mean it works for you. I really felt like that, that year.

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Heading against the post in a 6-1 win over China, World Cup 2023

A far-post header at the World Cup last year. This was after the switch to three at the back when you’re playing higher. A lot of people thought you were one of the players who would benefit most from that switch. Did you feel that, or is it a tougher job being a wing-back?

(Laughs) People thought that because they think, yeah, attacking-wise. But defensively, for both me and Rachel (Daly), it was a real big shift. And to do that throughout the tournament, it took a lot out of us to constantly be running, running, running, running, running around. The two oldest players on the pitch, doing the most running in this tournament! It’s not necessarily ideal. I think, for one-off games, it brought out really good things and both myself and Rachel were hard-working and we can both defend, we can both attack. So it worked quite well. But to do that in such tight spaces constantly, and if one thing goes wrong, you’re trying to pick it apart.

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A debut Chelsea goal in a 7-0 win, 2024

And this is your most recent goal from the opening day of the season, at Crystal Palace.

Yeah, I actually had a shot in the first half, but I really hurt myself. I had a sore ankle and it was taped up. So a lot of people were like, ‘Oh, I thought she would have smacked it’. But I was thinking, ‘I couldn’t, even if I wanted to, because it would have hurt me too much’. But I didn’t want to anyway. I was walking up to it so slowly with loads of time thinking, ‘I can see either that side or that side’. The space is next to the goalkeeper because she’s obviously just had to quickly turn from defending a cross, so just get it on target, either side of the keeper. I had enough time on the edge of the box to compose myself to just pick out a spot. It’s probably not something I’m really renowned for, normally I like to pass for someone else to score.

It’s the second time you’ve come back to the WSL having been abroad. Everyone talks about the changes in terms of crowds, but have you noticed the game on the pitch change?

I think the intensity and the physicality has gone even higher. I think that’s something I noticed at Barca, playing against English teams. It was like they’d gone to another level and tactically, the teams are getting better as well, when I compare that to other leagues in the world.

Everything’s getting better and people are getting more physical, fitter. It’s fully professional, so that would make sense. But are we still seeing the level of technical and tactical ability improving? Because I think the players who I played with 10 years ago for England like Kelly Smith, Fara Williams, Anita Asante, Rachel Yankey… they would play in these leagues now easily and still be the best players, because they would learn that physicality. So it’s like, OK, we’re getting all these things, but can we improve the players? I think that’s the next thing that’s missing.

We need players to be more technical, more tactical, have better game understanding. I think that’s what comes when you’re being coached 24/7, getting coached more from a young age, which maybe my age group didn’t have. But we’re still here competing. I want to see these kids coming in and taking all our spots because they’re head and shoulders above everybody, whereas right now it’s like, we’ve become fitter, more physical, the games are entertaining that way, but I’d like to see more players coming through who have got that technical ability. I think LJ is a good example of technical ability. But are there that many people with the technical ability and the brain as well? Fara Williams, Kelly Smith, they knew everything. Do we have enough players who are like that, obsessed with the game?

In terms of your role this season, in the 2-1 win at Arsenal, Sandy Baltimore was the one pushing on and you were a bit more reserved. Was that the plan?

(Laughs) Yeah, that was definitely the plan. I think again, it’s adapting to different tactics. It’s a role that I played at Barca with the left-back being the one that goes and the right-back staying more to give more cover. Obviously, Sandy Baltimore is a winger, so it’s easy for her to go up and attack, and then we give her a little bit more cover defensively and then on the other side, we’ve got fantastic right wingers like Johanna (Rytting Kaneryd) who wants to go one-v-one so I can stay behind her. If we do want to change, I can go high. I think that’s the style of game now. You know, people try and compare: ‘Oh, the left-back scored more goals than the right-back’.”But it’s so different now, it’s not a mirror image on both sides.

I heard that in one of the pre-season games you filled in at centre-back. Is that right?

Yeah, yeah…

So if you get bored of making 70-yard overlapping runs, is…

Absolutely not. LJ keeps saying, ‘Oh, don’t ever retire — you can just go to centre-back’, and I was like, ‘No, I don’t think that’s for me’. I played there for a couple of years for England, when Alex Scott was the right-back and we needed a centre-half with pace, so there was me playing left-side centre-back. I can play there. But it’s not what I enjoy. Right-back is the position I love the most in the world.

(Top photo: Harriet Lander/Chelsea FC, via Getty Images; design: Kelsea Petersen)