READY FOR war
She was a surprise package in Canada last time out, but the pressure’s on ‘Mini Messi’ to deliver as England go for glory
FRAN KIRBY Position Forward | Caps 37 | Goals 12
World Cups shape careers. World Cups change lives. Before the last tournament in Canada four years ago, Fran Kirby was far from a household name. At the time she was just 21 and playing for Reading in what was then called FA Women’s Super League 2, the second tier of English women’s football.
She had played just a handful of times for her country, and was scarcely known outside experts in the women’s game.
Then came England’s group match against Mexico in Moncton, New Brunswick. In the 71st minute, the forward pounced on a loose ball on the edge of the penalty area, flicking it beyond one defender before jinking past another. She then prodded it into the corner of the Mexican net to hand the Lionesses a crucial 1-0 lead.
“I think you can see by my celebration I had no idea what to do,” Kirby tells Fourfourtwo with a nervous laugh, four years on. “I just kind of ran around.”
Now, thanks to that goal, England’s surprise third-place finish and the huge success that followed her subsequent move to Chelsea, she’s a bankable superstar, featuring in huge marketing campaigns for brands such as Nike, Capital One and Swarovski. This month, her face is gracing FFT’S cover for the second time in just seven issues – third in 11 issues if you count the tiny illustrated version on the front of our September 2018 edition.
Most importantly, in December she was nominated for the first women’s Ballon d’or.
This time, Kirby isn’t an unknown. This time, England aren’t outsiders. This time, can they go two better?
Did you watch women’s football when you were growing up? Yeah, the Reading Royals because a lot of my coaches played for the women’s team and my mum took me to watch them. I was an avid fan. She took me to as many England games as possible. I went to see Jill Scott’s debut, and was one of the little girls going round after the game with a programme, asking for people’s signatures. It’s mad that I’m now in the same team as her.
Was women’s football on TV when you were growing up? The FA Cup final was. It wasn’t promoted that much – it was very male orientated. But there would be every football game possible on the TV in my house – English, Italian, Spanish, we were just completely football crazy. When the women’s FA Cup final was on, I’d make sure we were watching that.
Who were your football idols growing up? In the men’s game, Thierry Henry – I tried to copy his goals out in the back garden. In the women’s game, Kelly Smith. I trained with her before she retired and it was one of the most exciting training sessions I’ve ever taken part in. We were doing a drill and all I could think was, ‘I’m training with Kelly Smith!’
What did you notice from training with her? Her ability on the ball. We played against her in the FA Cup final – Chelsea vs Arsenal when she was nearing the end of her career – and she was so good it made me think about how good she was in her prime. I tried to learn her creativity and confidence on the ball.
When you were trying to be Thierry Henry, which goal would you attempt to replicate? The one he scored against Manchester United from outside the box, where he’s flicked it up, spun round and volleyed into the top corner. It didn’t go well for me most of the time, but I kept trying. When me and my brother used to play in the garden, one of us would be the commentator and the other the player. You’d end up being Michael Owen, Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry, Kelly Smith... whoever popped into our heads because we watched so much football and knew every player. Hopefully I’d be a good commentator! How did it feel to be nominated for the first ever women’s Ballon d’or? It was a very surreal moment and incredible experience for me. For the news to come out on England duty was really special because I was with Lucy Bronze, so we congratulated each other on both being nominated. I knew I’d had a pretty good season but didn’t think something like that would happen.
You’ve won so many awards domestically – what difference does having a global prize available for women make? I think it’s massive. Ada Hegerberg spoke a lot in her acceptance speech about the award being a win for women’s football in general, not just for the individual. I think that shows where women’s football is going. It will continue to grow, especially in this country with the World Cup and how England get on in France.
What must you do to win the Ballon D’OR? Score in the World Cup final! [Laughs]
What’s your season with Chelsea been like? I came into the league struggling with a bit of an injury. I’m always really critical of my own performance, whether I play well or not. Am I getting assists, am I getting goals? I’ve been happy with my performances, based on those things. But I know I can do better and I need to keep working hard to do so.
It must be hard starting the season with an injury, knowing the World Cup is at the end? That was one of the reasons why I stopped, as I had to be ready for the World Cup. No one really knew what the injury was and it might have got worse, so I knew I had to take a step back. Now I have no problems – I feel fit and confident going into the tournament.
Was the 2015 World Cup a breakthrough moment for you? Yes. I played a few games for England leading up to the World Cup, which got my name out there a bit. I think a lot of people were talking about me as I played in WSL2. I got player of the match against USA and Sweden, and then scoring that goal against Mexico in the group stage really made people aware of who I was. It just built from there.
How did people respond once you got back from the tournament? They started asking me for photos in Tesco’s car park! My family and friends have always been the same, though. I’ve got a couple of best friends who I go to when I need to talk. There’s no one else and it’s a close-knit group. I’ve tried to keep myself small and that’s why I continue to be the person I am – a little bit annoying, causing chaos and playing pranks is how I’d probably describe myself. [Laughs]
“A BOSNIA PLAYER ONCE CAME UP TO ME DURING THE GAME AND SAID, ‘I’M YOUR BIGGEST FAN’”
How did international players react to you? When we played against the USA for the first time, I didn’t know any of them. Now there’s a mutual respect there. People become aware of who you are and want to swap shirts with me. I never thought anyone would come into the dressing room asking for my shirt.
Who stands out? I was playing for Chelsea in Bosnia, Sarajevo and one of the opposition girls came up to me during the game, while we were playing, and said, ‘I’m your biggest fan.’ I didn’t have a shirt to swap, so I made sure she got one when they came to Kingsmeadow. That was quite special for me, knowing that someone from Bosnia who probably hadn’t seen me play much was a big fan of mine.
For years it’s been, ‘We want to win for the women’s game’. Can you ever let go of that and just play for yourself? There’s always going to be a burning passion – it’s about encouraging girls to play football, especially when they get bullied for playing it. That’s coming out a lot more now because of social media – parents will write to us and say what’s happening to their daughters. It used to happen to all of us growing up. I went and played against a boys’ team and they laughed at me. It’s trying to explain to those girls, ‘I’m playing for England and that happened to me – in 15 years you could be on this platform, so don’t quit’. If more girls are aware of that, they can make a career out of it. There will always be that passion to grow the women’s game.
What did you learn from the last World Cup? Have more fun. I knew I had to work twice as hard because I was playing in WSL2. I wasn’t used to that high level, training every day, then recovering and playing again. I stressed myself out. Now I just want to enjoy it, relax and play with freedom. I’ve learned to have more fun, when before I was very serious. Now I’m trying to be more human instead of just this athlete.
Do you think back to that World Cup often? Yeah, it was such an amazing experience. Not everyone gets to play or score at a World Cup. Everyone asks me what’s my favourite goal, and that will always be the first one I think of. We won a bronze medal which was incredible, beating Germany 1-0. I was on the bench, and we all managed to get halfway onto the pitch to celebrate when we scored during extra time.
What do you remember about your goal? My first touch was bad. It took the ball away from me and I was thinking, ‘Oh no, it’s gone’, but I remember taking it down and punting it. I saw it hitting the post, but luckily it went in.
Suffering an injury in the middle of a World Cup must have been difficult? I don’t think I was physically ready. I hadn’t done the gym work everyone else had done because they were all on specific programmes. Little things like that made a huge difference.
You’ve now got nicknames like ‘Mini Messi’ and ‘Marta’ – do you like those monikers? Someone calls you ‘Mini Messi’, then everyone turns on the TV and expects to see something amazing. It’s the same with Marta, probably the best women’s footballer ever. That comes with a lot of pressure, but I just try to focus on being the best player I can be. It’s a massive compliment, though.
Were you surprised Phil Neville called you that, after former manager Mark Sampson had done it, too? It caught me off guard, as he did the interview and then I got asked questions. I just have to take it in my stride and hopefully repay him by winning the World Cup.
What would it mean to lift the trophy? It’s something that would stay with you for the rest of your life. All I wanted to do growing up was win, whether it was a school tournament, the nutmeg game me and my brother played, the Champions League, World Cup, whatever. I just want to win.
Where does that come from? My mum. She was stubborn. She’d say there’s no point going to play football unless you want to win. Obviously enjoy it, prove people wrong, but want to win. My whole family are like that.
Have you had much banter with club-mate Erin Cuthbert ahead of taking on Scotland? It’s going to be a war. It’s one of international football’s fiercest rivalries and will be a great spectacle. We want to prove that beating them 6-0 at Euro 2017 wasn’t just a one-off.