‘I was in my comfort zone. I needed a challenge’
USA World Cup winner Rose Lavelle on her new life in England with Manchester City
ROSE LAVELLE may have been away from America at what has been the most pivotal and important time in the recent history of the free world, but in her Manchester apartment block it has not felt like she has missed a beat.
The USA international and her teammate for club and country, Sam Mewis, who like Lavelle signed for Manchester City in August, were glued to coverage of the US election last week, watching on from afar as a near week-long vote count finally put Joe Biden into the White House – and Donald Trump out.
Reflecting on the tension of the wait to see if Biden was elected president, Lavelle wonders: ‘Why does it take so long for the votes to be counted? I don’t know but they’re doing it by hand. Shout to the vote counters.
‘Me and Sam were all over it throughout the lead-up. I guess I expected to wake up the next day and know who it was who’d won. There was so much anticipation... “oh my gosh, what happens next?”.’
What happened next was a changing of the guard. In Manchester, that happened nearly three months ago as Lavelle and Mewis joined the WSL’s American revolution by crossing the pond. In their wake came Christen Press and Tobin Heath to Manchester United, Alex Morgan to Tottenham, plus Denmark’s Pernille Harder moving to Chelsea as the most expensive female player ever.
The coronavirus pandemic has coincided with the greatest investment and elevation of the women’s game in England since Super League was created ten years ago.
But while the US woke up to a new president, Manchester was waking up to a new national lockdown, after a series of local ones. The country is on shutdown until December 2 but women’s football is prospering.
Lavelle helped City wallop Covidstricken Bristol City 8-1 last weekend. City rivals United – and a battle with USA team-mates Press and Heath – await tomorrow lunchtime.
The four American stars will make the derby more high-profile than ever before and Casey Stoney’s United sit top, with City a lowly fifth. The FA Cup winners badly need a victory.
‘It will be super-competitive and the rivalry is incredible from what I’ve seen on TV,’ she adds. ‘For me and Sam it will be really fun to play against Christen and Tobin.’
The American NWSL does not resume until next year, leaving players such as 2019 Ballon d’Or winner Megan Rapinoe without a club. Lavelle, however, did not want to wait.
‘It was an opportunity to challenge myself and put myself in an environment that makes me uncomfortable every day,’ Lavelle explains of her move across the pond.
‘In the US I was in my comfort zone for four years and it got to the point where I needed a change. I’d been exploring a few options but City was top of my list – they have invested so much in the women’s game, have so many great players. This was an opportunity I felt I couldn’t pass up.’
Moving during a pandemic has its issues but Lavelle insists she went into the switch with her eyes wide open and has taken everything in her stride.
‘Being on lockdown has not
‘To play at Wembley was so exciting. We knew when we came there would be so many opportunities to win trophies’
been a problem for me,’ she says. ‘I love doing nothing anyway so it was no trouble for me.
‘But I’m grateful for FaceTime, texting and communication. It’s been good so far.’
She has even got used to the Manchester weather. ‘Everyone asks me about the rain. I don’t know why, it’s always fall (autumn) here and I’m used to that,’ adds the Cincinnati native.
Having Mewis by her side as she signed, and her flat a few doors away, has helped Lavelle feel at home. ‘We kept each other updated on where we were going and what we were doing before we came here,’ Lavelle reveals.
‘It’s great to have one of your best friends with you.’
The pair have not yet seen much of the city, understandably. ‘We’ve got to some coffee shops,’ says Lavelle. ‘I’ve never lived inside a city before and it’s really nice to be able to go outside and just walk to a cafe.’
Lavelle has won 45 caps for her country, scoring 12 goals, including one in the World Cup final last year when the USA defeated Holland 2-0.
Her side beat England in a barnstorming semi-final and Lavelle likes what she sees of the Lionesses, who just fell short in Lyon, beaten 2-1 by the eventual world champions. ‘I keep feeling England have become a bit of a rival for us,’ she admits. ‘Every time we play them it’s a close and competitive game. They have a lot of good players and really, really good young players.
‘I have so much more respect for them having seen some of them in training every day here.’
It did not take Lavelle and Mewis long to claim their first trophy with their new team-mates.
Gareth Taylor’s side won last season’s FA Cup at Wembley two weeks ago and still have the WSL, Champions
League, League Cup and this term’s FA Cup to play for. Phew. Are you keeping up?
‘To play at Wembley was so exciting, so fun. We knew when we came here there would be so many opportunities to win different trophies, which adds an extra element of excitement,’ says Lavelle. But it is United, the noisy neighbours perhaps, who top the table ahead of their derby clash. United have never won the title but are flying under Casey Stoney. And it is not just on the pitch they are on the up. Press and Heath outsold their male counterparts in shirt sales for the first three days after their signing and Lavelle adds: ‘It just shows how much people want to watch and support [women’s football].’
Lavelle calls Pep Guardiola, manager of the men’s team, a ‘genius’ and admires new boss Taylor’s work. ‘I spoke to Gareth and he laid out how the team played, how he saw me fitting in. He’s been great,’ Lavelle reveals. ‘He’s taught me so much and I would like to hope we can all learn from each other now.’
The former Washington Spirit midfielder stops short of drawing comparisons between the US and UK leagues. ‘The NWSL is transitional and aggressive and hard to play in and WSL is hard and technical. I just think it’s great for women’s football to have so many great leagues out there,’ she says.
Jill Ellis, the Portsmouth-born coach who led the US to World Cup triumph, is cited as another big influence.
‘I loved Jill – she has a very good tactical understanding of the game and her coaching staff pushed and challenged us,’ she adds. Does Lavelle intend to stick around? She agreed a one-year deal and is not looking too far ahead. ‘I’m honestly not sure. I’m just enjoying it and taking it day by day, game by game,’ she adds.
If that plan is anything to go by so far, Lavelle will be lighting up the English game for some time yet. The American WSL revolution is under way and (thanks to BT Sport and the BBC) it will be televised.