Manchester City's Abby Dahlkemper tempted to WSL by tactical challenge
World Cup winning centre-back Abby Dahlkemper has praised the “technical and tactical” level of the Women’s Super League after arriving at Manchester City from the US.
Despite only playing one game at her new club, the 27-year-old – who signed on 16 January from North Carolina Courage – has already noticed a key difference between the NWSL in the US and the WSL.
In her first interview since moving to Manchester, Dahlkemper said: “I think there is a lot of physicality in the WSL and that is very similar to the NWSL, but there’s a lot more tactical awareness and the way that people play here is very structured and the ball possession is very valued here and that is very different to the American league.
“The tactical and technical ability of the players here is very high, especially at City, and that is something that is cool and different and is something I’m going to work and grow on.”
It was the tactical side of the game that helped entice her across the Atlantic, soon after marrying Minnesota United player Aaron Schoenfeld. “The way that City plays, the goalkeeper and the centre-backs are setting [up] a lot of the play and I think that was attractive to me, the [focus on] possession and the value of that is kind of different to what I was used to,” she said.
Being entrusted to dictate from the back is something Dahlkemper has been getting used to under the new US women’s national team head coach, Vlatko Andonovski, and doing the same at club level, despite being so far from home, will only aid her bid to remain a fixture of a team she made her debut for in October 2016.
“The technical and tactical awareness that is required of the centre-backs at the national team and at City is very, very similar,” she explained. “We’re not just defenders anymore, we’re starting plays from the back and we need to make the right decisions and send the right balls in depending on the other team’s play, or what spaces we can take advantage of. That’s exciting because it’s fun having the ball, playing certain passes and reading the way that different teams line up.”
Dahlkemper’s transition into the City back line alongside her opposite number in the 2019 World Cup semi-final, the England captain Steph Houghton, was made to look easy on Sunday when City beat West Ham 4-0. “Steph’s been amazing to work with,” Dahlkemper said. “It was kind of seamless in the last game. I have always respected her [Houghton] and admired her play and amazing career thus far. She’s amazing with the ball at her feet and an amazing defender as well so being able to work with her and hopefully we can continue to develop that partnership.”
In joining City, the defender becomes the third US World Cup star at the club, with Rose Lavelle and Sam Mewis having joined in the summer. The difference though, is that Dahlkemper’s contract is a two-and-a-half year deal as opposed to the short-term one-year contracts of her compatriots.
She said: “I really wanted to relish this opportunity, to experience Europe and to be a part of this team for a while and to really experience everything. I’m going to grow throughout these years and I wanted something different, a change, so to be able to experience this for two and a half years is going to benefit me on and off the field.”
The centre-back has also been impressed with what comes from being attached to a top Premier League club. “Having world-class facilities and gym access, recovery tools and the field all there is really exciting,” she added. “You’re able to be a professional footballer and have that be your main focus. You’re in your office from 7am-2pm and that’s you’re workday so it’s been really cool to experience that.”
Her integration into the team may have felt easy, aside from having to be “ready for the cold, often” but up next is a challenge on a different level, with City travelling to face Arsenal on Sunday.