BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year 2025 contender Alessia Russo

Russo talks about how she feels she has improved over the past year:

“I play my best when I’m having fun and I know I’m training hard and getting my work done, so that’s something I can always control.

“There are so many different aspects to the No. 9 position, it’s so detailed and there are so many nuances. I’m still always learning. We have great coaches here at Arsenal. I have great players to learn from as well. Then when the big games come, the more I do it, the more I get used to it.”

On winning Euro 2025 with England:

“The whole tournament was a complete roller coaster. There were highs and lows. It was very difficult emotionally. It was exhausting on our bodies.

“I remember after Sweden [quarter-final] In the game, a lot of us were really battered and bruised. It was very intense. But you have to turn things around quickly. He moves very quickly.

“I think the way we won throughout that entire tournament was just grit and resilience. I think we knew we had the team, we knew we had what it took.”

“You’re playing against the best teams in the world, the best players in the world, and sometimes you have to win dirty sometimes.”

Regarding the Champions League final:

“The overriding feeling I can remember from that whole day was just being very calm, like we knew we had done the work, we knew we had what it took, we knew we believed in the game plan and what we wanted to do.

“Obviously playing against a team like Barcelona, ​​you have to be comfortable not having the ball because they are so talented. When they have the ball, they don’t give it away as much.

“As players in the press and out of possession, we were really focused on our task at hand. There was a lot of running and a lot of defensive work. But in the end that’s what got the job done. I think you have to be OK when you win games like that as well.”

On Arsenal and England legend Kelly Smith being her idol growing up:

“I had the pleasure of watching her many times with my father. Seeing her in the England team too, was absolutely fantastic. I wish she could have played longer and continued playing now, but she was one of the best players ever.”

“I think anyone who played with Kelly would say the same thing and I never enjoyed doing it. But watching her she was someone I always loved.”