Flying back into football

But anyway, I am Renee, I am trans and I've been trying to get back into football by following the WSL. Honestly, my relationship with football is complicated, but as I think a lot of amab kids are, I was really into football. I'd say this peaked between like 2016 and 2018. But a few years later I started to realise that I was transgender, and in my head football was associated with masculinity(obviously that's short-sighted but past me wasn't rational) and so I decided I needed to have nothing to do with football anymore. There was a negative mental association with it to me.

And I thought that was that for a while. I was under the impression that I didn't like football and that I never had. Apart from every couple of months where I would play fifa or watch old YouTube videos about football that reminded me of the thing that I used to be into.

Like there was a prevailing theory at the time that the only reason Arsenal won was because Barca assumed Stina Blackstenius would be offside as she often is. But she wasn't and because she was unmarked she was able to score.

And so like "Oh well if anyone else made that run then they might not have won."

Yeah but, like, Stina made the run. What is the point in asking that. We don't know what would've happened if it went down differently. Because it didn't.

Because they are just the wildest team some times.

Did you know, in the mid 2015/16 champions league group stages Bayern beat Arsenal 5-1. And then a year later they met in the knockouts of the 2016/17 champions league. And in the first leg Bayern won 5-1 and then they went to the Emirates for the second leg and won 5-1 AGAIN!! Like what the fuck. Three consecutive meetings of these two sides and they all resulted in a 5-1 loss to Arsenal.

But also in a 2015 Bundesliga match against Wolfsburg Robert Lewondoski was subbed in at the 51st minute and then went on to score five goals in 8 minutes and 59 seconds. That feels like a borderline inhuman feat. Five in nine is insanity.

He is not.

He is the top scoring man.

He had scored 50 international goals in 102 international matches.

Viv has scored 95 international goals in 115 international matches.

THAT'S LIKE NEARLY DOUBLE!! It's mad.

She also holds the record for...checks notes :

Most goals in WSL history

Most goal involvements in WSL history

Most first half hat-tricks in WSL history

Most goals in a single WSL season

Most goals in a single WSL game

Most goal involvements in a single WSL game

First player involved in 100 goals in the WSL

First player to score against all WSL goals

*here is my twenty three page essay*

Reasons why I love Aitana Bonmati:

And like I don't get to talk about it.

But isn't it so cool. It's a game that is played all across the world. And its played different depending on where it is and what culture they have around it.

In my country of England we traditionally use long ball strategy. Moving the ball across the pitch with power and distance. We also have an emphasis on set pieces.

The Spanish developed a style called Tiki Taka which involves lots of short quick passes.

The Brazilians pioneered dribbling. And single players using skill to take on defenders and bring the ball forward themselves.

The Dutch invented 'Total Football' which is about fluid motion. Players moving between positions freely and seamless transitions.

I think that Italians traditionally play defensively but I'm not certain. I can't remember.

There's probably more but I'm not a fucking encyclopedia.

But one of the best things about football I think is when teams do all of this. When they play with the influences and innovations from all over the world.

That is when football, I think, earns its nickname of 'the beautiful game'.