| Intro | Association footballer |
| Is |
Athlete Football player Association football player |
| From | United States of America |
| Type | Sports |
| Gender | female |
| Birth | 28 October 1991, Berwick-upon-Tweed |
| Age: | 28 years |
Lucia Roberta Tough “Lucy” Bronze (born 28 October 1991) is an English female footballer who plays for Manchester City Women in the FA WSL and for England at senior international level. Bronze plays primarily as a right back, however she can play anywhere in the defence or midfield. In 2014 she won the PFA Women’s Players’ Player of the Year award.
She previously played for Sunderland Women, Everton Ladies and Liverpool Ladies as well as North Carolina Tar Heels at college level in the United States.
Bronze also represented England at all youth levels, and featured in their squads at Euro 2013 and the 2015 World Cup, helping them to third place at the latter tournament.
Club career
Bronze began playing for Sunderland A.F.C. Women at under-12 academy level and joined the senior team when she turned 16 in 2007. She had previously captained the under-16 team. In 2007–08 Bronze was named Manager’s Player of the Year as Sunderland finished third in the FA Women’s Premier League Northern Division. The next season she helped them win the Northern Division and gain promotion to the National Division. Bronze also appeared in the 2009 FA Women’s Cup final, claiming the Player of the Match award in Sunderland’s 2–1 defeat to Arsenal.
That summer Bronze moved to North Carolina to study at UNC. She won a scholarship from coach Anson Dorrance after impressing him during several soccer camps. She went on to feature prominently in midfield for the Tar Heels varsity team, eventually becoming the first British player to win an NCAA Cup in December 2009. All-American honours followed for Bronze, who scored three goals in 24 games.
She then returned to Sunderland A.F.C. Women in the Premier League National Division. In September 2010 it was revealed that Bronze had signed for Everton, when she was named in their UEFA Women’s Champions League squad. She debuted for Everton against MTK in Hungary, but continued to play for Sunderland while her new club awaited the 2011 FA WSL.
In November 2012, Bronze left Everton to sign for local rivals Liverpool, following Natasha Dowie and Fara Williams who had made the same move days earlier.
Bronze was part of the Liverpool side that won the FA WSL in 2013 and again in 2014. The following year, she was awarded the PFA Women’s Players’ Player of the Year. Following her second league title, she departed Liverpool to sign for Manchester City.
In her first year at Manchester City, Bronze scored 2 goals from the fullback position, helping City to 2nd in the league meaning they qualified for UEFA Women’s Champions League football for the first time ever. In 2016, her second season in Manchester, she scored 2 league goals as the Blues went unbeaten for the entire season. The defender contributed to an outstanding record in which we saw Manchester City only concede 4 league goals. She also helped Manchester City to their 2nd Continental Cup win in 3 years, scoring the winning goal in the 105th minute of the final. She played a part in both the home and away leg of Manchester City’s first ever Champions League games, scoring 2 and assisting 2 in a 6-0 (aggregate) win over Russian champions Zvezda Perm.
International career
Youth teams
Bronze was called into the England under-17 squad in March 2007, while she was playing for Blyth Town WFC in the Northern Girls Tyne Tees League. She went on to participate in the England under-17 squad that came fourth in the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in New Zealand. Lucy was also part of the England under-19 squad that won the UEFA Women’s Under-19 Championship in Belarus during July 2009 and part of the squad the following year that finished runners up to France in the finals held in June 2010 in Macedonia.
She was called into an England under-20 training camp in January 2010. After featuring in all three games during the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, Bronze made her debut for the England under-23 team in a 2–1 win over Germany in September 2010.
Senior team
Bronze made her debut for the England senior team on 26 June 2013 as a substitute in the 67th minute for Dunia Susi in a friendly against world champions Japan at the Pirelli Stadium in Burton-upon-Trent. She had a goal disallowed in the 89th minute of the 1–1 draw. The following month, she was an unused member of the squad at Euro 2013 in Sweden, a group stage exit.
Bronze scored her first England goal on 14 June 2014, confirming a 3–0 away win over Belarus in World Cup qualification. She scored again on 17 September, as England concluded their qualification process with a 10–0 away win over Montenegro and a 100% record. On 23 November Bronze started England’s 3–0 defeat by Germany in the first England women’s match at Wembley Stadium.
Bronze was part of the England squad at the 2015 Women’s World Cup. In the last 16 against Norway in Ottawa, she scored the winning goal from outside the penalty area as England came from behind to win 2–1, their first knock-out win at the World Cup. She also went on to score what proved to be the quarter-final winner against Canada in Vancouver as she netted England’s second from a header in the 14th minute.
International goals
- Scores and results list England’s goal tally first.
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 14 June 2014 | Traktar Stadium, Minsk, Belarus | Belarus | 3–0 | 3–0 | World Cup 2015 qualification |
| 2. | 17 September 2014 | Stadion Pod Malim Brdom, Petrovac, Montenegro | Montenegro | 3–0 | 10–0 | World Cup 2015 qualification |
| 3. | 22 June 2015 | Lansdowne Stadium, Ottawa, Canada | Norway | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup |
| 4. | 27 June 2015 | BC Place, Vancouver, Canada | Canada | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup |
Personal life
Bronze (6) marking Arsenal’s Rachel Yankey in October 2014
Bronze is of half Portuguese and half English descent and was born in Berwick-upon-Tweed. She has since lived on Lindisfarne, in Belford and in Alnwick. Having studied at The Duchess’s Community High School, Alnwick, she moved to North Carolina to study at UNC. Bronze subsequently moved to Leeds Metropolitan University. Lucy has two siblings: an elder brother, Jorge; and younger sister, Sophie.
Honours
Club
- Sunderland
- FA Women’s Premier League Northern Division: 2008–09
- Liverpool
- FA WSL: 2013, 2014
- Manchester City
- FA WSL: 2016,
- 2016 FA WSL Cup
Individual
- PFA Women’s Players’ Player of the Year: 2013–14
- Vauxhall England Player of the Year: 2015
- FA WSL 1 Players’ Player of the Year: 2016
- MCWFC Etihad Airways Player of the Season: 2016
- Sports, PA. “England’s Lucy Bronze named player of the year at FA Women’s Football Awards”. www.thepfa.com. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
- Sports, PA. “Bronze caps memorable 2015 with Player of the Year award”. www.thefa.com. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
- award, Jordan. “Jordan Nobbs: Arsenal midfielder wins England player of the year award”. www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
- finale, mcwfc. www.mancity.com https://www.mancity.com/news/mcwfc/2016/12/02/man-city-women-end-of-season-awards-2016/1480711650364. Retrieved 2017-01-07.