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BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year 2021: Vivianne Miedema profile
We are profiling each of the five nominees for the BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year 2021 award. You can vote for your winner on the BBC Sport website or further down this page until Monday, 8 November at 09:00 GMT. The result will be revealed on Monday, 29 November on BBC World Service and the BBC Sport website.
Age: 25 Position: Striker Plays for: Arsenal and the Netherlands
Achievements of 2020-2021Broke Women’s Super League all-time goal scorer recordScored the most goals at a single Olym in the women’s eventNominated for Fifa Women’s Best award, WSL Player of the Season and selected as part of Fifpro Women’s World 11 and IFFHS Women’s World TeamDid you know?Miedema is the Netherlands’ all-time leading goalscorer Scored over 100 goals for Arsenal across all competitionsWon two German titles with Bayern Munich and one WSL trophy with ArsenalIn her own words
How does it feel to be nominated for this award again?
“It’s obviously quite nice being rewarded for the season you’ve had or the player you are. Something that makes you feel good.”
What has been your highlight from the year?
“On a personal note, my Olym were quite successful but as a team it wasn’t. Then with Arsenal, we obviously had a tough season [although] we did manage to qualify for the Champions League which was really good. Obviously with Arsenal we’ve been off to a flying start [after the summer]. For example the Chelsea game at the Emirates, winning that game 3-2 was a highlight early in the season.”
What was it like to win the Golden Boot at Tokyo 2020?
“To be honest, it was a little bit disappointing because I didn’t even get a wee medal or cup or anything from it. Like I said, I felt really good at the Olym, everything I touched went in. I was really confident and it was just a shame that as a team, we went out on penalties against the USA but it’s a learning curve that we can be better in the summer again.”
What has football meant to you since the pandemic started?
“It’s been a bit different to be honest. I think before that, you just continuously were in this cycle of games, when you just had to play football. I think once it falls away, then you realise what you miss. Coming back in, it’s been tough, especially not being able to see the family and friends. But we are lucky that we’re able to be on the pitch and just do what we love.”
Do you think you have changed as a player?
“I think so yeah, I think I’ve been relaxed about it, but I think I’ve also been able to see that sometimes I’m not feeling it and I need to take care of myself more. I think that when you’re younger, you mostly forgot that and it’s always football, football, football! After the lockdown, you realise sometimes switching off from football will be beneficial to then come back in again.”
What does it mean to you to break the WSL scoring record?
“I mean I’m a number 9, so people always say I need to score goals, so it’s my job, but some of them are more special than others. Like obviously being top goal scorer for your country, was really special, being the first player to score 50 goals in the WSL all these things. Being top goalscorer at the Olym, it’s probably things like right now, you’ve probably not got any feelings about but in the future, once I hang up my boots [I will]. These are the moments that I really look back on and be proud of as a player.”
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