The Arsenal icon almost called it quits right at the beginning
Vivianne Miedema is one of the first names that springs to mind when you think of women’s football.
Her goal record at both club and international level is something to behold. Miedema has 185 goals from 216 league appearances and 107 in 100 appearances for the Netherlands.
However the Arsenal forward almost decided to call quits on her career at the age of just 18. It goes back to the year 2015 when the Netherlands had just been beaten by Japan and the Women’s World Cup in Canada.
Miedema admitted she struggled with the pressure of playing at the top
The 25-year-old has admitted that she was at a difficult moment in her career and wasn’t sure if she could handle the pressure of playing football at the highest level.
“It was the toughest moment of my career,” she told the BBC show, MOTDx.
“I was really close to retiring. When I came home, I said I couldn’t do it any more. I couldn’t deal with the pressure, I didn’t like football and I told my mum ‘this is me done’. I was going to play for fun back in Holland.”
Miedema had moved from her local side SC Heerenveen to German side Bayern Munich at that stage of her career and despite winning the league in her first season, struggled being out of her comfort zone.
“Bayern felt like the right step after Heerenveen,” Miedema recalled.
“I didn’t speak English or German at the time so it was difficult, but winning the title was great.”
But after sitting down and assessing what was best for her, Miedema said that her change of mindset helped her to improve and get her to where she is today.
She said: ” My mindset changed, I was feeling a lot more free, feeling a lot more OK about myself and not listening to the pressure of the outside world.”
From Hoogeveen to making history 💪💪
This is @VivianneMiedema in the making….#BBCFootball #MOTDx
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) April 27, 2022
The Arsenal forward has broken record after record in England
The Dutch international eventually joined Women’s Super League giants Arsenal in 2017 and hasn’t looked back since. In her time at the Gunners, the 25-year-old has cemented herself as a legend at the club, becoming Arsenal’s all-time leading goalscorer.
Miedema broke further records by becoming the WSL’s all-time highest scorer as well as becoming the first player to record 100 goal involvements in a season.
Miedema has ambitions to win the Champions League
The forward’s future is now the current centre of attention. Miedema is out of contract at the end of the season, fuelling speculation as to where the Dutch striker will be come next season and has ambitions to win the Champions League.
“The door for Arsenal is definitely not closed yet. I would like to win the Champions League,” she told Algemeen Dagblad.
“I want to get the most out of it. That means I may have to take the next step. I’m 25 and that’s still quite young, but I’ve been around for a while.
“The years that are coming now officially belong to me, I have to spend them somewhere at a club that best suits my ambitions.”
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