Euro 2022 winner Alessia Russo on making history, inspiring a generation and that viral backheel goal
It was a day for history, when the world saw one of the most famous goals in world football history, courtesy of a teenage player, and celebrated it with a whole load of people. Alessia Russo gave the world an unforgettable moment and has left everyone in awe.
“It was such a huge moment for me,” said the teenager, who was 11 years old on September 25, 2016. “It kind of hit me. When I came back after winning that goal and I saw my family and my dad and people cheering for me, I just felt I was on top of the world. That was kind of the best feeling in the world.”
Having won the 2018 FIFA World Cup and Olympic Gold Medal, and the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup with the Italy team, as well as the Olympics and FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, Alessia will become one of the most successful players in international football history.
Her story is a tale of inspiration, of a young girl who rose to the top when she was just 11 and of the determination to prove young girls everywhere that they too can be heroes.
Her story is an emotional rollercoaster, but we want to capture the emotional highs and lows of her journey.
Alessia Russo became an internet sensation
Alessia is a very likeable young girl who is very well spoken and who is able to connect with people. She is intelligent, with a strong work ethic and she is very confident in her own skin.
She was the kind of person who likes to be the centre of attention whenever she could. When she left school to spend the summer playing in a football tournament in Austria with the other youth players, she wore her school uniform. Later, she would wear her school jumper with shorts on her school days when she played for the youth team.
At the time, she was in a very small village in
