KENDALL MINT – Lucia Kendall shares her rapid rise to Lioness success

Lucia Kendall burst into the football world’s consciousness after a stellar senior England debut against Australia last month. Composed and confident on and off the ball, Kendall was named Player of the Match, having looked like she’d been part of the team for years.  Clare McEwen learns more about where Lucia Kendall’s ability to read the game comes from and about her surprise call-up.

After the game, Lionesses head coach Sarina Wiegman spoke about Kendall’s performance, saying: “She picks positions up well and she reads the game really well. It just comes with her and she keeps things really simple, but that’s not always easy.”

Aston Villa boss, Natalia Arroyo, agrees with Wiegman: “She’s a smart player, technically very, very good and she can do a lot of things, but especially she reads when to do these things.

“I think this timing, this positioning, this understanding of the game is the hardest thing for the coaches to give to the players. I think the ability she has to play easy and find magical solutions when you need that. She has a lot of range of passing. She can dribble. She can carry the ball. Or she can stay still and wait for her actions and dominate the 360° of the midfield.

“The main thing for me is how she understands the game and from where she plays the game, she dictates the tempo. I think that’s the hardest thing for a midfielder and especially impressive when you are talking about a 21-year-old player. Normally you get that with experience, but she has that naturally.”

Everybody’s going to want to know about your England debut. How was it for you? How was it settling into that first senior camp?

Yeah, the whole camp was a bit of a whirlwind. From the call, I didn’t expect to get called up, definitely didn’t expect to play or anything. I just went into the camp and wanted to take as much as I could from it. Just learn, you’re around some unbelievable players, just to learn and take it all in.

But to be able to make my debut. It was a great game to go into. I know it sounds stupid but they made it so easy for me to play. I just really enjoyed it and just took it all in and my family were there as well, which was really nice to share that with them too.

I think you’re playing it down a little bit, your performance, you had an absolute blinder. 

[modestly] I just like to keep things simple, that’s really the way that I play. Just keeping things simple.

And I think my experience of playing in every role in midfield. When I played at Southampton, I played in more attack in midfield, like in the 10. Throughout the age groups, I was more of a pivot, like a 6. But I’ve played the box-to-box role as well. And here [at Villa], I’m playing a little bit deeper, probably. I think that experience really helped, to be able to go in and getting into goal scoring positions like a 10 would, but also defend and get on the ball deep as well. I think having all of that experience definitely really helped me in that moment.

Do you think your versatility helped get the call up as well?

Yeah, I’m sure it did. Sarina didn’t say too much but I think for me it was about coming in here at Villa and just getting better as a player.

And it was, how can I make that step into the Super League? I had the confidence in myself that I had it in me and I could do it, but football’s a game of opinions, you know, like you need to prove to the manager that you deserve to play.

I think the trust that she’s [Natalia Arroyo] shown in me as well has been… I’m so grateful for that because she didn’t have to throw me in the deep end at the Emirates, you know, she didn’t have to do that, but she did. I’m really grateful for that and to be able to show what I can do.

Like I said, that call up, I definitely didn’t expect at all. But yeah, I was really grateful for it. 

My next question was, in your wildest dreams, did you expect Sarina’s call at this point in your career? 

I think I’ve come to Villa and in the back of my mind was like well, maybe if I can have a good season I can get in and around it, you know, towards the end of the season. That was kind of really an aim for the season, potentially, getting called up, but definitely not expected this soon.

So yeah, to be honest, I was really surprised.

And how has being at Villa helped you get that first senior cap so quickly? Is it a good environment for young players to develop their craft?

Yeah I think you can tell the manager trusts young players. Like Rach Maltby and Georgia Mullett, me, she’s playing young players and giving us the trust to go out and play and that’s not that easy to come by in football. In general, people want players with experience, so yeah, I think to be able to be given that opportunity is amazing.

I think also just being here. I’ve gone from an environment at Saints [Southampton], I’ve been a big player in that team for a while and I’ve been a big character and it’s quite a young team as well. So you learn off other players, but I was also in that role of helping other players too.

Whereas I’ve come here and it’s, right, how can I learn off these players who’ve done it for years? Who’ve been in this league for years.

It is a jump, but I think everything at Saints had set me up to have the skills to be able to come into this environment and just adapt quickly. The progress I feel like I’ve made over the last three months is massive, you know?

But it’s more adapting to that kind of speed of play, tactically, and stuff like that, but I think that yeah Southampton definitely equipped me with those skills to be able to come into this environment and do that.

What have you learnt perhaps specifically since being a Villa?

I’ve definitely developed my defensive game. She’s [Natalia] playing me a little bit deeper than I probably did at Saints.

It’s a league where one game you can have a lot of the ball, the next game, like the United game [we spoke just after Villa beat Manchester United away at Leigh Sports Village], we didn’t have much of the ball. And I definitely think those tactical details and the way that I can press players and help the team press quicker and stuff like that, I think it’s been a big thing.

We do a lot of possession based drills and the consistency, I feel like I’m getting better and better at that, as well as on the ball. Just doing the simple things, but the consistency of doing that and, like I say, it’s adapting to that kind of speed of play as well. It’s a jump, it’s a much quicker game, so being able to do that, just being in the environment I think. 

I just like to keep things simple, that’s really the way that I play. Just keeping things simple.

You’re obviously still very young but both Sarina and Natalia have talked about your ability to read the game, your scanning, your timing, and your awareness. That’s something that often comes with experience. What do you think has helped you develop that, so young? 

Honestly, I don’t think many players my age have played as many games as I have and I honestly think that would be something that I’d recommend to any young player.

In my experience, it’s been so valuable just playing minutes. I played a season in Tier 3, I played in Tier 4, it doesn’t really matter the level, those experiences were so valuable for me.

And when we were in Tier 3, to have the responsibility. I had a good season when we got promoted and to have that responsibility on your shoulders, like, right, I’ve got to make an impact in this game, is something that not many young players have that experience.

I think that exposure and having to be a leader in a team at such a young age and having that responsibility every week to go out and perform, I honestly don’t think training can replicate that.

I don’t think there’s anything else except being able to play and I think having had, like yeah, I’m young, but I have had a decent amount of experience. I think that is the main, really good stuff. 

So you credit that time at Southampton for your development?

Yeah, definitely. The faith that they’ve shown in me from when I was 16. People will say it’s Tier 3, it’s Tier 4, it’s women’s football. It’s a massive jump from academy football regardless of the level. And I think yeah the trust that they’ve given me and, I know that I have to earn that too, but they trusted me throughout and have seen me as a key player in their team and I think that experience, you just can’t replicate. 

Did you watch a lot of football as well as playing?

I’ve always watched football, from a young age. I watched Match of the Day every Sunday morning, you know, when you wake up. I’ve always played and watched, I’ve loved football like a lot of kids. Always had the Match Attax cards. All of that stuff, yeah, I just love following football.

A lot of it was men’s football until probably the 2019 World Cup, the women’s one. That was the first time really I watched women’s football. Just the kind of constant exposure to it.

I grew up in a house where everyone loves sport, it wouldn’t necessarily just be football: cricket, rugby, anything. So, yeah, growing up in that environment. I’ve always loved playing football, and you learn things.

I think, especially as a kid you watch TV and you see the skills that people do, the type of goals, and you try and replicate them at the park or in the garden. I definitely spent a lot of time doing that with my brother. I think just the enjoyment of the game really is where everything stems from. 

You mentioned cricket. You played cricket to a good standard at a young age.

Yeah, I played until I was about 16. I didn’t necessarily train all the time with… it was Southampton at the time in the academy. Every other Wednesday I’d miss that to go and do cricket. They were really supportive and there were definitely times where it wasn’t always football.

It was actually, I think I want to play cricket or I want to play football now, you know? It really kind of flipped. But my parents, they supported me and were like, no Luce, you can keep doing both, we can support you doing both and I think that really helps, that kind of like, actually no go and do it until basically I was playing senior cricket and senior football.

Then it was, right, you’ve got to decide, but I think sometimes things can get distorted as you’re growing up. You can have one really good season and all of a sudden I want to play cricket, you know? And the next season, I had a great season of football and I want to play football and I think the fact that they kept me grounded and were like no just go and keep doing both.

At the end of the day, I picked playing football because that was the one that I enjoyed more.

What did you learn with cricket that transferred to football? 

I think a lot. I had to grow up quickly. Obviously cricket at the time that I played probably didn’t have quite the same depth as in football. So often I played up age groups with older players.

I started playing first team cricket at Hampshire when I was 14, so I adapted into that environment. With those people, you do have to grow up. I think that definitely helped me when I was transitioning into the first team at Southampton because I kind of knew how to deal with older players.

And I just think I got exposed to a lot of different things. For example, when I played cricket, I had S&C [strength and conditioning] and the strength coach from when I was 11. So I started that earlier than I did in football.

So different exposures, different methods. I think the more exposure you can have at a young age, the better all round you can be. I think it’s so important that if people have the opportunity to go and do loads of different things and experience, not even just sport, like everything, I think you just become more well-rounded and you become in a better place to be able to, at the end, decide what you want to do.

Where did you start playing football? Was there a girls team to start with?

I started playing with the boys in the playground at school. Obviously, it’s kind of standard. I played with my dad and a bit with my brother, when we were younger and then I joined a girls team.

I must have been about seven, my local girls team, I think I played for the Under 9s at that time, you know when they’ve got the Under 9s, Under 11s and stuff like that, and that was the youngest team. But now it’s crazy, they’ve got 40 to 50 girls in each age group. Like it’s mad to see the growth of it. But yeah, I did that and then I also played for my school team.

Then I think I got to age 11 or something, I had a bit of a kick to be like, right, I need to go and find something else. That actually probably kicked me on to go and trial for Hampshire, I only just got into Hampshire like on extended trial [giggles], I think that was only because I could run, but I’ll take that and then yeah, kind of just went from there. But yeah, I started when I was seven, played for Winchester City Flyers.

Outside of football you’re also studying?

Yeah, I do psychology.

How’s that going? And how do you juggle it?

Yeah, it’s all right, to be fair, I do it part time so it’s not too much work, but I’ve kind of cracked through it. It’s a six module course and I’ve got two more modules left, so I’m doing all right. I end up doing it in a chunk and then I leave it for a bit and then I do a chunk again, more of a catch up than anything else.

But yeah, I’m managing to balance. It’s quite nice to be able to just switch off. You have to focus on that, you can’t really concentrate on anything else, so it’s quite nice. I think just to… football can become quite… you can get in your own head about it and you can think about it a lot, so I think it’s something that forces you to switch off which is quite nice.

Do you play the piano as well?

Yeah, I learnt the piano when I was young and then I stopped playing for a long time. But I bought a keyboard piano thing last year, so I kind of picked it back up again, which is nice. It’s another one where you have to concentrate, you can’t switch off at all. But it’s good, just again keeps the mind doing something else.

You mentioned the 2019 Women’s World Cup. Did you have female role models growing up, who were your footballing heroes?

Really, I kind of just remember being a big Chelsea fan when I was younger. I really liked Frank Lampard, I guess he’s like a box-to-box midfielder, so that  kind of suits as well. I did really like him. I just didn’t really watch that much women’s football until that World Cup [to be fair, it really wasn’t very visible then]  but yeah, it was kind of just Frank Lampard really, but I just love watching football. 

I just really enjoyed it, I wasn’t necessarily like, oh, I want to go and be Frank Lampard, but I just enjoyed watching Chelsea. And he was my favourite player. 

What would you like to achieve in football in the next few years? Obviously you’ve got a long career ahead of you but let’s just go to the next few years.

I think well for me, like, let’s not get ahead of ourselves now, I’ve had one camp, you know?

I want to play consistently for Villa, I want us to do well as a team, I want us to really be pushing that top four, I want games like we play United and beat them, stuff like that. I want us to do well and I want to be a big contributor in that.

I think for me this season’s always been about how can I get better and how can I continue to grow as a player. Because I also understand that people have probably seen one performance of me playing for England and that’s what’s expected now.

For me, consistently, I just want to get better and keep building. Villa is where I want to do that. Being here, that’s where I can build on the day-to-day and then obviously I want to get called up for the next camp and the next camp. I think that, obviously, that’s something that everyone wants, to play for England and having a small taste of that and the experience, I want more of that, I really enjoyed going on camp.

I really want to be in and around it again, but I know that what I do here at Villa, that’s how I can get there. So yeah, just about me putting the work in, I think, and consistently getting better. And yeah, hopefully, all that comes.

And you look further down the line, I’ve always wanted to go to a World Cup. And that’s definitely a massive, before this callup, that’s still been what I’ve had my eyes on and I want to do that, but I also know that’s a long way to go, you know. So I think just being consistent, not getting ahead of ourselves, I’m just taking it one step at a time.

Is there anything in particular at the moment you think, oh, I could do with strengthening that up? 

I think you can tell from the weekend if you watched the game, I need to just, like, I can’t be shooting and missing like so badly [chuckles].

I definitely had one season where I’d done really well in front of goal and it’s how can I bring that back?

But I think also, for me again it’s how can I get the basics from here to here? [mimes lower to the next step higher with her hands] Because that’s one of my strengths but how can it be even better, even being on camp, you’re around some unbelievable players and you’re like, right, they’re here [demonstrates with her hand], how can I get there? Like learning off them like just taking little bits and I think also just that consistent repetition, in training, in games, just continuing to be brave and get on the ball and the more mistakes you make the quicker you learn, so just trying to do that.

And I think it’s just that learning: how can I go from here, to here, to here, and I get up there. So how can I do that? 

You’re obviously still young, but there are going to be younger girls starting their football journeys now, looking up to you. How does that sit with you?

Like you say, I’m still a young player, but also, even being on camp, I have a real understanding of, right, this is the game for us now.

And the game for me is gonna grow massively in the next 10 years and it’s gonna grow for me but also how is it gonna grow and how do we leave the game in a better place? What can I do and even just small things.

We have high expectations, as players, where we expect the game to go. I think it’s rallying around that and continuing the growth of the game. England have gone and won two Euros. How can we keep growing the game for the next generation coming through. That is the biggest thing.

Even when I grew up, there wasn’t much exposure to women’s football and that’s changed so much, it will continue to change but we have to keep pushing it as well.

Aston Villa seem to be doing a nice job of getting people in to watch, is that a big key to moving the game on, getting more people in the stands?

Yeah definitely and I think some of that comes on us players as well. At the end of the day, we actually are entertainers. That is our role, we are entertainers. How can I be the best that I can be to go and entertain the crowd that want to come back every week? You know, it probably doesn’t seem it, but that is also our role, that is part of the way that we’re gonna grow the game.

The Lionesses sell out Wembley because people want to come and watch them because they’ve been successful. So it’s like, how can we push that and be successful and really have a product that’s really inspiring and people want to come and watch because that’s where they want to spend their money and come spend their time on a Saturday or Sunday.

You clearly work extremely hard, what do you do to relax? 

I think when I leave the building, I’m pretty decent at switching off.

I’m more of a person that I do have to be busy, not necessarily with football, but I like to be doing things. I don’t just like to go home and sit on my sofa all afternoon. I get a bit restless, to be honest.

I like spending time with friends and family where I can. Like I say, I’m pretty busy with uni stuff. And we did these little diamond sticking things on camp and I really enjoyed myself, so I definitely need to get myself one of them as well.

But I like to cook. I’ll cook pretty much every night, that’s something that I like to do as well, it keeps me occupied but it’s also pretty relaxing. I watch TV shows and stuff like dramas.

Yeah, pretty simple, but keep myself to myself.