Alex Greenwood will be bidding to win the Women's World Cup with the England Lionesses on Sunday - but her footballing journey began on Merseyside
On Stanley Road in Bootle, a 22-ft mural of England defender Alex Greenwood is daubed onto the brick above the Hyper L20 bar.
While Greenwood was relegated to more of a supporting role at last summer’s tournament - making five substitute appearances for Sarina Wiegman’s side - she has been front and centre at the World Cup, turning in a string of masterful displays to help England seamlessly plug the void left by injured captain Leah Williamson.
“I can’t really remember not having a ball in my hand or by my feet as a kid,” Greenwood told England Football, reflecting on the years spent kicking a ball around in the streets of Bootle. "My mum used to say, ‘as soon as I could walk, I was kicking a ball’. I used to play with the boys outside my nan’s house or outside my house.”
That elusive ‘something’ was first identified by Everton, who enlisted Greenwood in their youth ranks when she was just six years old. The centre-back made her senior debut for the Blues in 2010 and has attributed then-manager Mo Marley with helping to shape her career. But after 44 appearances and six goals, Greenwood was released by the Reds, prompting her to make the switch to Manchester United ahead of the 2018 season. While the rivalry between the two clubs in the women’s game perhaps lacks the same vitriol as the one that exists in the men’s, Greenwood has admitted she was brought up to dislike United, conceding the move was tough to take for some of her family.
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