Who is the Lionesses’ Number 2?
- therookiereporters
- Aug 10
- 5 min read
Let me introduce you to Lucia Roberta Tough Bronze. She is one of the unstoppable Lionesses who retained England’s title as Women’s Euro Champions. Her performance on and off the pitch has been outstanding; this is what gifted her the title of MBE.
Early Life
Born on the 28th of October 1991, to Joaquin Bronze and Diane née Tough in Berwick-upon-Tweed, she is English-Portuguese. Bronze is the middle child of the family with an older brother and younger sister. She first began playing football with her brother and his friends when she was young.
Bronze played in Belford before joining Alnwick Town and staying utill under-11s. This was because the Football Association's regulations do not allow mixed teams after the age of 12. In her time playing for Alnwick juniors, she was awarded six “Man of the Match” titles out of eight games. Bronze’s manager was so keen to push Lucy to continue her footballing journey that he helped open a discrimination case against the Football Association, in order to allow her to continue playing with her original team. Sadly, the result was not favourable but they set a new target to support more young girls’ football teams as an alternative solution to the case.
Lucy attended the Duchess’s Community High School with future England teammate, Lucy Staniforth. During her time there, she was captain of the school’s football team and played midfield.
Club Career
From 2002, Bronze played for Sunderland, first at under-12 academy level. She then played for Blyth Town WFC in the under-14 girls' football team. She continued training with Sunderland through this time to become the captain of the under-16 team, alongside playing for Blyth Town.
In 2007, when she turned 16, Lucy joined the Sunderland senior team. She was named the Manager’s Player of the Year when they finished third in their division. Bronze played in the 2009 FA Women’s Cup Final against Arsenal and was awarded Player of the Match.
Lucy Bronze then won a scholarship from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill after an impressive performance in the soccer camps in front of the coach, Anson Dorrance. She joined their team, Tar Heels, which was in Division 1 for the country. In December 2009, she became the first British player to win an NCAA Cup. Following this, she was also awarded an All-American honours.
Bronze was then faced with a decision when England said she wouldn’t be considered if she stayed in the United States. She moved to Leeds Metropolitan University in 2010 as a result but soon suffered a serious knee injury and infection when training with England.
Mo Marley, who was coaching Lucy in the England Youth Squad, offered her a position with Everton. Unfortunately, due to her injury recovery, she was only able to play 6 matches in the 2011 FA WSL. The following year, she started in all but one match and scored her first goal for Everton against Liverpool.
Bronze went on to sign for the team she first scored against in 2013. She went on to win the FA WSL that year and 2014 with the Liverpool squad.
For 2014, she moved over to Manchester City. Bronze scored two goals and the team finished second in the league, also qualifying for the UEFA Women’s Championship League for the first time. In 2016, she was named FA WSL 1 Player’s Player of the Year, then in 2017 she was also named PFA Women’s Player of the Year. By the end of 2016, Lucy was ranked 10th on the 100 Best Female Footballers in the World, then moved up to 5th the following year.
Bronze then signed a three-year contract with Lyon. She was named in the Team of the Year for the D1 Feminine and the Women’s Championship League Squad of the Season. In 2019, she was runner-up for the Women’s Ballon d’Or, named as the UEFA Women’s Player of the Year and ranked third in the voting for the Best FIFA Women’s Player Award. She was then ranked second on the 100 Best Female Footballers in the World. In 2020, Lucy was the first defender and first English footballer to win the Best FIFA Women’s Player Award.
She returned to Manchester City at the end of 2020, staying until 2022. She faced another injury that set her back and in 2021, she underwent another knee surgery. She won the League Cup with Manchester City and featured in an episode of FIFA’s documentary series- Icons.
Bronze then moved to Barcelona and won her first title with them in the Supercopa de España. She went on to retain the Championship League for Barcelona and became the first English player to win five European Cups.
In 2024, Bronze moved to Chelsea with a two-year contract, where she is currently playing for them in the Champions League.
International Career
In 2007, she was called up to play for England under-17s at 15 years old. She took part in the 2008 UEFA Women’s Under-17 Championship, finishing fourth. She was also fourth in the 2008 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. Lucy won the UEFA Women’s Under-19 Championship and was second to France in the 2010 Under-19 Euros.
She featured in the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. Then went into the 2015 Women’s World Cup after another knee operation. Lucy was named in the squad for the UEFA Women’s Euro 2017 and was included in the 2017 UEFA Team of the Tournament.
Bronze then captained England in the 2018 SheBelieved Cup opening match against France. She was selected for the 2019 World Cup squad and the 2022 Women’s Euros. Her and the fellow Lionesses went on to become the 2022 Euro Champions. In 2023, she then competed in the FIFA Women’s World Cup where England were runners-up to Spain. Lucy would then compete in the 23/24 UEFA Women’s Nations League.
In June this year, she participated in the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025. She and the rest of the Lionesses became back-to-back champions after beating Spain in penalties. She competed all while having a fractured tibia, so if that doesn’t represent perseverance I’m not sure what does.
Lucy the Lioness
Lucy Bronze has inspired so many young girls not only in England but across the world! Her story is one of resilience and talent, and it’s certainly not over yet. With the World Cup being in 2027, we hope to see her participate and get the final trophy she doesn’t have. Now, will you cheer her on to clinch her first World Cup?
Article written by Alice Seager ©️Alice Seager 2025
