Humble & Sweet, But A Lion - The Story Of The First Female £1m Player

Olivia Smith has already made history.

The 21-year-old has a bequest earlier she steps retired successful beforehand of Emirates Stadium's crowd for nan first clip connected Saturday arsenic nan first £1m women's footballer.

Arsenal broke nan world record to motion her from Liverpool successful July and, though it has since been surpassed, she will everlastingly beryllium nan women's game's first seven-figure player.

"Everything was starring to this. She was calved for this," her erstwhile Penn State University caput coach Erica Dambach told BBC Sport.

"Yes, it's happened young, but it hasn't happened without years of mentation to get into this environment.

"Sometimes erstwhile it happens to young players, it comes connected quickly and possibly they've sewage six months to woody pinch nan emotions and nan media training. Liv has been experiencing this worldly since she was 15 years old."

It was astatine that property she made her debut for Canada - nan youngest subordinate to look for Les Rogues - truthful nan scrutiny and bubbling unit that will travel aft signing for nan European champions will not beryllium an alien acquisition for Smith.

Despite her meteoric rise, her erstwhile coaches opportunity she has not changed.

When Liverpool were connected nan verge of breaking their transportation grounds - pinch Smith arriving connected Merseyside to complete her aesculapian successful a £210,000 woody from Portuguese broadside Sporting - then-manager Matt Beard met his caller prodigious signing successful personification for nan first clip complete dinner.

"I for illustration to get to cognize group arsenic group alternatively than footballers, because I cognize nan footballer that we signed, and we had a batch successful common, it was surreal," Beard told BBC Sport.

"She's conscionable a awesome kid, she's very down to earth. But we conscionable deed it disconnected really well. She's great, and nan point pinch Olivia is she conscionable takes everything successful her stride.

"She's a kid astatine heart. She's quality and I deliberation from my position I tried to let everyone to beryllium themselves and she settled successful really quickly. That's conscionable really her characteristic is."

The narration that built betwixt subordinate and coach was heavy and, moreover aft some departed Liverpool, they stayed successful touch. Smith called Beard to convey him aft her caller nine Arsenal's pre-season crippled against Tottenham Hotspur.

This is simply a communal trait of nan Canadian. Smith texted Sporting's caput of women's football, Margarida Batlle y Font, aft her move to Arsenal and besides visited AFC Toronto this summertime to meet Marko Milanovic and Billy Wilson, 2 group who played an instrumental portion successful her improvement erstwhile they were each astatine North Toronto Nitros.

"The champion point astir Olivia is she's still conscionable Liv," Wilson told BBC Sport. "She's not changed astatine all. She's still sewage nan nonstop aforesaid group of friends.

"She's conscionable a kid who loves to emotion life, has a awesome outlook, loves her football, is ever smiling.

"She's not changed a spot and I deliberation that's nan biggest testament to who she is. None of this has fazed her."

Her parents person played a captious portion successful their daughter's awesome emergence and person been location to support her on each step.

Sean Smith and Sulee Riquelme-Smith were besides astatine that meal array successful Liverpool - on pinch nan forward, Beard and Russ Fraser, Liverpool's erstwhile women's managing head - and that will hardly astonishment anyone who has followed nan player's career.

"The mum and dada person done an unbelievable occupation successful preparing her for this," said Beard. "They've made a batch of sacrifices arsenic a family.

"They person done a awesome occupation raising her and preparing her for this infinitesimal arsenic an athlete."

As a child, her passion was ever football. Her parents encouraged her to travel her different interests, which person successful turned helped her turn arsenic a footballer.

"She played galore sports specified arsenic hockey, and she did a martial arts discipline," said Beard.

"I conscionable deliberation that acquisition alone, if you are looking astatine martial arts arsenic a sport, it's much astir subject and it's not astir nan fighting broadside of it… that's evidently benefited her.

"Smith has - which I never, ever want to return retired of players, and you saw it a fewer times [last season] - a frustration. And I deliberation nan apical players are for illustration that. So you don't want to return that out."

Batlle y Font besides sewage to acquisition nan large domiciled that Sean played successful his daughter's profession connected nan time Smith signed for Sporting, her first move to Europe.

"Her dada is simply a fig a spot for illustration nan begetter of Venus and Serena Williams," said Sporting's caput of women's football.

"He was that benignant of mentor to her erstwhile she was young and still keeps being connected her side. He was very proud of Olivia."

In 2022 Smith was playing astatine North Toronto Nitros. She ripped League1 Ontario up.

By nan clip nan semi-professional convention came to an end, she had scored 18 goals successful 11 games and it would beryllium nan past clip playing nine shot successful her location country.

That summertime she moved southbound of nan border, to Penn State University successful Pennsylvania. Again, her clip location was fleeting.

Despite arriving astatine Penn State pinch a superior cruciate ligament injury, sustained astatine nan Under-20 World Cup, and a frail tally of form, nan calls from Europe arrived by nan extremity of her freshman year.

"It was neat to watch her beryllium capable to beryllium an 18-year-old because I don't deliberation there's been a batch of times wherever she's been capable to beryllium her existent age," said erstwhile Penn State University caput coach Dambach.

"Since leaving Penn State she has put herself retired location and put herself successful uncomfortable situations and I deliberation done those she was capable to really turn and develop."

And so, 1 twelvemonth connected from that play successful Canada, she had near assemblage and moved to Portugal to subordinate Sporting, contempt dense liking successful France and England.

Batlle y Font was instrumental successful persuading Smith to move to nan comparatively obscure Portuguese convention - and reaped nan rewards.

"I won't opportunity that our task is amended than those clubs, evidently it's different," said nan 30-year-old. "I deliberation she understood that we really wanted her.

"I deliberation that she chose america because she understood that she would person nan aforesaid authorities and aforesaid duties arsenic different players, but she would not beryllium 1 much player.

"Once she made nan decision, we ne'er felt that she was looking astatine america arsenic a insignificant club, compared to nan different clubs willing successful her."

It did not return her agelong to make an belief successful Portugal.

"She was 18 and she was playing against knowledgeable players and she would make a spot of a fool of them.

"When she played we would look astatine each different and say, 'how did we fool this woman to beryllium here? How fortunate are we?'"

Again by nan extremity of different fruitful season, she was packing her bags and Batlle y Font was receiving enquiries from aggregate clubs successful Europe.

"There were much clubs willing and, to beryllium honest, pinch amended offers than Liverpool, but not nan benignant of task that Olivia wanted," said Batlle Y Font. "Once again, this shows really very grounded Olivia is."

Her debut play successful nan WSL saw her people 7 goals successful 20 games for Liverpool, arsenic good arsenic being named nan PFA young subordinate of nan year. When she arrived astatine Arsenal this summer, it was her 3rd nine successful 3 years.

"I decidedly deliberation it's not comfortable, but you person to beryllium comfortable being uncomfortable," said Smith, speaking to reporters successful pre-season. "And it's been rather reliable for maine personally, not knowing what's going to travel next.

"Like my first season, I ne'er expected to time off aft 1 season, particularly past season, only having 1 play successful what I deliberation is nan champion convention successful nan world and past coming here.

"So it's surely not easy, particularly pinch my family truthful acold away, but it does make transitions easier."

This summertime has shown nan accelerated maturation of nan women's game. Smith's world grounds transportation lasted 35 days, pinch Orlando Pride signing Lizbeth Ovalle for £1.1m from Tigres.

But Smith will ever beryllium nan subordinate who was nan first to breach nan seven-figure mark, for illustration Trevor Francis successful nan men's crippled successful 1979, and that comes pinch its own, unsocial pressure.

"It's decidedly an honour, particularly coming from Liverpool," said Arsenal's caller forward.

"To travel with, obviously, specified a hefty value tag for specified a young subordinate for illustration me, I deliberation they spot nan imaginable that I have, and they spot my mindset.

"I'm hungry, I'm driven, I want to learn, I want to grow, and I want to triumph things, ultimately.

"And I deliberation that was a large piece. But pinch nan money, it's not really a large woody for me."

For those who person worked pinch her, they judge this money will beryllium justified pinch her performances connected nan transportation and that she will usage nan value tag arsenic motivation.

"She conscionable had everything astatine that age," said Beard. "For me, she's going to beryllium nan champion subordinate successful nan world without a protector of a doubt."

Wilson added: "It's an astonishing mentality and immoderate players erstwhile they get there, they enactment connected that limit. She is ever trying to flooded limits. It's difficult to beryllium accordant and she is consistent."

And for Arsenal, they should person nan luxury that Penn State, Sporting and Liverpool were not capable to person - much than a twelvemonth pinch Smith successful their side.

"We knew that she would beryllium [at Sporting] a short clip and now Arsenal cognize that they tin person her for rather a while because she's reached nan apical of European football," said Batlle y Font.

"I person nary uncertainty that moreover though she's conscionable sewage to nan Champions League winners, she will support pushing.

"She's very humble, she's quiet and she's a saccharine girl. On nan pitch, she's a lion."