Consistent and stoic, Leah Williamson is most natural of unnatural leaders

The Guardian

7 days ago

Leah Williamson stops, unable to scrape the grin off her face, pizza in hand, hair still damp from the post-match shower and a fat lip. 'Not annnother one?!' I say to her, mimicking her parody of the viral general election clip after England lifted the Finalissima. 'Annnother one?!' she replies, still grinning.
I am not the only one who remembers the clip. 'NOT ANOTHER ONEEEEEE,' Lauren Hemp commented on Williamson's Instagram post.
The 28-year-old has reason to be cheerful, she is creating history over and over and over again – the girl whose mum used to park the car at the edge of a pitch with the headlights on at 6am so she could train in the dark before school is now the first England captain to lift two major trophies and help deliver England's first tournament win on foreign soil, coming two months after she tasted European glory with her childhood club Arsenal.
Records are tumbling. Barriers are being broken. Doors are being opened. The Williamson-helmed team that, for at least a brief period, united a divided nation, is led by vocal advocates for LGBTQ+ rights, furious opponents of racism, defenders of the environment, campaigners against poverty and warriors for equality for women and girls and is redefining what it means to be 'proper English'.
In May, at Arsenal's Champions League trophy lift outside the Emirates, Williamson spoke of what that win meant. 'I always said 'trophy for England over the trophy for Arsenal' because you don't pick your country, it's a bit more of a fate thing, a bit more luck needs to be involved,' she said, her emotion evident. 'But I feel ashamed now because that feeling was, I think right now, the happiest I've ever been in my whole entire life and I hope that other Arsenal fans are because I know I lived a dream.'
The thing is, Williamson doesn't have to choose. She can have it all. She has it all.
'The first half took a lot of defensive actions,' she says of the showdown against Spain in Basel. 'They went our way and we were in the right place at the right time and I did get a feeling like I did in the Champions League final. I thought: 'Today is our day.' To do that? What a year. I can't think about it too much or I'll cry. If I reflect on the last couple years since that last win in 2022, I'm proud.'
The Arsenal centre-back was superb in Switzerland, flying under the radar a little amid the hype around England's supersubs, consistently delivering despite a conveyor belt of centre-pack partners during the tournament – first Alex Greenwood, then Jess Carter, then Esme Morgan, then Carter again.
In the final, no player dribbled past Williamson or Carter, they had the joint-most blocked shots and Williamson had more defensive actions and clearances than any other player on the pitch. Critically though, her range of passing was exceptional, her diagonal balls a vital component in England's forward play. She made more line-breaking passes than any other defender at the tournament, a total bettered only by the Spain midfielder Patri Guijarro.
Williamson is a big-game player. She was also part of an Arsenal backline that did not concede a foul in the Champions League final in as close to a perfect performance as you can get on the way to the Gunners' second European title, but she is also a small-game player, consistent and stoic.
Few who have followed Williamson's career would have been surprised when she was named as Steph Houghton's successor as captain of the Lionesses in 2022, despite the presence of more senior heads such as Lucy Bronze, Millie Bright and Ellen White and her having only 20 caps at the time. She has often been cited as being wise beyond her years, the former Arsenal manager Joe Montemurro describing her 'maturity, understanding of the game and positional sense' to those of a 30-year-old, when she was 25.
Chloe Kelly knew much earlier than that. 'I remember stepping into Arsenal at 12 years old and saying to my parents: 'Leah's going to be England captain one day,'' she said. 'She's just an incredible girl, shows great leadership qualities and is so approachable, someone that I get on so well with. To captain England at major tournaments there is a lot of pressure but it doesn't show in Leah's personality at all. She's just so consistent, highs, lows and everything in between. She's a great England captain.'
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At the 2022 Euros she blossomed in the captaincy role, leading from the back on the pitch and leading from the front off it, delivering impassioned speeches on the development of the game and its growth potential in press conferences and mixed zones.
She is the most natural of unnatural leaders, seen barking orders in huddles and firing the team up in stark contrast with her more introverted persona off the pitch. That is a learned trait, balanced with the example set by the Arsenal captain, Kim Little, who leads with her feet more than her voice.
'Leah's great,' said Ella Toone during this summer's tournament. 'She rallies the team, gets everyone going, keeps everyone together, and leads by example in the way she plays. You want your captain to really step up in games and she definitely does that. She takes us all with her as well.'
She plays and leads with an emotional intelligence, often seen deep in conversation with Sarina Wiegman whenever there is a pause in play, the mind constantly analysing, learning, recalculating. After Kelly's penalty confirmed England's title retention on Sunday, Williamson stepped quickly away from the initial celebrations to work her way around the distraught Spain players – leadership involves sacrifice.
The party continues, an open-top bus parade down the Mall and celebration outside Buckingham Palace giving them the full hero treatment. And the work continues, with the government announcing it is aiming to double the pitch slots available to women and girls at grassroots level after the Lionesses headed straight to Downing Street when they landed back home on Monday.
After that, it is time for Williamson to shake off the burden of responsibility, breathe, just soak it all in and get ready to go again. 'You've won everything at Arsenal, how does that motivate you to do more?' I asked her after the Champions League win. 'I haven't won everything,' she said quickly. 'I've got a World Cup to win.'