Lotte, we have to talk about winning the UEFA Champions League. What are your memories of the match itself?
It’s mad. You spend your whole life preparing for moments like this, so when it gets to the actual 90 minutes you’re almost like, “This is the easy bit!” We did everything we possibly could have done as a team and a staff to prepare, execute our game plan and win that day.
When it came to the intensity of the game, it was then just about executing on the details and enjoying the game for what it was. I think the overriding feeling was one of digging deep. Every single player brought their side of that. For me, Less and Foxy, I think we drew on what we’d learned at college in America in Championship games. For players like Katie, she’s had gritty games with Ireland, where they’ve had to dominate opponents defensively. With the Lionesses, we have a history of playing against Spain and we knew that Barcelona would be just as hard to break down.
There were a lot of moving parts, but when it got to the game, it was like, “OK, let’s ride.” And we did. The adrenaline and emotions you feel on the day are the sort of details you can’t replicate during the week before, but I think they actually helped us thrive.
It’s a special concoction of feelings that you get in a game like that. We definitely lived every single one of them and so did our fans, to be honest. It just felt like it wasn’t just us on the pitch. It felt like every single supporter was living it with us and wanting us to win. My family definitely lived it in the stadium. I think that’s what made it all the more fruitful when we did ultimately win, because it felt like everyone had won.
Being able to play in that game and give every ounce of effort was very special. I just came on and did what I needed to do. I had Kim in front of me and we exchanged a few smiles. When you get to that point in a season, you know what you have to do. The rest becomes history.