Women's Footballer of the Year Candidate Alessia Russo

Age: 26 Position: Forward Clubs: Arsenal and the English national team

The talented forward made history with Arsenal as they became the pioneering English team to win the Women's Champions League since the North London side did in the 2000s, and also helped guide the Lionesses to the defence of their continental title.

Russo found the net in the Euro 2025 showpiece match and hit top form for her club, making significant contributions all campaign long in front of goal and with her defensive efforts.

Russo was honored as the FWA's top female player for the previous campaign.

Russo finished as the WSL's co-leading goalscorer, sharing the top scorer award with Khadija Shaw.

She scored twelve league goals for the club and provided assists for a couple more.

Her name was put forward for the prestigious individual award and named in the Professional Footballers' Association and the European teams of the year.

Her thoughts on personal development over the past year:

"My top performances come when I'm having fun and I'm confident my efforts in practice and I'm getting my work done, so those are aspects that are within my power.

"There's so many different aspects to a number nine position, it requires precision and there are tiny differences. I'm always still learning. We have great coaches here at the club. There are top teammates to learn off as well. Then when the big games come around, the greater your experience, the more comfortable you become."

Reflecting on England's European triumph:

"The whole tournament was a complete rollercoaster. There were ups and downs. It was emotionally really hard. It was taxing on our bodies.

"I recall after the Sweden [quarter-final] game, a lot of us were extremely sore and injured. It was so intense. But recovery had to be swift. The schedule is relentless.

"In my view the way that we won throughout that whole tournament was just determination and toughness. And we were aware that we had the squad, we knew that we had the necessary qualities.

"Facing the best teams in the world, the best players in the world and occasionally you have to grind out results."

Discussing the European final:

"The main emotion that I can remember from that whole day was just being very composed, like we knew we'd done the work, we knew that we had the ability, and we knew that we trusted the strategy and what we aimed to achieve.

"Naturally playing against a side such as Barça, you've got to be comfortable not having the ball because they're so talented. When they do have the ball, they don't give it away that often.

"As players in the press and defensively, we were really focused on our job at hand. It was a lot of running and plenty of defending. But in the end that led to success. I think that you have to be content winning games like that as well."

Regarding her inspiration, Kelly Smith:

"I was fortunate of seeing her play a few times with my dad. Watching her internationally, too, her talent was remarkable. I hope that her career lasted more and still be playing now, but she ranks among the greats.

"I think anyone that has played with Kelly would say the same thing and I never got the pleasure of experiencing that. But observing her play was something that I always used to love."

Alessia Russo scored 12 goals in twenty-one games in the Women's Super League the previous campaign to share the scoring award.

Not only was she one of the deadliest players in the league but she was also a persistent danger in the penalty area all season long, taking more shots (73) and recording a superior xG (nine point seven) than any other player.

Russo's ability to aid the side beyond scoring sets her apart.

Fellow player a teammate regularly played forward balls into her, so strong hold-up play was necessary.

Russo's ability to drop deep, freeing herself from her nearby marker through sharp, darting movements stood out.

If a defender got in tight, she used her physicality to draw fouls, helping her team gain settled possession in the enemy territory. In the European tournament last season, nobody was drawn more fouls than the forward (15).

When the ball does stick, her control are highly effective. Her regular awareness of her environment means she stays conscious of where rivals are.

Russo takes few contacts on the ball, directing it away from opposing players marking closely, before locating close colleagues positioned facing towards the goal.

By keeping possession in tough situations, she is regularly able to act as an outlet for her team under pressure.

She can turn difficult passes into long periods of stable possession and such phases in the opponent's final third lead to goals, several of these she finishes personally.