Lucy Bronze mum's powerful response when Lioness told 'You can't play football with boys'

Daily Mirror

a day ago

Lioness, Lucy Bronze, made history with the women's England football team on Sunday when they won the Euros again after beating Spain on penalties
Lucy Bronze's mum had no time for those who told her daughter she couldn't play football like the boys. The inspiring Lioness, 33 - whose full name is Lucia Roberta Tough Bronze - made history with the women's England football team on Sunday when they won the Euros again after beating Spain on penalties.
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Lucy has loved playing football since she was little, but almost had her dreams dashed when her old football coach told her that she would have to leave the mixed team she was playing in for fear of injuring herself.
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Her mum, Diane, bought the plucky player her first pair of football boots when Lucy was 10 years old. And In her last year of primary school, the little Lioness played football as the only girl in a team of boys.
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However, after being told she would have to quit the team, the Chelsea star - who revealed she played with a broken leg during yesterday's final - said her mum would not take 'no' for an answer.
Speaking to the Guardian, she recalled Diane responding: "Right. No one is telling my little girl that she can't do something!"
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Lucy often shares snaps of her doting mum on Instagram, and last year, paid tribute to her "number 1 fan since day one", with a pair of adorable photographs.
As testament to her tenacity, the defender from Berwick-upon-Tweed remarkably revealed that she played throughout Euro 2025 with a fractured tibia.
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Lucy strapped up her own leg during the quarter-final victory over Sweden and then scored a penalty in the shootout while remaining a huge threat in the English defence throughout the knockout stages.
However, when asked how she felt after the nail-biting final on Sunday, Bronze paused and smiled before revealing: 'I've actually played the whole tournament with a fractured tibia but no-one knew.
'And then I've just hurt my knee today on the other leg.
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'I think that's why I got a lot of praise from the girls after the Sweden game because I've been in a lot of games. But if that's what it takes to play for England, that's what I'll do.
'Very painful.'
The Lionesses became the first nation to retain the women's Euros since Germany won six in a row from 1995 to 2013 as they also settled a personal score with Spain, who had beaten them in the World Cup final several years ago.
Praising Lucy, England manager, Sarina Weigman, said: "She had some issues with her tibia so of course we tried to manage that. When you play 120 minutes you're not managing it are you? The whole team has a great mentality but she has a crazy mentality, it's unbelievable."