West Ham and Switzerland’s Nadine Riesen on learning the game with her three sisters, why fun comes first and what Swiss football can learn from England.
"The[BarclaysWSL]islikeanidolforusinSwitzerlandandwewanttobecomelikethem.”Nadine Riesen
Nadine Riesen grew up playing football with her three older sisters in a Swiss village. Ahead of West Ham’s trip to Manchester City on Saturday, the Switzerland international explains why fun has always come first, and what she hopes Swiss football can learn from England.
In the beginning
I have three older sisters and we all had a lot of energy when we were younger, so we tried out new things and during break at school we always played football. I wanted to be like my sisters.
We had a village next to mine where I grew up, there was a club called FC Bühler who only had girls and the first women's team, so it became really easy for me. I think it was one of the biggest ones in Switzerland then, but now there are a lot of them. It made it even easier for me and my sisters to play. This club was really popular in our village, and so the guys who grew up in Bühler, they went to the other village.
Fun first and foremost
I've always had really good surroundings and I always just had fun. I had really cool teammates all the time, which made it so easy for me to have fun. I think if you have fun, you want to do more, and that was always my motivation.
Getting a small success, like if you can juggle the ball ten times and then get to 20, that's something that motivates you even more, getting better in something you do, and that's the passion we have in football. When we were young, we just wanted to have fun and win, and it made it even better having each other pushing to become better.
Having fun was always the most important thing for me, and always having my friends around, not even just in school, but also doing the same passion. For so many years I was always playing with my sisters, and when I think back, I have such an appreciation that we had that time together and spent a lot of time together on the pitch, having these emotions.
Growth in adversity
I’ve had a few situations in football and I’ve grown in each one. I had some nice experiences, which I'm really thankful for, like having nice teammates, good coaches.
I’ve also had bad times, to find out how to get along in these situations. I think everything has something positive in it. I'm really thankful. I'm happy that I’ve had a lot of changes in my life. I think that made the successes and memories that I'm lucky to have.
I’m really lucky to do my hobby as a profession and I really appreciate that. Every time we have these emotions during a game or during training, I'm really thankful that football gives me new experiences, new teammates, new people to get to know, and also the emotions. I don't think that's something that people can really experience in jobs if they’re sitting in an office.
So, I always want to give 100% and leave my heart on the pitch. I really want to be the player who can make other players look better and be in a better position. I think that's the most important thing for me, always try to give 100%. Maybe if your performance is not good, you can fight for each other. I think these are the two points that are important – and also have fun.
Increasingly professional
Back home in the Swiss leagues, we try to become as professional as possible. We’re taking good steps at the moment, but we're not there. And the international team, we have so many good players and our national coach wants to have possession of the ball and trust in our good playing style and individuals who have their qualities.
I think that's really nice, and I really hope that we as a national team can put that effort into our country. I think it's always important that the national team has success. It would also be a nice thing to put more money into women's football.
It’s hard to compare Swiss football to here because here you're professional, and in Switzerland you try to become more professional with the way you play but I think there are only a few players who can live as a professional.
Learning from the BWSL
I think the BWSL has already developed so much since EURO 2022 here in England. The BWSL is, for me, the biggest league. We can learn a lot in Switzerland about the English league, and we're really trying. I think every player who plays for the national team in Switzerland also needs to make an effort for Switzerland. I think we're a really big part of developing football in Switzerland. The BWSL is like an idol for us in Switzerland and we want to become like them.
It’s more challenging and physical here. I would say I'm a physical player, but there are still new things to learn, and I'm really happy about that. I know if I change league, I have a new challenge and I want to accept the challenge. I'm really excited that I can be here, and it's an honour to be part of the BWSL and to play here.
Early support
I would say having the support really early is something that we can learn in Switzerland. For example, if you're really talented as a boy, they make appearances at under 15 or under 16 and they already get paid so much.
I don’t think you need to get paid, but you do need the surroundings to support you, the same as the men's. I think we have more clubs who only have men teams, and I think we've got so many special women who are really talented too, they got support from the beginning to the end, but I think there should be more. Or there's one football school in one place, but I think there should be a few of them.
I think we're getting further, though, and it's always having the circumstances around the surroundings that you need to get the support. I think that's something we can really develop, but I think we are taking good steps, big steps.
We wish for even more for the future generations. So always have fun and appreciate everything. From having fun, you want more achievements, you want to have more discipline. That's something I learned. And always do it for yourself.
