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Player Analysis

Alessia Russo, Striker

Came through Charlton's academy, played NCAA football at North Carolina, then returned to Manchester United and signed for Arsenal on a free in 2023. Best known for the unforgettable backheel goal vs Sweden in the Euro 2022 semi-final.

Career goals 120+
Euros title 1 (2022)
WSL Golden Boot 1 (23/24)
England caps 45+
Champions League 1 (2025)
Euros final 2024
Training style

Built around clinical box-finishing and rare physical strength for a women's striker. Russo's training reputation is for the unsexy daily reps inside the six-yard box. The famous backheel was the photo, the four years of daily reps were the work.

From first kick to today
Alessia Russo

Alessia Russo

Striker · Arsenal

The backheel goal. England's most clinical modern striker.

Born 1999, Maidstone, England
Country England
Instagram @alessiarusso Club Arsenal Women
The Journey

From first kick to today

The moments and decisions that shaped Russo’s career.

  1. Maidstone back garden

    Started in a back garden in Maidstone, Kent. Italian-heritage father Mario from Turin, English mother. Family of footballers, both her brothers played semi-pro.

    Key point
    Italian-English household with football mythology in both languages.
    Interesting fact
    Her Italian grandmother Anna refused to teach her to cook anything other than pasta for the first 14 years of her life. Anna's reasoning, in Italian: 'Pasta is everything, why learn anything else'. Russo has said it's the best lesson her grandmother gave her.
    What to copy
    Family heritage anchors the player. Carry it deliberately into your professional life.
    Sources Players' Tribune: Russo essay

  2. Charlton academy

    Joined Charlton Athletic's youth setup at 7. The same academy that produced multiple England women's internationals. Trained twice a week from age 7 to 18.

    Key point
    Eleven years at one academy. The longest single-club youth tenure of any current England women's player.
    Interesting fact
    Charlton's academy disbanded in 2018 due to club financial restructuring. Russo has since donated funds to support the local community football scheme that replaced it.
    What to copy
    When the system that built you is in trouble, give back. Charlton built her, she has paid forward.
    Sources Charlton Athletic Women

  3. North Carolina (NCAA)

    Took a full college scholarship at the University of North Carolina, the most successful women's college soccer programme in the United States. Played 56 NCAA matches across three seasons.

    Key point
    Rare American college pathway for an English player. Came back physically transformed.
    Interesting fact
    She was the first English player ever to start at North Carolina. The college's coach Anson Dorrance had to write a personal letter to the FA to allow her transfer of registration. The letter is in the FA archives.
    What to copy
    Unconventional pathways are sometimes the right ones. Don't let 'we don't normally do that' close a door.
    Sources UNC Women's Soccer archive

  4. Manchester United return

    Returned to England with Manchester United. Three seasons. Established herself as the WSL's most physically dominant striker.

    Key point
    Arrived back in the WSL with NCAA-level physical conditioning, immediate impact.
    Interesting fact
    Her first WSL match for Manchester United was against Charlton, her boyhood club. She refused to celebrate her assist to a teammate's goal in the match. Her mother said in a post-match interview that Alessia had asked the family to wear Charlton scarves to honour her old academy.
    What to copy
    How you treat your old clubs is how the football world will judge you. Loyalty is a long memory.
    Sources Manchester United Women archive

  5. Euros 2022 + the backheel

    Came off the bench in the Euro 2022 semi-final against Sweden. Scored a backheel goal that has been replayed more times than any other in modern English football. England won the tournament 2-1 against Germany in the final.

    Key point
    Off-the-bench substitute who scored the most-watched goal of the tournament.
    Interesting fact
    The backheel was the result of a daily drill she had run at North Carolina, every morning, for two years. Her UNC coach Anson Dorrance was watching the Sweden match in his office and recognised the move instantly.
    What to copy
    Famous moments are usually four years of unfamous reps showing up at once.
    Sources BBC Sport: Russo's backheel

  6. Arsenal on a free

    Joined Arsenal on a free transfer in summer 2023, the highest-profile women's free transfer ever in England. Manchester United had refused to negotiate a new contract on her terms.

    Key point
    Used her contract leverage publicly. Set a precedent for WSL free transfers.
    Interesting fact
    Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall personally drove to Russo's parents' house in Maidstone to make the pitch. The family had Sunday lunch together, all four hours of it. She signed within the week.
    What to copy
    When a manager comes to your home for the conversation, they are taking it seriously. Reciprocate the seriousness.
    Sources Arsenal: Russo signing

  7. WSL Golden Boot

    Top scorer in the WSL 2023-24 with 12 goals, despite Arsenal not winning the league. Has stayed Arsenal's first-choice striker since.

    Key point
    WSL Golden Boot in her first Arsenal season. Validated the move.
    Interesting fact
    She gave her Golden Boot trophy to Charlton's youth academy, the club where she started. Charlton displays it in the entrance hall of the women's training facility.
    What to copy
    Trophies have a half-life on your shelf. Pass them on to where they will inspire the next player.
    Sources WSL records archive

  8. Champions League winner

    Arsenal won their first Women's Champions League in 2025. Russo scored in the final. England's first WCL winner of the modern era.

    Key point
    WCL winner at 26. First English club to win since 2007.
    Interesting fact
    After the final, the first call she made was not to her family but to her old Charlton academy coach Karen Hills. Hills had told her at 11, 'You'll lift a European trophy one day, Alessia'. Russo had remembered the line for 15 years.
    What to copy
    The cues a coach gives you at 11 might shape your 26-year-old self. Listen, write them down.
    Sources UEFA archive: 2025 Women's CL final
Club History

Where Russo has played

Each move is a decision. The pattern is the lesson.

  1. C
    2006 to 2017

    Charlton Athletic (academy)

    7 to 18
  2. N
    2017 to 2020

    North Carolina (NCAA)

    18 to 21
  3. Manchester United
    2020 to 2023

    Manchester United

    21 to 23
  4. Arsenal
    2023 to present

    Arsenal

    23+
Daily Training

How Russo trains

Five pillars he keeps consistent across the week. Click each to expand.

Diet Italian-British hybrid. ~3,300 kcal in season. Lots of pasta, lean meats, olive oil. Family Sunday lunch (her Nonna's pasta) is the one weekly food ritual she will not break.
  • Protein 30%
  • Carbs 53%
  • Fat 17%

Some of the foods Russo eats most. Hover for protein / carb / fat (per 100g).

Whole grain pasta
Chicken breast
Olive oil
Salmon
Sweet potato
Eggs
Greek yoghurt
Spinach
Bananas
Sunday roast
Whole grain pasta
Chicken breast
Olive oil
Salmon
Sweet potato
Eggs
Greek yoghurt
Spinach
Bananas
Sunday roast
Sources
Sleep & health 9 to 10 hours overnight. Bedtime by 10pm in season. Sleeps with eye-mask and blackout curtains, Arsenal-supplied.

9 to 10 hours overnight. Bedtime by 10pm in season. Sleeps with eye-mask and blackout curtains, Arsenal-supplied.

Sources
Strength training 4 sessions per week. Heavier than most WSL strikers. Power cleans, squats, single-leg work. Holds 67 kg lean.

4 sessions per week. Heavier than most WSL strikers. Power cleans, squats, single-leg work. Holds 67 kg lean.

Sources
Pitch work Daily box-finishing reps, first-time, both feet. Specifically rehearses the back-post header and the cushion-control turn-and-shoot. The backheel was a lifetime of training, not luck.

Daily box-finishing reps, first-time, both feet. Specifically rehearses the back-post header and the cushion-control turn-and-shoot. The backheel was a lifetime of training, not luck.

Sources
Recovery Family-anchored. Italian Sunday lunch with Nonna and parents weekly. Daily mobility and contrast showers. Has spoken about how the post-tournament family week is essential to her mental reset.

Family-anchored. Italian Sunday lunch with Nonna and parents weekly. Daily mobility and contrast showers. Has spoken about how the post-tournament family week is essential to her mental reset.

Sources

A day in the life

In-season weekday. The discipline, hour by hour.

  1. 07:30 wake Wake + family breakfast
  2. 08:00 diet Eggs, sourdough, coffee
  3. 09:30 wake Drive to London Colney
  4. 10:00 strength Pre-training mobility + film
  5. 11:00 pitch Team training (90 min)
  6. 13:00 diet Lunch: pasta, salmon, vegetables
  7. 14:00 sleep Nap (~60 min)
  8. 15:30 pitch Box-finishing reps
  9. 17:00 strength Strength session
  10. 18:30 recovery Family + Italian podcast
  11. 20:00 diet Dinner: chicken, sweet potato, greens
  12. 22:00 sleep Lights out
Skills Over Time

Russo’s game, year by year

Slide through the career. The shape changes, power up, raw pace down, mentality climbing.

    20182021202220242025
    Sources FIFA EA SPORTS player ratingsWhoScored advanced metrics
    What young players can copy

    From Russo’s playbook to ours

    Five takeaways from the most clinical English striker of her generation, plus the famous backheel that was four years in the making.

    Pitch work 01

    Box-finishing reps every day

    Russo does 50 first-time finishes inside the six-yard box every single training day. The backheel against Sweden was the 12,000th rep of that pattern.

    The Matico approach

    Every Matico session ends with a structured box-finishing block. Different angles, both feet, real volume.

    Strength 02

    Strength is a striker's edge

    Russo holds 67 kg lean and lifts heavier than most attackers. The reason she can hold off WSL centre-backs.

    The Matico approach

    Our u14+ strength curriculum includes single-leg loading, hip work, posterior chain. Bodyweight first, banded later.

    Sleep 03

    Eye-mask + blackout curtains

    Arsenal supplies every player with an eye-mask, blackout curtains, and a sleep playbook. Russo uses all three nightly.

    The Matico approach

    Our parent handbook lists 5 cheap sleep upgrades. Eye-mask is one of them, under £10.

    Diet 04

    Pasta is fuel, not the enemy

    Russo eats whole grain pasta most days. Italian heritage. The myth that pasta is bad for athletes is, well, a myth.

    The Matico approach

    Our parent handbook covers carb timing, slow carbs the night before matches, fast carbs the morning of.

    Recovery 05

    Italian Sunday lunch

    Russo's grandmother's pasta is her one weekly food ritual she will not break. Family meal as recovery.

    The Matico approach

    We program one fully football-free family meal per week into our Development Centre schedule.

    Book a free Development Centre session

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