Women's Euros: Former coach of Alessia Russo on her success ahead of England Women's Euros final against Germany

A former youth team coach of footballer Alessia Russo says it was apparent to him she was going to go right to the very top from an early age.

Colin Whitfield initially came across Alessia while he coached brother Giorgio at Bearsted FC and was instantly impressed.

Still only 23, Russo has come a long way since then, signing for Manchester United in 2020 and making her senior England debut that same year.

The Maidstone-born forward shocked the world on Tuesday during England Women’s Euros 4-0 semi-final win over Sweden, as she scored a now famous backheel goal.

Mr Whitfield recalls his early memories of Russo.

"I knew her before I started as her football team coach because I had her brother, Giorgio, playing in my boys team,” said Mr Whitfield on Russo who has another brother, Luca, while Giorgio now plays for Bearsted's first-team.

“She used to come along - supposedly to watch him - but she never did. She would just ask for a ball and then she was in the background, kicking a ball about. That’s all you could hear.

“Once she got to the age of eight, she was old enough to play in my under-10 girls team so she came and played a year in that. She played a year up. She was actually an under-9 but she played in the under-10s.

“She was phenomenal, absolutely.

“You could see from that young age that she was going to go all the way.”

The Lionesses were already 2-0 ahead at Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane when Russo was introduced during their semi-final after the restart in front of a crowd of 28,624 against the Swedes.

After Russo had seen an effort from close range saved by Hedvig Lindahl, she chased down the ball and produced a backheel which nutmegged the keeper.

Like so many, Mr Whitfield has watched the incredible piece of