GIALLOROSSI YORKSHIRE BLOG
Over the course of the club's history, only two British players have played for Roma. But with the introduction of a Women's team for 2018-19, that number has increased to three.
Neither of the two British men to have played for Roma made too much of an impression. Ashley Cole only spent one-and-a-half seasons at the club, but despite his illustrious past, he often found himself on the bench, with Jose Holebas and then Lucas Digne preferred at left-back. Cole wasn't even assigned a squad number ahead of his second campaign in Rome, in which he was released half way through. The other British man to have played for Roma, John Charles, was more famous for his time at Leeds United and Juventus. After he had left Juventus to briefly return to Yorkshire to play for Leeds again, Charles spent one season at Roma, scoring four goals in 10 games in 1962-63. Technically, there was a third British-born player to represent Roma. Simone Perrotta was born in Ashton-Under-Lyne in 1977, although he moved to Italy, the country of his parents' origin, in 2005. Perrotta went on to make 326 appearances for Roma, and won the World Cup in 2006 with Italy. However, despite the lack of UK players in the club's history, Roma Women will be represented by a British player right from the beginning, someone with her own major connections to Leeds and Yorkshire. Nuneaton-born Emma Louise Lipman is a member of Roma's first ever women's squad. The English defender, 28, signed up after a one-year spell with AGSM Verona. A central defender, Lipman brings great experience from the top of the women's game, although she has never been capped by England. Lipman began her youth career with Coventry City at the age of 10. It was a big breakthrough for Lipman, who had seen many footballing opportunities turned down in her early life just because she was a girl. But at Coventry, she found a place to develop, spending her formative years as a footballer there. She made her open-age debut at the age of just 14, even scoring the winning penalty. Aged 17, Lipman left Coventry as she prepared to embark on the next stage of her life. And that's where the Yorkshire connection came in. Lipman moved to Leeds to study for a degree at Leeds Metropolitan University (now known as Leeds Beckett). After completing her education, Lipman stayed in Leeds, finding her next big opportunity in sport. She signed for Leeds United Ladies, at the time in the second-tier of women's football in England. Lipman stayed with Leeds for two-and-a-half seasons before making another big step up. She joined Women's Super League side Manchester City. As well as balancing a role as an Athletic Development Coach for the club's academy, she helped the side across two WSL seasons, she was part of the City squad that qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history in 2015. Unfortunately, Lipman would not be a part of the side who would play in Europe the next season. Instead, she was released from her contract, and returned to Yorkshire to play for Sheffield FC in the WSL 2. She helped her new club to a fifth place finish in her first season, and ninth in the WSL Spring Series, which helped align the WSL calendar with the rest of women's football. After her time at Sheffield, it was time for a new adventure. In September 2017, for the first time in her career, Lipman moved abroad to play for AGSM Verona. It was an opportunity for her to test her skillset in a new country, where she would be playing at the top level once again: Verona were in Serie A for the 2017-18 season. Lipman played 21 times in the league as her new side achieved a 7th-place finish, securing their Serie A status for another season. Meanwhile, Roma were putting the groundworks in place to set up their own official women's team to compete in the same league for the new season. It was a team that Lipman was going to be a part of. On 10th August 2018, Lipman confirmed on Instagram that she would be joining Roma. She wrote: "Focused and ready for my next Italian adventure... super excited to have signed for @officialasroma and see what lies ahead at this great club in a historic first year. #ForzaRoma" Her life at Roma got off to the perfect start. In the club's first friendly, against Union College, Lipman scored one of the goals in a massive 12-0 win. Then, a few weeks later, she was a rock at the back as Roma beat Florentia 4-0 to win the inaugural Trofeo Luisa Petrucci. Two games, two clean sheets, and even a goal. What more could a defender ask for? Lipman will likely be a key player in the season ahead for Roma Women, which begins on 22nd September with a trip to Sassuolo. One of the most experienced members of the squad, she will be pivotal to Roma's organisation at the back in their debut Serie A campaign. And all the time, she will be flying the flag for the English-speaking Giallorossi community.
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samuel bannister
Founder and editor of Giallorossi Yorkshire, who is also a columnist for Roma's official website about the women's team. Categories
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October 2019
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