To celebrate International Fans’ Day, Jenna Dear and Mollie Rouse discussed their experiences playing for clubs in different countries.
Jenna Dear played for Norwegian first division side Valerenga and later played for Dijon and FC Fleury 91 in France. Mollie Rouse played college football in U.S.A and signed for Sunderland from German club FFC Turbine Potsdam.
On making the decision to move abroad, Dear said: “It was the lifestyle, and seeing how the game is different in different countries.
“I was in Norway first which was a lot different to playing in England, and then the move to France came about.
“In Norway, the manager that was there, I liked her style of play and we did have a good group of girls when I went on trial there, so that initially attracted me to going there.
“Oslo was just a nice place to be so the lifestyle was good, the football was good. It’s a lot different to here, it’s pretty physical out there but here it’s more technical.
Both players discussed the valuable experiences from playing against some of the top teams in the world in their respective leagues.
“It’s good to challenge yourself against some of the best players in the world. There’s a lot of French internationals that play for those teams,” Dear said.
“It was tough, and with the team I was at, we were fighting a relegation scrap so it was challenging for us but it was a valuable experience.”
Mollie Rouse added: “In the first year I was lucky enough to play in the Bundesliga which in itself is a great experience, playing against Bayern Munich, Wolfsburg, it was something I would never forget.
“I was lucky enough to start pretty much all the games that season so I really grew into myself as a player and I learnt a lot.”
Moving to different countries has a big impact on players both on and off the pitch, with both Lasses’ midfielders highlighting the positive influence this had on their careers now.
Dear said: “It makes you grow up a lot because I went out there when I was quite young, and it probably made me realise how much football meant to me at the time.
“My ambition was always to come back to England, push to play in the Championship and then see where that takes me to try and progress further.
Rouse added: “I chose to go to America because they’re very big on the university and football life so I was able to play at a high standard while getting my degree and I loved it.
“I got to experience university life while playing football, whereas here, you can only really put 100% into one.
“When you’re that age you want to enjoy life as well, so I got to experience a lot of new things and new cultures which is something I really value.”
“I’m certainly glad that I made the switch [to Sunderland] when I did.”