uplaystation and downs – in addition to sacrifices – are a large a part of the lives of those that wish to play soccer professionally. In the ladies’s recreation, prejudice and occasional pay are further hurdles to conquer as a way to satisfy that dream. It is a large number of paintings – and for the avid gamers who aren’t moderately excellent sufficient to play for his or her nation it’s much more tricky to face out.
Ashley Riefner has taken the lengthy – and infrequently trodden – trail from US college soccer to the pro recreation in Denmark, by the use of Finland. It hasn’t been a very easy adventure with accidents, having to dip into her financial savings to pay hire and a long-distance courting that used to be in peril of breaking down.
But requested the query of whether or not it’s been value it, there’s no query within the 29-year-old’s thoughts. All she ever sought after to do used to be to play soccer, and she or he is doing it.
“It’s been super hard,” says Riefner, who’s now with Fortuna Hjørring. “I’ve had to be my own businesswoman, my own spokesperson, my own advocate along every step of the way. It’s not easy, but then I don’t really think it’s supposed to be. If I could do it again, I would. I think every step that I’ve taken has totally been the right choice.”
For her and many other young girls, to choose football is to bet on themselves. Born in the US, Riefner started playing at the age of six and has never stopped. “That was kind of my thing,” she laughs. Football got her into the University of Richmond and she started to dream about playing professionally. However, she was not drafted and not picked for the national team, meaning she had to find a different way to join a club.
“The path that I took versus what I thought it would look like is so different. Being from the US and not ever being on the national team makes it really hard for people to notice you. Everyone sees Alex Morgan and Carli Lloyd and those kind of players but to make it as someone who doesn’t have a name is a different journey. But it’s also a really cool one.”
One of her coaches at University of Richmond, Mika Elovaara, suggested she moved to Finland to join PK-35 Vantaa. Once there she may have played for the Finnish champions and in the Women’s Champions League but she was still living with a host family and having to use her savings to pay rent because she would go months in the off-season without getting paid. “At the time, I didn’t know what I was signing up for. I didn’t have an agent so I was figuring out these business and life lessons on my own in a different country.”
To add to the stress, during her second year at PK-35, Riefner broke her foot. In her third season in Finland her pay was reduced and she began working 40 hours a week at a children’s nursery. “They gave me a special schedule so that I could work from 6am till 3pm and then go to training. I actually think I played a good season maybe because I had something to do apart from football. It was kind of my de-stress at that time.”
At this point Riefner was no longer on her own. Having met her teammate Tiia Peltonen at PK-35 they had been together for some time before Riefner moved to HJK in Helsinki and Peltonen to Åland, an island between Sweden and Finland. “It was too much,” Riefner says. A season later, however, they were both at Åland before moving to Denmark to play for Nordsjælland, right at the start of the pandemic. Despite being back together, it was a tough time. “We pretty much lived in an academy building, had to eat all our meals in our rooms, and weren’t allowed to go anywhere. It was really rough, football-wise, and also just being stuck in a room for too long.”
After the restrictions ended, Riefner was excited to finally see what football had in store for him. A former coach had just moved to Fortuna and invited her and Peltonen to the team, where they have been since the beginning of this season. “It’s been such a long, long journey,” she says. “But I actually assume that is the best school room it’s essential to ever have.”
For Riefner, her path – even though a little unconventional for a US player – taught her how to deal with the unexpected. “You really have to love what you do and you have to be tough. Unexpected things will happen, and I know they will happen. It’s really just how you learn from things and respond to them.”
Recommended viewing
Gema Cholbi surprised us with the Olympic goal on Saturday when her Deportivo Alavés aspect confronted Valencia within the Spanish league. Her efforts, alternatively, weren’t sufficient and Valencia received 2–1, conserving Alavés backside of the desk.
Have a query for our writers – or wish to counsel a subject matter to hide? Get involved by way of emailing [email protected] or publish BTL.