Nadia Nadim’s summer is like a football bingo card: a trophy, a transfer and international duty, as well as covering a major tournament as part of the media.
After helping Paris Saint-Germain win their first ever women’s league title, she joined NWSL expansion side Racing Louisville in the United States. The 33-year-old also won her 98th cap for Denmark women’s national team last month while covering the men’s team at Euro 2020.
The latter made her one of few foreign female footballers on terrestrial television in the UK, as part of ITV’s coverage of the tournament.
“I didn’t sit with Roy Keane at the studio, but he was my neighbour at the hotel. I've seen some of his interviews, where he seemed like a harsh, critical person, but in real life he was so funny and such a nice person,” the forward laughs during an exclusive interview with Goal.
“In the future, I want my options to be open. The more I can learn now, the more I can grow. It was cool to talk to [Keane] and the people sitting with me, especially Graeme [Souness] and Joe Cole, [as they’re] really, really nice people. They made my experience really enjoyable.”
Such an opportunity has introduced more people to one of the most incredible stories in not only women’s football, but sport in general.
Born in Afghanistan, Nadim’s family fled when she was 12 years old after her father was executed by the Taliban. She ended up in Denmark and the warmth of the place she now calls home has been on show for all to see this summer, after the terrifying cardiac arrest suffered by Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen against Finland.
“The reactions afterwards were something that touched me a lot, seeing the players trying to guard him,” Nadim says. “I really loved those images.
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"But it was a terrible thing. I'm just happy that Eriksen was in good hands and his operation is over, and he's in recovery."
Nadim was on international duty at the time. The strong relationship between Denmark’s men’s and women’s national teams meant it was something that really hit her and her team-mates hard, as they watched on from their hotel.
“Katrine Veje, who played for Arsenal, is childhood friends with him and I'm really close to her. She was really out of it,” Nadim remembers. “It was tough for everyone.
“We had a talk with our psychologist at the end of the evening, where she explained what we should do, who to talk to. Some of the girls couldn't stop crying for almost an hour.
"Also, it's a footballer, so I think you're touched a bit more because the thought of, 'Oh, this could be us.' But it can happen to everyone, but we should try focus on the positives, which is that he was lucky that happened during a match with so many doctors and paramedics around him and not at his hotel room when he was alone.”
The response of Eriksen’s team-mates has seen them reach a first major tournament quarter-final for the men’s team since 2004.
“They've come closer and they're playing for Eriksen. They're playing for the nation,” Nadim says. “I've never seen them celebrate the goals this way. I've never seen them this hyped, which is so cool to watch – and it brings them the results."
The forward is enjoying the “buzz” at home as Denmark prepare to face Czech Republic in the last eight on Saturday, but she won't be around it much longer. She recently sealed a return to the United States, after making history with PSG.
“[PSG] had never won the league – I didn't know this!” she laughs. “I only found out after we won. It was a cool way to finish up my journey and my adventure in Paris.”
The forward scored 10 goals in 15 league games last season to end Lyon's run of 14 straight titles. She has since become one of five players to depart, three of them joining Lyon.
“Everywhere I go, I'm there for two years, three max. Then, after that, I need to move on, because I feel like everything I could give, I've given. Everything I could learn, I've learned,” she explains.
“I need this growth, this thing that drives you. My motivation was to reach this goal that we had [of winning the league].
“Now, I feel like maybe they're going to have a little setback [to] try to rebuild the team, which is a shame, because you build a team to reach this level where you want to win all the titles and be a force in Europe.”
Nadim's next step involves some familiar faces, with Louisville head coach Christy Holly having been the assistant coach at Sky Blue, now Gotham FC, when Nadim first moved to the NWSL.
“I love this guy,” she says. “He's a really amazing person.”
She’ll also be reunited with Gemma Bonner, a former team-mate of hers at Man City who she describes as “a good soul”, while getting the opportunity to play with Japan’s Yuki Nagasato, a player she has “really admired for a really long time”.
“[The team] has just started and they've been doing really well. It's a team, it's an organisation where they're not just talking. They actually put everything in it,” Nadim says.
“When you speak with the owners, with the coach, with the club, you have this feeling, 'Okay, this is something that we really want.' It's not just like, 'Oh, let's create a team and then yeah, whatever.'
“That's the vibe I got and I was like, 'you know what? This is something that I really want to be a part of.'”
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