'I want to win the Ballon d'Or' - Man City star Kerolin eyeing individual and team glory as former NWSL MVP gets to grips with the WSL

Kerolin isn’t getting ahead of herself, though. She knows she has a lot of work to do. “Honestly, now, I just think I need to keep training and understand the league,” she says, asked what she believes she needs to do to be in the position to win something like the Ballon d’Or. “I’m really new here, so there are some differences between here and the NWSL.

“If I just be myself and try to help the team, get some assists and score goals, I know I could get there. Of course, more than that, be ready for the [national team] camps, for the next World Cup [in Brazil], it means a lot. I think it’s now just about building and getting ready for that. I’m not going to be surprised if it happens, because I’m working for that.”

With eight appearances under her belt since that January move, Kerolin is starting to get more of an idea of what the style is like in England and how it differs to previous experiences in Brazil, Spain and the U.S. The physicality of the defending is something the flying winger is having to adapt to in particular, noting the need to “maybe do things early so they can’t come close to me”.

“Before I came here, Gabi Nunes was saying, 'I think you're going to be really good here because you're good at dribbling and normally, when you do a fake, people will believe you are going there',” she says, referring to a conversation with her Brazil team-mate who became Aston Villa's record signing last summer. “But when I came here, it wasn't like that! I said, 'Hey, Nunes, you said to me, it would be easy, but it's not! Come on.'”

It's not just the style of football that requires some adjustment, either. Kerolin’s admission that her mother is “scared” of the Manchester weather might prompt a hearty laugh from English reporters used to such conditions but, as the thick winter coat the 25-year-old has wrapped herself in shows, she is finding that “hard”, too. “Sometimes I'm asking myself, 'What am I doing here?'” she says, laughing. “I hope I really, really get what I want, because if not, I'm going to be really disappointed.”

It's fair to say Kerolin’s first few weeks on the pitch have not been easy, either. Signing for the club only half a year after returning from an ACL tear, an injury players often say it takes months to feel like themselves again after, the forward arrived midway through Man City’s campaign and, having come from a league that plays between March and November, was thrown into action at a time when she’d normally be starting pre-season.

If that wasn’t enough to get her head around, City’s own circumstances have been tough. Defeats to Manchester United and Arsenal, followed by last week’s draw at West Ham, have thrown the Cityzens' chances of Champions League qualification into serious doubt, so much so that when Kerolin sits to speak ahead of this week's League Cup final, it is less than 24 hours since the club announced they had parted ways with head coach Gareth Taylor.

That decision, which included bringing back former boss Nick Cushing on an interim basis, presents a huge risk. It came only five days before that League Cup final, itself the first of four games in 12 days against Chelsea, the WSL leaders and reigning champions. “I’m really new, so it’s hard to say a lot about the coach,” she notes. “It is what it is. I just think now, we need to be together.”

Fortunately, her insight into life in Manchester so far suggests the team is very united ahead of a crucial part of the season. She cites captain Alex Greenwood as someone who, despite being sidelined since December, has really helped her settle, along with star striker Khadija Shaw, with whom she is striking up a good relationship on and off the pitch.

“I think in our mind right now, it's just like, 'Whatever happens, if it was with Gaz or not, we should be together, believe in the game plan and go for a trophy',” Kerolin adds. “I really believe in the group and we're going to be together to try and win the game.”

Fortunately, as big matches loom, Kerolin’s arrival adds more experience of the pressure moments. It was only last summer that she helped Brazil reach the Olympic final, scoring in a shock semi-final win over Spain, favourites to win gold. She’s shown top quality on a consistent basis in the NWSL, to win the MVP award and help the North Carolina Courage win major titles, and, stylistically, brings something new to City’s attack. She has the ability to make a real difference.

“They don't actually know how I play yet,” she says as she prepares to face Chelsea for the first time. “I think this could help me to go one against one, to try to have assists, make them run backwards and have them be like, 'What the hell is going on?' Maybe trying to take advantage of this moment.

“The experience from the Olympics is just go and enjoy, because I think if I was to be under so much pressure, that is not going to be good for us. Just being relaxed and trying to enjoy the game, it's really important, especially in the final because normally we'd be like, 'Oh, I need to be perfect, I need to do everything good, I can't miss'. But it's part of the game, just enjoying and having fun. I think it's important for these games.”

It's an attitude that matches Kerolin’s style. On the pitch, she exudes Brazilian flair, and when she speaks, the love and passion for her homeland shines through. She talks of playing football on the streets as a young girl, about how capoeira, a dance-like martial art from Brazil, has brought her “something different”, and cites Vinicius Jr as the player she is most excited about watching right now. “He's the one who's impressed me, how he's playing and it doesn't matter what people say out of the football, he keeps playing, he keeps scoring, he keeps helping his team,” she says.

She talks with pride about being the first Brazilian to play for Man City’s women’s team and is excited about how she could make a difference to the team with that unique upbringing. From a country that has a long history of winning in this sport, it’s no surprise that trophies are a motivation for her, but what is also notable is how much Kerolin wants to entertain.

“At the end, these are important games, but also I think for the player, it's important to feel free and have fun and enjoy the football, because I think also the fans come to see some good football and players doing what they do best,” she says.

Underneath it all is someone driven to succeed. Kerolin grimaces when asked about her ACL injury and isn’t afraid to talk about the ups and downs she can endure, despite seeming extremely confident on the surface. “We need to understand the process and respect it, because it’s not easy,” she concedes.

But that time she spent on the sidelines has further fuelled the fire within. “Basically, in that moment, I [went from] being the MVP of the league to nothing,” she says. “I believe if it happens, it’s for some reason, and I’m here now, so it’s for some reason. If you work hard, it doesn’t matter what’s happened, you’re going to get good things back for you.”

She suffered that setback on the final day of the NWSL regular season, just before North Carolina went into the playoffs. She couldn’t help them in their quest for the Championship, and Gotham defeated the Courage in the first round of the post-season.

Asked if that experience makes her hungrier now, as she prepares to enter a stretch of huge games that she can actually make an impact in, she doesn’t hesitate. “Definitely,” she replies. “It showed me how much that matters for me. I think every training and game means a lot for me, more than before, because I was out for eight months. I'm just going to try my best because we never know what's going to happen.”

It's another layer of motivation for a player with plenty of fight, some huge dreams and the talent to match.