Top 100 Steph Houghton Quotes
“We’ve all had meetings with the referees. We’re all clear with how VAR works, and ultimately, you want the rules to be fair.”
― Steph Houghton
“We’ve had to pay to play. We’ve had to borrow kit. We’ve had to train on a Friday night. Maybe a lot of boys, given that opportunity, would slip away, whereas we’ve had the mentality to go, ‘I really want this. I’m going to show that I can do this.’”
― Steph Houghton
“At the end of the day, you’ve got a job to do, and that’s playing football.”
― Steph Houghton
“We’d love to be playing to five or six thousand.”
― Steph Houghton
“It is a bit surreal when I’m out and people are having a look or staring or wanting selfies.”
― Steph Houghton
“I want to be the best professional and the greatest role model I can be.”
― Steph Houghton
“I’m very privileged to be a professional footballer, and I want to encourage more young girls to play.”
― Steph Houghton
“Anything can happen in a cup final; that’s what everybody likes about them.”
― Steph Houghton
“It’s going to be a massive honour to represent your country, if selected, for the World Cup.”
― Steph Houghton
“The amount of TV exposure we have had and the attention women’s football has got has been brilliant.”
― Steph Houghton
“We want to be role models.”
― Steph Houghton
“It’s difficult because the men’s game is so big and attracts so much money and sponsorship, and so it’s always going to take priority.”
― Steph Houghton
“We’re doing a lot of work in schools getting girls to play football, breaking down any taboos there might be, and we’re seeing them get interested and bring their families along, where they have such a good match day experience that they’re coming back.”
― Steph Houghton
“I think that what’s happening is that girls are enjoying playing. It’s a lot more acceptable, and now we have a Women’s Super League with hugely dedicated female role models – really committed players who people can see are dedicated and training as hard if not harder than any male players – that’s all progressing the sport.”
― Steph Houghton
“We hope girls are inspired to start playing at a younger age and try to get to a World Cup themselves.”
― Steph Houghton
“We always want to play and be dominant with the ball, but we respect the opposition.”
― Steph Houghton
“Opinion of the sport is constantly getting better. Our semi-professional league is starting to change people’s attitudes, and it’ll get better as the years go on.”
― Steph Houghton
“I know other people say that football isn’t easy as a sport for girls, but my family and friends have always been really supportive.”
― Steph Houghton
“The World Cup is what we’ve done all them hours for. It’s why we give up normal life.”
― Steph Houghton
“We have to be playing near-perfect football to go and win a World Cup.”
― Steph Houghton
“The image of women’s football has definitely changed. Now we’ve got to make sure it keeps developing.”
― Steph Houghton
“We’ve got to make sure we keep the media attention on us; being on telly and in the papers gets people interested.”
― Steph Houghton
“At Arsenal, we train for about two hours a day and are treated just the same as the men. It makes a big difference, and it gives young girls something to aim for.”
― Steph Houghton
“Twitter’s brilliant. It allows us to talk to fans and gets them to games.”
― Steph Houghton
“Playing for England, it’s a massive honour to wear the shirt anyway, but to come and play at Wembley Stadium, in terms of how women’s football has developed, it’s a massive opportunity.”
― Steph Houghton
“We’ve got two semi-professional leagues; we’ve got many other leagues, more coaching opportunities for youngsters. You never had that when I was younger. You had to go and join in with the boys – that helped me as a player, but I think girls feel more confident playing with other girls of the same age.”
― Steph Houghton
“Games don’t come much bigger than playing the title holders with the chance to win the trophy yourselves.”
― Steph Houghton
“Missing the chance to go to the 2007 World Cup was the biggest disappointment of my career.”
― Steph Houghton
“We want to be the best in Europe.”
― Steph Houghton
“You would obviously like to be on BBC2, BBC1 all the time.”
― Steph Houghton
“I don’t practise indirect free-kicks, but the technique and how I strike the ball I practise a lot.”
― Steph Houghton
“I don’t tend to carry much cash around, as I use my bank card whenever I can.”
― Steph Houghton
“My mum and dad were always careful with money.”
― Steph Houghton
“Mum stayed home to look after us, and Dad was an electrician, working long hours to support us. We never went without, but we did have to be careful.”
― Steph Houghton
“My first job was working Saturdays in Sports Soccer in Newcastle. I only used to work three or four hours a week, so it wasn’t a huge amount, but I do remember spending the first pay I got on a new pair of trainers.”
― Steph Houghton
“We want to compete for every trophy at home and in Europe.”
― Steph Houghton
“It’s great to be able to bring the best players from other countries and that they want to play in our league.”
― Steph Houghton
“It doesn’t get much bigger than England v. Germany at Wembley.”
― Steph Houghton
“The Olympics is one of the memories that will always be with me. It changed my life for the better.”
― Steph Houghton
“I’m in such a privileged position to class football as my full-time job, to be captain of England, captain of Manchester City. I’m very lucky.”
― Steph Houghton
“It’s important I keep my feet on the ground and stay humble and still work hard.”
― Steph Houghton
“I started playing with my dad, and then I started going to soccer schools in Sunderland and managed to get scouted from there.”
― Steph Houghton
“I’ve been playing semi-professional football since I was 14, really.”
― Steph Houghton
“It doesn’t get much more special than playing at Wembley in front of 70,000 people. It’s definitely what dreams are made of.”
― Steph Houghton
“My family have always been supportive of my career, whether it’s the highs of the World Cup or when I was just starting out.”
― Steph Houghton
“For the women’s team, our job is to be professional footballers for club and country and be the best role models we can be.”
― Steph Houghton
“I think people admire us for dedicating our lives to be professional athletes. But we need more people to come and watch club games; we need to encourage girls to play football from an early age.”
― Steph Houghton
“As a full-time athlete, you put your body through a lot. A foam roller works like a self-massage to roll out the knots in your quads, your hamstrings, and your back so that you feel looser and more prepared.”
― Steph Houghton
“Going to the gym is essential to the position that I play, but I also enjoy keeping fit and healthy in general.”
― Steph Houghton
“Sleep is important; I try and get about 9 hours if I can at night, but I don’t tend to nap during the day.”
― Steph Houghton
“When you’re training every day, recovery is so important. I find that foam rolling helps me to make sure I don’t get tight anywhere so that I keep mobilised and keep on top of things.”
― Steph Houghton
“I’ve never, ever set my sights on getting 100 – it’s more my family. My dad’s been counting down the caps for every single home game, and he’s been to every single one I’ve played in England.”
― Steph Houghton
“That was something I probably had to go through, a learning curve in terms of trying to develop into the captain I want to be.”
― Steph Houghton
“The captaincy is about putting the team first, making sure the girls are happy – that they’re comfortable with the processes we have, the way that the schedule is – to be able to challenge people on and off the pitch: not telling them off, but advising them.”
― Steph Houghton
“I knew there was going to be pressure on me with the captaincy. I knew people would be writing about my performances more than anyone else’s, but that’s not a problem because I have my dad telling me about my performance every single game, and he is my biggest critic.”
― Steph Houghton
“You have to be able to shut out everything else, all the distractions and criticism. There’s a lot of work that went on off the pitch, a lot of conversations, to make that happen.”
― Steph Houghton
“We want to win. We want to win big football matches.”
― Steph Houghton
“The support of our fans is vital to everything that we do – we always play for our country and our fans.”
― Steph Houghton
“Since the World Cup in 2015, we’ve all experienced an increase in the interest in women’s football, which has led to more and more fans supporting the team.”
― Steph Houghton
“Ever since I’ve been able to walk, I’ve always had a ball at my feet.”
― Steph Houghton
“The women’s game has grown, but when I was playing at Arsenal, I don’t think people realised how good we actually were. I think there’s just a perception that we just play football, but we’re not very good, and it was a challenge for us to try and prove those type of people wrong.”
― Steph Houghton
“I always knew I wanted an educational background, and my mum and dad were quite big on that.”
― Steph Houghton
“I think women should inspire. It is our duty to inspire young girls to play a sport, whether it’s just for enjoyment and keeping fit or to actually go on and try and make a career out of it.”
― Steph Houghton
“Playing with the boys made me a better footballer. It made me more competitive and made me want to win even more. You were playing against the boys and wanted to prove how good you were.”
― Steph Houghton
“If we, as a group, can change people’s view from thinking they’re watching football as opposed to women’s football, then I think we’ve been successful.”
― Steph Houghton
“We want to be treated as professionals and like the male footballers.”
― Steph Houghton
“When I was named captain under Mark Sampson, there were a lot of questions about whether I was ready for it. I wasn’t a certain starter. There were more experienced players than me; I was only 25. I was trying to nail down a centre-half spot, and it was a difficult situation.”
― Steph Houghton
“It’s not so long ago I was paying ã250 a season to play. I don’t think in my lifetime it will ever get to wage parity with the men, but we have made so many great strides already.”
― Steph Houghton
“I’m a professional footballer, and I get paid for doing my job.”
― Steph Houghton
“My all-time hero for Sunderland was Kevin Phillips. He was the one I looked up to.”
― Steph Houghton
“There was no better feeling than lifting that Continental Cup.”
― Steph Houghton
“My role models were Kevin Phillips and David Beckham, and, for me, now girls can look up to female footballers and want to aspire to be them and try to follow in their footsteps and even be better than us.”
― Steph Houghton
“I think that’s vitally important, that we get players playing at a younger age group.”
― Steph Houghton
“As players, we need to try to inspire young girls to keep playing because, at grass roots, we need more girls playing football.”
― Steph Houghton
“I think it’s important that we try to showcase what we’re about as women footballers.”
― Steph Houghton
“Serena is an icon of women’s sport.”
― Steph Houghton
“I get nervous before every single game, but I think it’s a good sign. It means I care and want it to go as well as it possibly can.”
― Steph Houghton
“I’m a very motivated person, and that goes hand in hand with being very organised. I always plan what I need to do to get the best out of every day.”
― Steph Houghton
“I’d like to be more assertive when it comes to confrontation. I’m fine on the pitch, but off the pitch, I’m a bit of a softy.”
― Steph Houghton
“My mum was very determined and motivated and always wanted the best for us. That rubs off on you.”
― Steph Houghton
“You get the best out of the girls when they’re enjoying themselves, when they’ve got a smile on their face – they’re working hard on the training pitch, but they’re allowed to relax off it as well.”
― Steph Houghton
“With the likes of social media and outside influences – we’re going to be on telly a lot more – I think it’s important that you listen to the right people, whether it’s your team-mates, your parents, or your coaches, and don’t take too much to heart.”
― Steph Houghton
“Within the girl’s game, you have to be motivated to be part of this sport.”
― Steph Houghton
“Everybody is really committed to making the women’s game as good as it can be.”
― Steph Houghton
“I have to keep performing well for club and country. That’s what I always want to do. If I do that, then that extra media attention comes towards me.”
― Steph Houghton
“To be playing in FA Cup finals at Wembley is obviously a dream come true.”
― Steph Houghton
“For women’s football in this country, it’s important we do play in the best stadiums, and for me, Wembley is the best in this country.”
― Steph Houghton
“In terms of leading by example. I feel as though that’s what my game is. Trying to drive the team forward, win my tackles, win my headers.”
― Steph Houghton
“You want to be winning trophies, and you want to be winning medals.”
― Steph Houghton
“I am proud to be captain of an England team who believe in themselves and enjoy the way we play.”
― Steph Houghton
“As captain, I want us to be ambitious; I want us to be winners – but above all, I hope we will show how much we love the game by passing the ball and achieving success through our technical and tactical approach.”
― Steph Houghton
“Michael Owen’s wonder goal against Argentina in 1998 was one defining memory, and as a Sunderland supporter, I remember crying my eyes out after they lost that play-off final against Charlton. Much as that hurt, it made me realise how much I wanted to play the game.”
― Steph Houghton
“I think a massive part of players wanting to stay in England was to be able to be on the ball every day, playing the sport you love, and being able to class it as a job and dedicating your whole life to it.”
― Steph Houghton
“I think there’s so many areas within the football game that women are being more involved in, and I think it’s great to see.”
― Steph Houghton
“I think the likes of Alex Scott and Rachel Brown-Finnis have been unbelievable in terms of the punditry they do.”
― Steph Houghton
“We want to play against the best in the world, nevermind Europe.”
― Steph Houghton
“It is important to have down time between training and matches.”
― Steph Houghton
“In women’s football, you can’t plan to go out and win everything in one season. It’s not like that.”
― Steph Houghton
“I will always be grateful for having that opportunity to be part of a home Olympic games. It is a memory I will cherish forever.”
― Steph Houghton
“I want to play for England, I wear my heart on my sleeve, and I give it everything I can, not just for me but for my team-mates as well.”
― Steph Houghton
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