Blurb:

The inspiring memoir of one of football’s greatest players – Steph Houghton – in which she recounts the highs and lows of making it to the top of her game as England Captain, star of the London Olympics, and Man City stalwart, via Sunderland, Leeds and Arsenal.

With 121 caps for the Lionesses, Steph has been at the heart of the women’s football revolution, inspiring girls and young women around the world but in her own understated way.

Leading from the Back is Steph’s incredibly honest account of what it takes to make it to the pinnacle of women’s football when the odds are well and truly stacked against you.

Inside, she shares her dreams of becoming professional as a young girl in Sunderland; how reaching that status has been a long and often difficult journey, with many personal struggles both on and off the pitch. In between, she recounts the amazing highs of playing for her country, making history at the Olympics, lifting cups for her team, and the awe-inspiring people she has encountered along the way.

This is not only Steph’s personal story, but also the story of women’s football in England and internationally. Steph is credited as being one of the greatest influences in growing the women’s game to the biggest it has ever been.

A remarkable journey of unwavering determination that reveals the grit needed to stay true to yourself, and what it really takes to be a leader; this is the full and incredible story of a sports pioneer, ‘Super Steph’.

Review:

I am a relative newcomer to women’s football, so up until quite recently, especially as a Bradford City fan, I knew Steph Houghton as Mrs Darby. However, over the last few years, I’ve come to realise that she is an absolute legend in her own right and I loved reading her story, particularly filling in the gaps of my own knowledge of her career. She is able to describe the games in which she’s played in brilliant detail and this was really helpful to me as I was not watching all of the games when they were played.

Steph Houghton writes as though she’s talking to the reader and this makes most of Leading From The Back easy to read. She’s incredibly down to earth and her loyalty and sense of humour really shines through. There were a few anecdotes that really made me laugh, and for this, it probably would help to have some football knowledge in order to recognise the people she writes about, but it’s not essential.

Throughout her life, Steph Houghton has been in a number of really emotional situations, both highs and lows, and I could feel her emotions in her words. I often felt like I was feeling them with her and it’s this that means I’ll be thinking about her words for a long time to come.

Keep doing what you need to do, Steph.

Leading From The Back is available from Amazon.