Lianne Joan Sanderson (born 3 February 1988) is a current broadcaster and former English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a forward. She won 50

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

for the England national team. At international level, Sanderson made her debut for England in May 2006. She was part of the England squad at the

2007 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, the fifth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, was an international association football competition for women held in China from 10 to 30 September 2007. Originally, China was to host the 2003 edition, but th ...

and

UEFA Women's Euro 2009 The 2009 UEFA Women's Championship, or just Women's Euro 2009, was played in Finland between 23 August and 10 September 2009. The host was appointed on 11 July 2006, in a UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Berlin and the Finnish proposal won over ...

. In August 2010, Sanderson complained of unfair treatment and declared she would not play for England again under then coach

Hope Powell Hope Patricia Powell, CBE (born 8 December 1966) is an English former international footballer and former women's first-team manager of Brighton & Hove Albion. She was the coach of the England women's national football team and the Great Brit ...

. After Mark Sampson took over as manager in December 2013, she was recalled to the squad and participated at the

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the ...

. She then made further complaints of unfair treatment and was not selected after 2015.

Early life

At the age of six, Sanderson started playing for a boys' team in South London. Her father played for Crystal Palace. Sanderson says she begged her father to let her play on a team starting at the age of five years old. At nine years old, Sanderson signed for

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

Club career

Arsenal

Sanderson joined

in 1997 as part of their youth programme. Her first full season with the first team came in the 2003–2004 season, and she continued to play in the first team from then on. In the 2006 FA Women's Cup final, Sanderson scored the fifth goal of a 5–0 win over

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

, and was voted Player of the Match. Sanderson finished the 2006–07 season as Arsenal's top–scorer, with 40 goals scored in 41 appearances across four competitions, all of which were won by Arsenal. In the 2007–08 season, she amassed 51 goals in 36 appearances, including the third in Arsenal's 4–1 FA Women's Cup final triumph over

Chelsea

On 3 July 2008, Sanderson and Arsenal teammate

Anita Asante Anita Amma Ankyewah Asante (born 27 April 1985) is an English Association football, football Coach (sports), coach and former Defender (association football), defender or midfielder who is the first-team coach at Bristol City W.F.C., Bristol Cit ...

joined

Chelsea Ladies Chelsea Football Club Women, formerly known as Chelsea Ladies Football Club, are an English women's football club based in Norbiton that competes in the Women's Super League, the top flight of women's football in England. Since 2004, the clu ...

. Upon signing, Sanderson said: "I always said I would never play for anyone else other than Chelsea. I have been at Arsenal for 11 years and it is a big change for me to have to leave the team, but both Anita and I wanted a new challenge. Sometimes you have to try new things and challenge yourself personally and I know that is what I am looking forward to doing here. So now I am just looking forward to what's ahead. Hopefully Anita and I will come in and help Chelsea win things." Arsenal manager

Vic Akers Victor David Akers, OBE (born 24 August 1946) is a football manager and former player who was most recently the assistant manager at Boreham Wood. Akers played as a left back. He was also manager of Arsenal Ladies winning numerous trophies wit ...

publicly criticised the players for the manner of their departure: "You think you've the respect of players, and then they do that. It's a sorry state of affairs."

Philadelphia Independence

2013-06-09 RedStars v Breakers LianneSanderson JackieSantacaterina

Sanderson was drafted in the WPS international draft, and joined

Philadelphia Independence The Philadelphia Independence was an American professional soccer club that was based in the Philadelphia suburb of Chester, Pennsylvania. The team joined Women's Professional Soccer as an expansion team in 2010 and played its home games at West ...

. She indicated that a delay in the creation of the

FA WSL The Women's Super League (WSL), currently known as the Barclays Women's Super League (BWSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women's football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features ...

was behind her move to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. In two seasons in the WPS she scored eight goals.

Espanyol

Following the end of the 2011 WPS season, Sanderson signed for Espanyol, in the Spanish league.

D.C. United

In May 2012, she joined W-League side

D.C. United Women D.C. United Women was an American soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competed in the USL W-League, the second tier of women's soccer in the United States. The team was an affiliate of Major League Soccer club, D.C. United but operated ...

along with Philadelphia Independence and Espanyol teammate,

Joanna Lohman Joanna Christie Lohman (born June 26, 1982) is a retired American professional soccer midfielder/ defender who last played for the Washington Spirit of the American National Women's Soccer League. She previously played for the Washington Freed ...

Boston Breakers

In 2013, Lianne Sanderson signed with Boston Breakers to play in the new

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federati ...

. Sanderson and Lohman went on

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...

to Cypriot club Apollon Limassol after the American season had finished, to play in the

UEFA Women's Champions League The UEFA Women's Champions League, previously called the UEFA Women's Cup (2001–2009), is a European women's association football competition. It involves the top club teams from countries affiliated with the European governing body UEFA. The ...

Arsenal

In November 2014, Sanderson re-signed with her original club, Arsenal Ladies. Her second spell with the club ended on 10 July 2015 after eight months.

Portland Thorns FC

In August 2015, it was announced that Sanderson would join Portland Thorns FC. She made her debut as a second-half substitute for compatriot Jodie Taylor in a 2–1 victory against the

Chicago Red Stars The Chicago Red Stars are a professional women's soccer club based in Bridgeview, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. A founding member of the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league, they have played in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) ...

on 9 August 2015. After starting two of five appearances for Portland that season, Sanderson headed out on another off-season loan to Apollon Limassol of Cyprus.

Orlando Pride

The expansion

Orlando Pride The Orlando Pride is a professional women's soccer team based in Orlando, Florida. The team joined the National Women's Soccer League, the top level of women's soccer in the US, for the 2016 season. It became the tenth team to be added to the ...

selected Sanderson with the 7th pick of the

2015 NWSL Expansion Draft The 2015 NWSL Expansion Draft was a special draft held on November 2, 2015 by the National Women's Soccer League to allow expansion side Orlando Pride to select players from existing teams in the league. The Pride were allowed to select up to te ...

, joining

Alex Morgan Alexandra Morgan Carrasco (born Alexandra Patricia Morgan; July 2, 1989) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a striker and captains for San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the highest division o ...

and Kaylyn Kyle as fellow Orlando acquisitions from Portland. Sanderson was the first player to score a goal at home for the franchise, on a free kick in the 56th minute of the Pride's home opener on 23 April 2016. By the time she was traded away from the Pride before week 10 of the season in June 2016, Sanderson had two goals and an assist, tying Morgan on both counts despite playing half as many minutes and attempting 22 fewer shots.

Western New York Flash

In June 2016, Sanderson was traded from the

to the Western New York Flash in exchange for an international spot through 2018. The Flash won the NWSL Championship in 2016. However, Sanderson's season ended when she tore the ACL and

meniscus Meniscus may refer to: * Meniscus (anatomy), crescent-shaped fibrocartilaginous structure that partly divides a joint cavity * Meniscus (liquid), a curve in the upper surface of liquid contained in an object *Meniscus (optics) A lens is a ...

in her right knee on 17 September, while playing for the Flash in a friendly against Thailand. Since the team was relocated to North Carolina, she has not participated in any team practices or training camps, possibly taking the time to continue to rehab her injury. She was not listed on any of the pre-season roster cuts for the North Carolina Courage 2017 season and social media accounts reflect that she is residing in Limassol, Cyprus and may be involved in coaching and training activities with her previous club, Apollon Limassol.

Juventus

In July 2018, Sanderson joined

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in ...

. After one season, in which she made two league appearances as Juventus won the

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...

title and the

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity ...

, she left the club.

Retirement

Sanderson subsequently retired from professional football and pursue a career in media, becoming analyst and commentator for many platforms.

International career

Sanderson has played for England at the Under-15, 17, 19 and 21 levels. On 3 May 2006, she was called up for the England first team. She hit the crossbar with a shot from 25 yards, shortly after coming off the bench for her debut against

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

. She was drafted into the squad for the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

qualifying play-off against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

in September 2006 as a replacement for the injured Jo Potter. She scored her first senior goal in England's 4–0 Euro 2009 qualifier win against

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...

on 13 May 2007. It was her fifth cap. On 16 August 2010, Sanderson announced that she no longer wanted to be considered for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

duty while manager

was in charge, due to perceived unfair treatment by both the England hierarchy and Powell. Sanderson was not included in the England squad for the

2011 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup was the sixth FIFA Women's World Cup competition, the world championship for women's national association football teams. It was held from 26 June to 17 July 2011 in Germany, which won the right to host the event ...

or the

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

squad for the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, which was also selected by Powell. Sanderson continued to publicly criticise Powell's administration: "I felt the ngland set-upwanted people like robots who would literally do everything they asked you to do." After England's unexpectedly poor performance at

UEFA Women's Euro 2013 The 2013 UEFA Women's Championship, commonly referred to as Women's Euro 2013, was the 11th European Championship for women's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held in Sweden from 10 to 28 July 2013, became the most ...

, Powell was sacked by

The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world ...

(FA). A report in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' newspaper suggested that "the wheels first began to come off" when Sanderson left the team. When

Katie Chapman Katie Sarah Chapman (born 15 June 1982) is an English former footballer who last played for English FA WSL club Chelsea Ladies and was a member of the England women's national team. She primarily played as a central midfielder, although she wa ...

withdrew from selection in 2011 after a dispute with disciplinarian Powell, England had lost two of their most talented players, both to off-field issues. Sanderson rejoined the England squad under Mark Sampson, scoring the winning goal as England won the

2015 Cyprus Cup The 2015 Cyprus Women's Cup was the eighth edition of the Cyprus Women's Cup, an invitational women's football tournament held annually in Cyprus. It took place from 4–11 March 2015. Venues Squads Group stage Teams were placed into three gr ...

and winning the penalty that achieved England third place at the

. Shortly afterwards, she began complaining again about being expected to "conform" by the FA and about not getting enough acclaim for her 50th cap.

International goals

:''Scores and results list England's goal tally first''

Honours

Arsenal *

FA Women's Premier League National Division The FA Women's Premier League National Division (originally WFA National League Premier Division) was a football division in England. From 1991 until 2010, the National Division functioned as the top league in English women's football. During ...

: 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08 * FA Women's Cup: 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08 *

FA Women's Premier League Cup The Women's National League Cup is an annual English football cup competition, founded in 1991 by the Women's Football Association (WFA). It was renamed the FA Women's Premier League Cup from 1994 to 2018. The first edition of the Cup include ...

: 2004–05, 2006–07 * FA Women's Community Shield: 2004–05, 2005–06 *

UEFA Women's Cup The UEFA Women's Champions League, previously called the UEFA Women's Cup (2001–2009), is a European women's association football competition. It involves the top club teams from countries affiliated with the European governing body UEFA. The ...

: 2006–07 Juventus *

: 2018–19 *

: 2018–19 England *

UEFA Women's Championship The UEFA European Women's Championship, also called the UEFA Women's Euro, held every four years, is the main competition in women's association football between national teams of the UEFA confederation. The competition is the women's equivalen ...

runner-up:

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

* Cyprus Cup:

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's international governing bo ...

third place:

Personal life

Sanderson is openly gay. In 2014, she was engaged to then-teammate

, but the two later broke up. Sanderson embarked on a relationship with another teammate,

Ashley Nick Ashley Lynn Nick (born October 27, 1987) is an American professional Women's association football, soccer player who plays as a Midfielder (association football), midfielder for Kansas City NWSL, Kansas City of the National Women's Soccer League ...

, when they were housed in shared accommodation provided by Apollon Limassol. "We just fell in love organically, with no drama involved," Sanderson claimed. She is a lifelong supporter of

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanderson, Lianne 1988 births 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup players Apollon Ladies F.C. players Arsenal W.F.C. players Women's association football forwards Boston Breakers (NWSL) players Chelsea F.C. Women players D.C. United Women players England women's international footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Spain English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate sportspeople in Italy FA Women's National League players British LGBT footballers English LGBT sportspeople Living people National Women's Soccer League players Philadelphia Independence players Primera División (women) players RCD Espanyol Femenino players Sportspeople from Watford Expatriate women's footballers in Spain Expatriate women's footballers in Cyprus Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States Lesbian sportswomen Portland Thorns FC players Orlando Pride players Western New York Flash players English women's footballers Juventus F.C. (women) players 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup players Women's Professional Soccer players