Kelly Smith is one of few footballing legends, a true pioneer

The term legend is not one to be used lightly, although there is no doubt that the greatest player of all time in English women’s football deserves such a title. That legend is Kelly Smith.

Now aged forty-two and having hung up her boots in 2017, Smith often enjoys the role of pundit for the Women’s Super League and international competitions. Despite no longer being on the pitch, her twenty years of glory have left an everlasting footprint on the women’s game. Without her contribution to football, female players of today would still be aspiring for the progress that has sky-rocketed in recent years.

With 117 England appearances, 16 domestic and international titles and an MBE to her name, it is hardly a surprise that Smith has commanded such inspiration and influence. She has been dubbed “the David Beckham of women’s football” by England midfielder Jordan Nobbs, just one of the countless members of the current national team that regard her as a hero.

From the age of seven, Kelly Smith was already making waves on the pitch after becoming the top goal-scorer at Garston Boys Club, which resulted in her being kicked out of the team. At age 18 she had become a stand out member of the Arsenal Ladies’ squad, notably scoring two goals and assisting a third in a 3–0 win over Liverpool which secured the 1997 Premier League title for the Gunners.

Performances such as this, in only her first season with a top-flight club, proved that Smith was in a league of her own whilst playing in England. She needed a bigger stage and a greater challenge and for her skill to be truly appreciated and nurtured. At the time, America was the only destination that could offer this, with Smith enrolling as a student athlete at Seton Hall, New Jersey aged 19.

Across the pond, Smith continued to shine, netting 76 goals for the Seton Hall Pirates in only 51 matches. After the number 6 shirt was retired in her honour, the striker remained in the States to begin her professional career, a pioneer amongst English female footballers, with the New Jersey Lady Stallions after she had remarked that “women’s football in England (was) a joke.”

However, just as Smith was embarking on a journey which would allow her tremendous control and lightning pace to be put in the spotlight, she came up against a challenging period. From 2002 to 2004 whilst still based in America, she suffered two torn ACLs as well as a broken leg, leaving her off of the pitch for a considerable stretch of time.

It was these repeated injuries which led to a downward spiral for the striker, who “was drinking quite heavily to numb everything” and eventually admitted herself into rehab for alcohol addiction.

A return to Arsenal in 2005 came as a fresh start to Smith. Although once again intermittently hampered by injury, the impact that she was able to make during her time at the club was immeasurable. The forward racked up 125 goals in 144 appearances for the North London side whilst winning 15 domestic titles, as well as being a vital member of a squad that lifted the UEFA Women’s Cup (now the Champion’s League) – becoming the only English club to do so.

Smith’s outstanding talent didn’t stop at club level

At the 2007 World Cup, the forward famously removed her left boot and kissed it after scoring the first of her four goals at the tournament where she led England to reach the quarter-finals after a 12-year absence from the competition.

It was moments like this that helped to turn Smith into England’s first female footballing superstar, as she became a household name and a hero for young girls within the sport, whilst attracting wider audiences and greater support. Former England manager Hope Powell has described the striker as “one of those players who come along once or twice in a lifetime”, commending her for her efforts both on and off the pitch in furthering the women’s game.

Technically gifted, her ability to manipulate the ball, make exquisite passes and deliver in the box was second to none and for that, she will remain as one of the most talented and respected centre forwards of all time. But, perhaps the most bittersweet part of Kelly Smith’s legacy is that she was ahead of her time.

If she were to be a player at her peak in today’s Women’s Super League, she would surely have the same hype surrounding her as the likes of Messi or Maradona. Although many may have missed out on her spectacular performances, it is without a doubt that, to many others, Kelly Smith is a legend and nothing short of England’s greatest female footballer of all time.