In this My Game In My Words series, The Athletic builds towards the Women’s World Cup by talking to leading players around the world to find out how they think about football, why they play the way they do and to reflect — through looking back at their key career moments — on their achievements so far.
Sofia Jakobsson has been playing this game since she was six years old. The Swedish international has seen the sport develop in her homeland along the way, and she’s seen growth in the variety of leagues she’s played in during stints with clubs like Chelsea, Montpellier, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich before landing with her current team, the San Diego Wave in the NWSL.
The most important thing to note when you watch Sofia Jakobsson in full flight is how graceful it all looks. Whether she’s at top speed or decelerating, her balance remains steady and she never seems to lose sight of exactly how she wants to play the ball. Every player, especially those with very good speed or acceleration, have a specific way of running, and Jakobsson’s never seems awkward or ill-timed. It’s just a matter of sitting back (or sitting forward if you’re a fan) and watching a veteran player at work, utilising all of their natural talent and learned experience to terrorise…
