Portuguese born Rossana Rocha, who has played in the Portuguese Premier League, is the influential playmaker for the Gas Girls first team. Rossana recently took some time out from her busy schedule to have a chat with Bristol Rovers Women’s FC. We think that what she says is a perfect example of what our brilliant Community Trust is all about.
GG: Hi Rossana! Thanks for chatting to us today. First of all, when did you first fall in love with Football?
RR: I can’t remember an exact age, but I remember playing football with the boys at school when I was 3 or 4 years old. I think I was already playing football in my mother’s belly! I knew I loved it, and it’s like when you see someone and think that person was born for a specific role, I think I was born to play football! I can’t stay away from it and it brings me so much joy and happiness! I’d always play in small tournaments and on the street with my neighbours since I was little and I would feel incomplete if I had a day without kicking a ball, so when I was alone at home sometimes, or didn’t have anyone to play with me, I used to play in my garden and destroy all the flowers, my mother would go crazy about it, but she knew there was no way I would stop playing. I even used to play with a football made of paper and tape when there was nothing with a circular shape around. So, I fell in love with football even before I knew that football existed.
GG: You were born and raised in Porto, when did you move to Bristol and how easy was it for you to adapt to a new Country?
RR: Yes, I was born and raised in Porto. I moved to Bristol three and a half years ago and I can’t say it was difficult for me to adapt. Bristol is a special city and it’s quite similar to Porto in a way. In addition I’ve met really nice people and made new friends. The only thing that was a bit difficult to adapt was the weather, which now, I believe I am used to it.
GG: You have played in the Portuguese Premier League, who did you play for and how much did you enjoy the experience?
RR: I started playing 11 a side when I was 17 years old, in a promotional league, and I remember my first ever game on such a big pitch, I was so nervous and happy at the same time. After two years I was asked if I wanted to play for another team in the Portuguese Premier League. I accepted playing for Leixoes Sport Club and it was an amazing experience, I was able to play
with and against incredible players but unfortunately I had to give up after a few years. It was one of the most difficult times in my life. Life can give us the best things, but it can take them away as well. Considering various factors, like health, University, location and other things that I don’t feel comfortable taking about yet because they still make me feel very sad. I hope to be able to speak freely about it one day but I had to stop playing. Apart from these hard times, I had one of the best experiences in my life!
GG: Before you joined us at Rovers, were you playing football when you moved to Bristol?
RR: I started playing football in the Bristol Women’s Football Casual League, which I have to praise for their hard work in making football possible for many women in Bristol.After my experience in Porto, and having to give up football, I stopped playing for 4/5 years, I was upset with myself and the sport, and I had times where I wanted to play in my brain and heart but my body couldn’t keep up. I felt very frustrated, all the moves and creativity I had in my head wouldn’t reflect on my feet and I believe the bad feelings were taking over me. With my partner’s incentive I was invited to play on her casual team, so I could enjoy football again. Slowly I started enjoying and growing some confidence and I’ve played for the casual league 2 or 3 years.
Now I think about the past, and to be honest I couldn’t start back in a better league, Casual football and my team at the time helped me a lot in this “relaxing about football again”.
GG: What made you decide to come to the open sessions with the Gas Girls?
RR: I was at work and my partner told me that she saw on the news that Rovers wanted to create again a Women’s football team. At first, I said I didn’t want to, mostly because I think I was afraid to come back to the sport and suffer again but, with a lot of patience and perseverance I was convinced (maybe because unconsciously my heart was telling me to come back) or at least to go to the trials and see if I would like it. I went to the trials and I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the sessions. I am
very lucky that my partner was able to see that I needed to play again, so I am very thankful for all the support and for not letting me give up.
GG: And how have you enjoyed the season so far with a brand new club?
RR: I couldn’t ask for a better club to start playing again. I have enjoyed every minute of this season so far! I still working on myself and building again my confidence, and the club already helped me with that. At Rovers we are treated like queens and the support we had so far is exceptional. I joined a splendid team, with skilful individuals, which, together, created a very powerful collective. I would like to say thank you to Rovers for having a women’s team, I am sure Bristol is a bit warmer with these news. I would like to leave a special thank you to my team colleagues, to Nathan and to Mavis for being part of this project, you’re all great people and I am very lucky for starting 11 aside with all of you! Rovers is the kind of club that keeps a
special place in your heart!
GG: How do you feel the season has gone so far and what’s your aspirations from now until the end of the season?
RR: So far the season has gone like a dream! We’ve had brilliant results by winning all the league games and league cup games. We had a loss in the County Cup and now we are out of it, but, we’ve done amazing performances, which has shown that we have a team for the future. We are in first place in the league and we intend to keep up with these results until the end of the season. We are fighting for the League Cup trophy and this is very good for a team that just started this year. Individually
I aspire to improve as a football player, and learn from my mistakes and of course I want to score and provide goals every game if possible. Collectively I would like to win the league and the cup with Rovers and help them the best way I can to reach future objectives. When I am playing at home I feel like I am flying on our amazing pitch. I actually feel very satisfied to see myself on the pictures wearing the blue and white colours. I am still waiting to be able to play at the Memorial Stadium 😉 UTGG!!
Reproduced with the kind permission of Bristol Rovers Women’s FC.