Lucy Bronze's brother on her stunning journey from Morrisons to "icon superstar"
Lucy Bronze's brother told the Mirror he is in awe of his "icon superstar" sister, as he recalled how she once had to "bag-pack at Morrisons to raise funds for a bus" to her games.
Ten years on, Lucy is playing before an audience of nearly 80,000 people, as the Lionesses prepare to take on the Aussies in their own backyard at the Women's World Cup.
The Matildas will have an enormous advantage with huge crowds turning out for the match in Sydney's stadium, Australia, while 5,000 dedicated England supporters have flown Down Under to cheer on our girls. But in the stands, the most nervous fans will be the Lionesses' own loved ones, who sit right behind the dugouts - including Lucy's brother Jorge, 35, his wife Charis and their two children, Freddie, 3, and Alzira, 2.
Speaking to the Mirror, Jorge said: "We've been more nervous than Lucy but we tend to feel the nerves and the occasion more than she does, she's been here a few times before having won a few Champions Leagues - this is just her day job at this point.
But he added: "This was never meant to happen - this career, this path, 80,000-seater packed out stadiums didn't exist like this 10 years ago. Lucy was bag-packing in Morrisons to raise funds for a bus and then working in Dominos while studying and thinking 'What's my proper job going to be?'
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"It's just unreal to think that she has been part of this, and now her role is not just to be part of it but driving it forward to make sure there is a massive market for women's football.
"She is at the forefront of that now and it makes me really proud, she is more than a great footballer, she is an ambassador for the sport. She is focused on winning and making the game as big as it possibly can be."
Lucy's little niece and nephew are too young to fully understand the occasion and the scale of the Lionesses' success, as the 31-year-old defender revealed they think it's normal for her to play at Wembley. She said: "It's funny now because they both think that me playing for England in big stadiums is normal and playing in World Cups."
Lucy Bronze has come a long way (Joe Prior/Getty Images)Jorge added: "Freddie is like 'Shall we go and watch Aunty Lucy play football at Wembley?' and I'm like 'That's what we're going to do, but dude that's a big deal, maybe be more excited about it?' At the end of the day for them and for her she's just Aunty Lucy and it's great that she's this icon superstar but nothing has changed in our family, which is really nice."
Also in Oz supporting Lucy are her mum Diane and dad Joaquim. Between games, the family have been making the most of their time here and travelling around the country chasing the sun. And the normality of the family holiday has been a welcome opportunity for Lucy to switch off from football and enjoy some quality time.
Jorge said: "We were a little bit cheeky and skipped the game in Adelaide against China and went up north for a family holiday. We did say to Lucy to make sure you've qualified because I don't want to go to the cold south coast. I'll be going up north for a nice holiday. It's a bit of decompressing time.
"We have been out for dinner with Lucy and spent some time around the camp, they just love playing with the kids. Less Russo chucked a koala bear at my kid's face yesterday and it brought out some laughter in the camp.
"At the end of the day, you have 23 girls away from home for 5-6 weeks. It's nice for them to have a bit of downtime. We play a bit of cards, play a bit of FIFA and do what you normally do to make it a bit easier for them. Zizi and Freddie are about the same age gap that Lucy and I were and it's like looking back in time - they are so similar to how we were.
"The size of the occasion and the intensity of the tournament and the football, just having some normal life in that just sort of takes a bit of the stress away from you. Them wrestling with crocodiles in the pool just a few days ago is exactly what we would do normally."
Asked about his prediction for the game which kicks off at 11am UK time, Jorge said: "I think we will feel devastated if we don't progress to the final. I think the girls and Lucy aren't thinking about the bigger picture at the minute, that's all back of the mind. For them, it's just winning.
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"For me, personally, I need another shirt. The rule is I get Lucy's match-worn shirts that she's won. I've got a Euros one, I have four Champions Leagues ones, and a few UEFA Cup ones but I don't have a World Cup final one. They're all hung up in the wardrobe."
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