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‘It’s a bit sad’ – Alisha Lehmann explains ‘really difficult’ situation in Serie A Femminile
Alisha Lehmann has insisted there’s a ‘huge difference’ between the standards of women’s football pitches in England and Italy. Lehmann spent six years in the Women’s Super League across spells at West Ham, Everton and Aston Villa. Lehmann made over 100 appearances in the WSLGetty She now stars for Juventus in ItalyGetty She was a Women’s FA Cup runner-up with West Ham in 2019 before completing a move to European giants Juventus last summer. The Swiss forward now plays in the Serie A Femminile, the top tier of women’s football in Italy, and has compared it to the WSL in England. Speaking to talkSPORT on The Kickback, Lehmann said: “So our team, Juventus, it’s amazing. The quality in training is really high, the intensity, we have everything. “Then for example, some teams still play on astroturf and that’s a bit sad because, you know [Ireland international and co-host Ruesha Littlejohn] how it is with the body and stuff. “If you have a game on astro it’s just different. So the quality of the pitch and stuff is not so good. “But I played six years in England, and England obviously, you have the best grounds. That’s just a huge difference, like the stadiums.” Host Shebahn Aherne then asked Lehmann about the quality of the pitches and what happens if there are adverse weather conditions. “How is it received over there? I remember speaking to you, it was the whole frozen pitch-gate scandal that went on at one point, where games were postponed because of frozen pitches,” Aherene said. “It was a big topic of conversation then, like, ‘Well if these pitches are available for women to play on, then why can’t they play on them? What would be the problem?’ “But if they’re not available out there, is there a backlash? Is it the same in Italy as it would be here in England, or is it a bit calmer?” Lehmann says some of the pitches in Italy don’t have the same quality as EnglandGetty She told talkSPORT that the difference is ‘huge’ “So in Italy, they never cancel a game I think,” Lehmann replied. “I remember we played on a really bad pitch, really wet, the ball was not even rolling properly, and they would never cancel it. “I think these rules… Because at the end, you want to win the league and if you have to play on a pitch that is not really playable, it’s just really difficult. “Because I prefer if the pitch is bad, we postpone it and have a proper game, rather than just play how it’s played, do you know what I mean? “Because at the end we want to be successful, we want to win the league, we want to win the cup and stuff like that. And I feel when you don’t have the opportunity to always play on the best pitches… “Because we’re professional footballers, so obviously we want [the best]. Football also looks so much better if you have a good stadium, you have a good pitch and stuff. So yeah, it’s a bit different.” Lehmann also revealed that matches are never postponed in ItalyGetty Lehmann, who has earned 58 caps for Switzerland, joined Juventus after making 108 appearances in the WSL and netted 19 goals. She has since featured 14 times in Serie A Femminile for Juve Women this season, scoring two goals. They finished top at the end of the regular season and remain at the summit in the Championship round as they eye their sixth title. Juventus were in the Women’s Champions League but knocked out of their group that included Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Norwegian club Valerenga.
Alisha Lehmann has insisted there’s a ‘huge difference’ between the standards of women’s football pitches in England and Italy.
Lehmann spent six years in the Women’s Super League across spells at West Ham, Everton and Aston Villa.
She was a Women’s FA Cup runner-up with West Ham in 2019 before completing a move to European giants Juventus last summer.
The Swiss forward now plays in the Serie A Femminile, the top tier of women’s football in Italy, and has compared it to the WSL in England.
Speaking to talkSPORT on The Kickback, Lehmann said: “So our team, Juventus, it’s amazing. The quality in training is really high, the intensity, we have everything.
“Then for example, some teams still play on astroturf and that’s a bit sad because, you know [Ireland international and co-host Ruesha Littlejohn] how it is with the body and stuff.
“If you have a game on astro it’s just different. So the quality of the pitch and stuff is not so good.
“But I played six years in England, and England obviously, you have the best grounds. That’s just a huge difference, like the stadiums.”
Host Shebahn Aherne then asked Lehmann about the quality of the pitches and what happens if there are adverse weather conditions.
“How is it received over there? I remember speaking to you, it was the whole frozen pitch-gate scandal that went on at one point, where games were postponed because of frozen pitches,” Aherene said.
“It was a big topic of conversation then, like, ‘Well if these pitches are available for women to play on, then why can’t they play on them? What would be the problem?’
“But if they’re not available out there, is there a backlash? Is it the same in Italy as it would be here in England, or is it a bit calmer?”
“So in Italy, they never cancel a game I think,” Lehmann replied.
“I remember we played on a really bad pitch, really wet, the ball was not even rolling properly, and they would never cancel it.
“I think these rules… Because at the end, you want to win the league and if you have to play on a pitch that is not really playable, it’s just really difficult.
“Because I prefer if the pitch is bad, we postpone it and have a proper game, rather than just play how it’s played, do you know what I mean?
“Because at the end we want to be successful, we want to win the league, we want to win the cup and stuff like that. And I feel when you don’t have the opportunity to always play on the best pitches…
“Because we’re professional footballers, so obviously we want [the best]. Football also looks so much better if you have a good stadium, you have a good pitch and stuff. So yeah, it’s a bit different.”
Lehmann, who has earned 58 caps for Switzerland, joined Juventus after making 108 appearances in the WSL and netted 19 goals.
She has since featured 14 times in Serie A Femminile for Juve Women this season, scoring two goals.
They finished top at the end of the regular season and remain at the summit in the Championship round as they eye their sixth title.
Juventus were in the Women’s Champions League but knocked out of their group that included Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Norwegian club Valerenga.
