IIf you were walking your dog in your local park near Manchester this summer and thought you saw two England internationals doing one-on-one training exercises, don’t worry: you saw nothing. Indeed, that was former Manchester United captain Katie Zelem and her Lionesses teammate Laura Coombs, trying to keep themselves in shape. Coombs, who was putting in extra yards as she returned from injury ahead of pre-season with her club, Manchester City, had agreed to help Zelem, who was weighing numerous options after her contract with Manchester United expired at the end of June. Zelem “googled a few one-on-one sessions” and brought the cones, and she knows the extra effort was worth it.
“I was running up and down every pitch I could find, trying to stay as fit as possible,” the 28-year-old tells the Guardian, reflecting on her time between clubs. “I felt so motivated because I had quite a few offers. I thought, ‘Wherever I end up, this will benefit me.’ But running is very different from team training, because of the sharpness and connecting passes. It was a unique situation because I didn’t actually have a preseason.
“I had a few options in England, across Europe and in America, so I really took my time to decide. I had been used to Manchester United for so long, it was my home, so whichever club I chose it would be different. Angel City was so accommodating; they knew I needed time to make a decision to make sure it was right. They gave me the space to really make sure this was what I wanted. That made me grateful.”
Ultimately, Zelem decided that the Los Angeles team was the right choice. He signed a two-year contract and joined them in the US National Women’s Soccer League midway through their season. In an exclusive interview, the midfielder’s first since moving to the United States, she says she is embracing the experience of a new league and living on the other side of the world. “I woke up last week and was like, ‘Oh my God, I live in LA!’ It doesn’t feel real,” she said. “The huge appeal for me was testing myself against a new style of play and a new group of players. I had spent all but one year of my career in the WSL, so I was excited about a new challenge.”
Zelem, who was part of the Lionesses squad that reached the 2023 World Cup final but has yet to play for her country this calendar year, is determined to return to England. She has already noticed major differences in the physicality of American competition. “The athleticism of the players here is incredible,” she said. “Every player is fast. And the ‘fast’ players are very, very fast. You get much less time on the ball, you are put under pressure from all angles. And I would say the WSL is probably more tactical and strategic, but here a lot of goals are scored on transitions. The big positive about the NWSL is how competitive it is. In every match you can’t predict who will win.”
On the court, despite her lack of regular pre-season training, Zelem has already made six appearances for Angel City since arriving in mid-August, including four starts heading into Friday night’s match against Seattle Reign. Her father wakes up in the early hours of the morning, UK time, to watch her matches. Off the field, she quickly sampled the sights of Santa Monica Pier, Venice Beach and the Griffiths Observatory, admitting, “I’m a real tourist wherever I go!” But it is the contrasting commercial landscape at the NWSL club that has affected her most. Just in their third season as a club, Angel City was sold to Willow Bay and Disney CEO Bob Iger in September for a record $250 million, making them the highest-rated women’s sports club in history.
“Angel City is about empowering women. It’s like I haven’t experienced anything. The stadium is full almost every match. From a business perspective, it is so impressive what they have been able to achieve,” said Zelem. “When I compare the teams in the WSL and the teams here from a business perspective and how Angel City are able to market things and make money, English clubs could learn something from the marketing. Here they can generate real money. I take a corner and it’s sponsored by someone!”
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Back in England, where Zelem spent almost her entire career apart from a one-season spell at Juventus, Zelem became known as something of a set-piece specialist, but also as an intrinsic part of Manchester United. That’s because after being part of Manchester United’s Center of Excellence as a child, she returned as one of their first signings when they reformed a senior women’s team in 2018 and she was a mainstay of the side for the next six years, with highlight her lifting the club’s first major women’s trophy at Wembley in May, when they defeated Tottenham to win the FA Cup.
Zelem’s parents have hung the match shirt and captain’s armband that she wore during the FA Cup final at their home. Zelem says about saying goodbye to Manchester United: “As a footballer you can sense when you feel like it is time for change or even for a new challenge. Some of my best memories have come from my life at Manchester United, not just from my football career. To have captained my boyhood club and gone to Wembley and won an FA Cup is something I will cherish forever. I made friends for life there. I will always be a big fan of Manchester United.”