Lily Yohannes: the 16-year-old breaking Champions League records

WWhen Lily Yohannes made her debut in the Women’s Champions League, at the age of 16 she also became the youngest player ever to play in a group stage match in the competition. She announced her entrance on the big stage by firing a ball neatly through the Paris Saint-Germain back line in the run-up to the first goal of a memorable Ajax victory.

“I was very excited. Playing in the Champions League was my dream as a child,” says Yohannes. “It was an experience I can’t put into words.”

Yohannes was born in Springfield, Virginia, and TV football was a part of life in her home. “My father always trained us in the basement of our house. He and I would team up and go against my two brothers. I fell in love with kicking a ball as soon as I started playing when I was about four years old,” she says. Unlike most children, Yohannes was not involved in other sports. From the start it was all football.

By the age of nine, Yohannes was playing for a local girls’ team and competing in under-11 boys’ tournaments without missing a beat. A year later, in 2017, she moved to the Netherlands because of her father’s work. The original plan was for the family to stay for a few years before returning to the US. But they’re still there, and Lily and her two brothers continue their football education in Europe. Although she found herself in a different environment, Yohannes quickly adapted and thrived.

“When we moved to the Netherlands, I went to a boys’ team. For a girl I was considered a top player, so I joined the boys and that’s pretty normal here. When I was in the US, I played alone with the girls most of the time, which was the biggest difference, but I adapted quite quickly,” she says. What surprised Yohannes was the strength of football culture in the Netherlands. “Football is everything here,” she says. “Everyone talks about football, everyone.”

In fact, in the first few months she landed in Europe and joined a team, she was an MVP and a finalist in an under-11 boys tournament. Not long after she won trophies in every competition, Ajax offered her a trial period. “Ajax is such a big club and I have always watched them grow up. I was very happy and excited when they called,” she says.

Unsurprisingly, she impressed the coaches. Although Yohannes had been playing football for over a decade, this was just the beginning of her journey.

Known for the pipeline of talent it has produced in men’s sports, Ajax has built a structure to produce impeccable female players as well.

“On the women’s side there are two steps to reach the first team. I started with the Talent Academy, which included players from 10 to about 16 years old,” says Yohannes. “We still played with the boys because the format is mixed. I trained three times a week with my regular boys team with a match on Saturday, while I trained once a week with the girls… with tournaments in the breaks. A combination of four days of training and one match per week was normal for me.”

Club coaches closely monitor the Talent Academy and select promising players for the reserve teams. “When I was fifteen, I took the step to join the reserves as the youngest reserve player for the Ajax ladies. We train four times a week with a match on the weekend, so it gets busy quickly,” says Yohannes. “What was striking was how Ajax’s playing style followed through the youth phases. You know the playing style from the moment you enter the academy. Once I made the move to the former, I didn’t have to change everything I learned.”

In December 2022, enthusiastic about Yohannes’ development in the reserves, the club drew up a plan to promote her to the first team next season.

The midfielder would be invited to join the senior team in training. Four months later, at the age of 15, Yohannes signed her first professional contract. Was it difficult to make a big decision so young?

“The decision whether or not I wanted to make that step as a professional was not that difficult. As a little child, I always wanted to be a professional footballer,” she says. “From the moment the opportunity arose, I knew I wanted to go ahead with it. It was great to be fully part of the first team. Since I had already trained quite a bit with them the season before, it felt like a good transition. Everyone was very hospitable and helped me get used to it. To be honest, it was a great adjustment.”

Ajax’s selection consists of 34 Dutchmen and Yohannes is the only non-European. But many of her teammates are close to her age: the squad average is 23.6, the youngest in the Women’s Champions League this season.

“We have a great team that provides a great environment. It encourages me to develop and get better every day,” she says. “There is a nice mix of younger and older players. Sherida (Spitse) is our captain, she is a leader of the team on and off the field. I get a lot out of watching and seeing how she does things, and she always coaches us and gives us tips.”

It is a difficult task to identify Yohannes’ best qualities, given her excellence across the board. But she knows her strengths. “I am calm on the ball, my dribbling, my ability to advance the ball, strong defensively in duels and offensively creating scoring opportunities for my teammates,” she says. She adds that her family is also helping. “I have my family and support system around me that keeps me grounded and focused.”

Balancing professional football, school and a social life is a problem that Yohannes solves thanks to “really good time management”.

International football will soon be added to the growing to-do list. Although she represented the United States in the Under 15/16 age groups, Yohannes has not been called up to a national team since 2022. She does not have a Dutch passport, but is eligible to apply because she has lived in the country. for more than six years.

“It’s something I’m not really focused on,” she says of the decision. “But (I’m) interested to see what the future brings.”

For now, US Soccer appears to have forgotten about the youngest starter in UWCL history. For more than a year, the national team’s youth setups have focused on amateur players, rather than players plying their trade in Europe. But Yohannes isn’t worried. “I try not to think about pressure because I just enjoy playing football,” she says.