Legendary footballer Rose Reilly has told how she faced criticism from her teammates when she was forced to leave Scotland for Italy to play football professionally.
Rose was named the best female footballer in the world in 1984 when she won the then equivalent of the Women’s World Cup with Italy. It had been due to a lack of opportunities to play football at the top level in Scotland, that Rose left home at 17 for Europe to play.
Rose had been such a huge hit in Italy’s Serie A, the country’s president asked her to play for the Italian national team. The 67-year-old, who played in the first official international match against England in 1972, admitted she faced criticism from her Italian teammates over concerns she had taken the place of an Italian player.
