'The epitome of a role model' - Man City captain Steph Houghton changed the women's game forever

Houghton will retire at the end of the season but her contributions to the women's game will continue to resonate

As England's Lionesses celebrated their stunning European Championship triumph at a packed-out Wembley Stadium, there was one player who was conspicuous by her absence.

Ten years to the day that she had written her name into the history books on the same turf - scoring the winner in a crucial group game against Brazil at the 2012 Olympics - Steph Houghton was watching the euphoric scenes from afar, having failed to make the cut for Sarina Wiegman's 23-player squad. In footballing terms, her omission was probably the right decision.

She had spent the months leading up to the tournament recovering from surgery on an Achilles problem and had never played for her country under the Dutchwoman. But still, as medals were dished out to the likes of Jill Scott and Ellen White - whose immense contributions to the women's game are near-impossible to distil into words - there was an inescapable sense of sadness, maybe even injustice, for a player who was, for so long, the poster girl of English women's football.

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However, the influx of kind words that have greeted the news of Houghton's impending retirement this week are proof enough of the almost peerless high regard she is held in by teammates, fans and coaching staff alike. "There is no easy way to say it, but I am retiring from football at the end of the current Women's Super League (WSL) season," the Manchester City captain said in a statement on Wednesday.

"Taking the decision to retire is such a difficult thing to do. Whilst age comes to every player, it makes it no easier having to say the words out loud. Football has been my life; my passion and I have loved the career I have had."

While the news is perhaps not all that surprising - Houghton turns 36 in April and has played just 33 minutes in the WSL this season - the inevitability of the situation does not diminish the melancholy that comes with watching a bonafide icon of the game hang up her boots.

"Steph has played a huge part in the growth of the women’s game and her impact transcends not just football but across sport. She has been the epitome of a role model," Baroness Sue Campbell, the FA's director of women's football, said in response to the news.

"There will be girls who have seen Steph play with talent, determination and integrity and gone home and said 'I want to be Steph Houghton'."

Indeed, Houghton's rise from the parks and playing fields of the north-east to the England captaincy will have helped inspire a generation of young girls to believe that they too can turn their footballing dreams into reality. The centre-back started her career at Sunderland, making her debut in 2002, before moving to Leeds Carnegie and then Arsenal.

It was during her time in north London that she cemented her status as one of the most accomplished defenders in the women's game, starring as the Gunners topped the newly-formed WSL in 2011 and 2012. Further success followed when she joined City in 2014 and her impressive trophy haul now features three league titles, five FA Cups and seven League Cups.

Nobody in history has won more WSL games than Houghton but it was on the international stage that she really established herself as a household name. She made her England debut in 2007 and went on to make 121 appearances for her country, captaining the Lionesses for eight years and becoming one of the first female players to be given a central contract by the FA.

She led England to the semi-finals at the 2015 and 2019 Women’s World Cups; her imperious leadership perhaps best evidenced following the Lionesses' gut-wrenching exit from the latter. After seeing her 84th-minute penalty saved against the USA, Houghton gallantly shouldered the responsibility by facing up to the media.

"I've let the team down," she said. "I'm gutted and heartbroken. We were so close but I'm proud of everyone because we gave it everything." Though it is almost unbearably cruel that Houghton's final World Cup appearance should have ended in heartbreak, it will certainly not be her lasting legacy.

Indeed, her contribution to the Lionesses was so great that former City and England teammate Izzy Christiansen has insisted Wiegman's side would not have won the Euros were it not for their former skipper. "I genuinely don't think England would have won the Euros in 2022 had Steph not been a captain before for club and for country," Christiansen told Sky Sports News this week.

"Her impact in the game, it extends for the last 10 or 15 years at least, especially within the change of professionalism in women's football."

Of course, it must be noted that all of Houghton's achievements in the twilight stages of her career have come against the backdrop of personal tragedy, with husband and former Liverpool defender Stephen Darby having been diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) in 2018. It is a topic that the City captain, understandably, rarely dwells on during interactions with the media however her ability to navigate such challenging circumstances with the utmost grace, composure and professionalism is a testament to her brilliance as a person as well as a player.

"My biggest thanks, appreciate and love belongs to my husband and inspiration, Stephen, my mam, my dad, my brother Stuart, the rest of my family, Matthew Buck, and all of my closest friends for your love, guidance, understanding and support - it has been my constant," Houghton added in her statement.

"I am excited for whatever comes next, but in the meantime, I remain focussed on giving everything I have left for Manchester City over the next two months."

In an era where the epithet 'legend' can often be overused, there is perhaps no better word to describe Houghton and the indelible mark she has made on the women's game. And, with City currently only second to league leaders Chelsea on goal difference in the WSL, the weeks ahead could yet add further gloss on the defender's storied playing career and ensure that she gets her fairytale ending.