The English league is top, but women’s football is also rising in other countries, says Andrea Stašková. What is it like to work in Spain?

During the summer, Czech international Andrea Staskova transferred to Atlético Madrid from Juventus, with whom she won seven trophies in three years. It took her a while to get used to Spain, but now she feels great here. In addition to her feelings about Spain, she also talked about women’s football in general.

Andrea Staskova has been at Juventus since 2019, but during this summer she moved to Atlético Madrid. In Spain, she feels that women’s football is treated differently than in Italy.

The Czech international says that although Juventus are a very good team in women’s football, the Spanish and English leagues are even higher in quality. However, this does not mean that Italian teams have no chance to succeed in Europe. In fact, its Juventus managed to knock out a strong Chelsea side in the Champions League.

“The English league is top now, but we played a good game against Juventus and eventually knocked them out. So I wouldn’t say they’re outright outclassed by the rest of Europe, but it’s different in the fact that more spectators support them, for example. However, women’s football is now picking up in other countries as well,” Stašková said in an interview with iSport.

She will be lucky enough to taste the quality of English football now. The Czech women’s national football team will head to England to meet the national women’s team.

The Czech women will challenge the English national team at the stadium in Brighton. Around 30,000 fans are expected to arrive at the stadium, which will surely create a fantastic backdrop. In the Czech Republic, such a crowd would probably not happen, so they want to enjoy the match and try to surprise the favourite.

She is getting used to bigger crowds in her new home. Coming to Spain was very difficult for Staskova. She was heading into the unknown, had to get to know a new environment, new teammates and learn a new language. However, some time has passed and she now feels great in Madrid.

“I speak better Spanish, I understand more, so it’s easier for me mentally. I have calmed down. Plus, football in Spain is still a level higher than in Italy, so I’ve moved on. You couldsay that I have moved on in football,” explains the Czech footballer.

Are there differences between Spanish and Italian football? Definitely. Stašková was particularly surprised by how much attention is paid to the physical side in Spain. Frequent visits and following nutritional plans are part of her daily training.

“Every day we had to report what we were eating. They watch our diet a lot here. And the gym here is a terrible bomb. It was a little more challenging before I got into it. I also got injured because I wasn’t used to it and my thigh muscle took it away,” says the Czech.

Thanks to more intensive training, Staskova managed to gain muscle mass. There was a significant improvement especially in her arms.

The only thing she has not been lucky enough to do so far, and she regrets it, is that she has not met any Atlético players. She has met Cristiano Ronaldo or Álvaro Morata at Juventus, for example, but no meeting has taken place at Atlético.

” I went to the first match and recently to the derby with Real Madrid. The atmosphere there is great. I was surprised by it. Several thousand people were singing the Atlético anthem. It gave me goosebumps.”

The Czech striker has played three games for Atlético so far and managed to score a goal in the last game. She has played 31 games for the Czech national team, scoring 12 goals.

Sources:: iSport, Atlético Madrid