Emily Dolan is an American goalkeeper that currently plays for Real Betis. Emily has been in other European teams like Medyk Konin (Poland) and San Zaccaria (Italy). At Medyk Konin Emily had the chance to play in the Champions League where she played against great teams like Olympique Lyon. With Betis she has won the Andalusian Cup in September 2020, this small tournament was when Emily finally got back on the pitch after tearing her ACL and missing most of last season.
Today we’re going to get the chance to get to know Emily a bit more. This interview will let us see how she started in football, her next goals and her advice to those who aspire to play at a good level someday.
When did you start playing football and what or who motivated you?
“I started playing football when I was around 9. I wasn’t a physically active girl so my parents put me in a team with the hope that I would be healthier”
How do you remember your beginnings in football?
“Honestly, I didn’t really like football at the beginning. I was really shy and I wasn’t very athletic, but when I started playing as a goalkeeper my perspective of the sport changed a lot.”
What players inspired you when you were younger?
“I liked goalkeepers like Iker Casillas, Van de Saar and Petr Cech. On the women’s side Brianna Scurry and Ashlyn Harris had a big impact on my aspirations to compete at a professional level”
With Medyk Konin you had the opportunity to play in the Champions League. How did you live that experience?
“That experience was a turning point for me. After my time in Italy I was thinking of retiring from football as I felt that I had lost a lot of the love I had for the sport. The opportunity to play in a competition like that one, especially against Olympique Lyon, was incredible and unforgettable. I got my passion for the sport back and I decided to keep fighting for my dreams in football.”
Why did you decide to sign for Betis in 2018?
“I was looking for a new challenge and the league in Spain had interested me from the beginning because of its level, the growth rate of women’s football in general in the country, everything. So when Betis showed an interest in signing me I knew it was an opportunity that I wanted to follow.”
How hard was your adaptation to Spain and the league?
“My experiences in Italy and Poland helped me a lot to adapt to Spain, with the language issue and to get used to a new culture. Obviously every country is different as everyone has their good things and harder things but I’m comfortable with the process of adapting to new places; in fact I love the challenge and the personal growth that comes with living in different places. From the football perspective I was lucky that the coaching staff I had really helped me and I had the support and patience of the Betis squad in general.”
When you signed for Betis did you feel physical differences between the Polish and Spanish league?
“Every league is different so yes, the style of game betweeen the Spanish and Polish league is different. The Ekstraliga, from my point of view, is more physical where as the Spanish league is more technical.”
Last season was really hard for you as you torn you ACL in November 2019 and you had to get an operation. How did you feel during your recovery process?
“The first couple of days after the injury were the hardest. It is really easy to become negative in moments like those; however, that mentality wasn’t going to help so I had to work really hard to change the way I was thinking. I was lucky to have the support from my team, my family and medical team in the US that made sure that I was doing everything possible to get back to playing at a high level. Mentally, every time that I begun to have doubts or feel bad I would focus on everything that I had control of, on everything that I could do at that moment to get get better as a footballer. I watched a lot of videos of training sessions and games and I worked really hard on the psychological side of the sport.”
The pandemic caught you recovering from your injury in the US. Was it easier to spend that time in lockdown with your family than it would have been if you had spent it in Sevilla?
“Yes and no. Of course being with my family was great and I had everything I needed to continue rehabilitating my knee at good pace but I aslo feel that I have a home in Sevilla so I felt very divided.”
Betis hasn’t had an easy season but you’re finally lifting yourselves up again and hopefully it stays like that. What is the feeling within the squad and how do you face the 18 games that you have left?
“Obviously this year has been hard but this squad never gives up and keeps working each week to improve our situation in the league. The team and the coaching staff have worked very hard and I think we deserve more positive results in the future.”
How hard can it be to combine football with studies?
“Combining football with studies can be hard especially when you’re competing in high levels or in rigorous types of studies. I was studying biology with a focus on medicine at university whilst I played so it is possible to do both things at the same time. It does require lots of discipline, organisation and priorisation regarding how each day is used.”
What is the best thing football has given you?
“The opportunity to travel, learn new languages and new cultures and meet people that I would have never met.”
What is your goal both personally and in football?
“In football I want to keep growing and improving. I think I still have a lot to give and I would love to play in the Champions League again. Personally I want to keep writing and uploading my poetry which is my biggest passion outside of football.”
What advice would you give to anyone who wants to one day be professional or at least play at a high level?
“Never let anyone tell you your goals aren’t possible or realistic. With hard work and perseverance everything is possible. Concentrate in becoming the best version of you, both in and out of football and enjoy the ride.”
With this great advice from Emily we finish the interview and I would like to thank her for answering all these questions. I would also like to wish her all the best throughout the rest of her footballing career and her personal goals.
Image from @_detacon on Instagram
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