Barcelona's Toni Duggan says more English players should go abroad after making switch to Spain
Tuesday 3 April 2018 12:44, UK
Toni Duggan said she was left "embarrassed" for not leaving England earlier after first meeting her Barcelona team-mates last summer, and told Revista de la Liga more players should take on experiences "outside their comfort zone".
The 26-year-old became the first English player to join the club in more than 30 years when she signed for Barca last July, and leads the club's scoring charts this season with 10 goals in 24 league games.
Speaking to Revista de la Liga, she said the move away from Manchester City to Barca had been challenging, but an experience she would recommend to other English players who have historically shied away from leaving the British Isles.
"I was quite embarrassed speaking to a few of the girls at dinner when I first arrived," she said. "Some of them are younger than me and have played in three or four different countries.
"Here's me, sitting here, 26 years old, and I'm like a baby, I'm like this is the first time I've left home, I only signed a two-year contract because I'm a bit worried, and it's crazy.
"These other girls, they know five languages, and I'm like: "Ok, I only speak English.' I think it's important that the English culture changes a little bit, and we do start to go abroad and step out of our comfort zone.
"I was ready for a new challenge, I'd played in England for a long time and felt I'd achieved all I wanted to. I was speaking to numerous clubs, including ones in England, and as soon as Barca got in touch I knew it was where I wanted to be.
"My first day is what I remember while I was so bad. I think it was more the language, I went home and went to sleep after the first week, I was going home from training, sleeping, going home from training, sleeping, I didn't understand what they were saying, the training sessions were so complicated, it was difficult."
Among the challenges Duggan said she faced was adapting to the renowned Barcelona style, with a higher level of technical training undertaken at La Masia, their famous training base.
What did make life easier, though, was the similarities with life at Eastlands where City, like Barca, look to merge their styles across their teams.
She said: "It was lucky I came from City, I'd say their philosophy is quite similar. Barcelona are a lot more advanced, because they are the ones who created it, but they have a history of members of staff at Manchester City who worked here.
"The style was pretty similar, but the training sessions - you have to do a lot of thinking. In England, you pass from A to B, and it goes to B, but in Barcelona you have to go to D and then to F and it really works your brain.
"But that's why I came here, I wanted to test myself on the pitch, and it's working so far although it is still difficult."
