Grosso building an impressive resume

Canadian midfielder Julia Grosso is building quite the resume.

In the past year, Grosso has scored the winning penalty at the Olympics to give her country gold, joined storied Italian club Juventus and lifted three more trophies, and on Tuesday scored her first two international goals in CONCACAF qualifiers.

All this before her 22nd birthday.

“I'm just very, very grateful and honoured to be in this position,” Grosso told TSN. “I would say I'm proud that I've been able to be in a situation and do what I love to do.”

Grosso netted a brace and added an assist in Canada’s opener against Trinidad and Tobago at the CONCACAF W Championship, helping her team to a 6-0 win. The tournament serves as qualifiers for both the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and the 2024 Olympics.

“It's always an honour to score – well, it was my first goal,” Grosso laughed. “But it was a great experience to do that, and I hope that it continues like that throughout the tournament, and we keep winning and being successful.”

Canada currently sits atop Group B, which also consists of Panama and Costa Rica. The top two teams in the group automatically qualify for the World Cup, while the winner of the tournament earns a berth at the Paris Olympics. The Canadians next play Panama on Friday.

Grosso, a native of Vancouver, said she received several messages from family and friends after the game, but was especially happy to see a congratulatory message from her parents.

Adding to the specialness of the moment: her first goal was set up by her childhood friend, Jordyn Huitema.

“To get the assist from her, it was definitely a great situation to have,” Grosso said. “Obviously, Jordyn’s my best friend. So, it was great, knowing that we've been playing with each other since we were, I would say, 11, 12 years old.”

Grosso made her 38th appearance for Canada on Tuesday, coming off the bench as part of a quadruple-sub made by head coach Bev Priestman in an effort to shake up her lineup in the second half.

“I think with Julia, she's just got to believe in herself and join more and play forward more, and that’s exactly what she did tonight, and credit to her,” Priestman said after Tuesday’s game.

“I really had just that attacking mindset to get in the box and get on the end of some crosses,” Grosso said. “That game was very ‘play the widths’ and get those crosses in, the flanks are really open, so I really wanted to just get in the box. I think I did that a lot more [Tuesday] than I've done before for this team.”

Despite her young age, it’s been a long journey for Grosso to see more regular minutes with Canada. She made her senior team debut as a 17-year-old under then-head coach John Herdman in 2017. Under Kenneth Heiner-Møller, Priestman’s predecessor, Grosso started in three games during CONCACAF qualifiers in 2018 and was named to the 2019 World Cup roster but did not see any time on the pitch.

Priestman, who previously coached Grosso at the Canadian youth levels, admits she was a big fan, but had to make a difficult choice prior to the 2021 SheBelieves Cup, which was Priestman’s debut as coach of the senior team.

“For me, Julia wasn't ready at SheBelieves,” Priestman told TSN in April. “I was disappointed, and she knew that, and she didn't get on the pitch. And you look at the resilience and the hard work and the mental toughness that it took Julia to turn that around from February to make the Olympic squad and then have the tournament she had – that's the sort of thing that excites me about players is when they react to adversity.”

When asked about her turnaround over the last few years, Grosso is modest about her success.

“I came on the team very young, so obviously I didn’t really have as many minutes,” she said. “Throughout those four years, I've seen more playing time, building partnerships with teammates, more friendships off the field, on the field.”

As was evident on Tuesday, Grosso adds an attacking element that Canada often lacks in the midfield. Jessie Fleming has solidified herself in the No. 10 role, but Priestman occasionally opts to start Desiree Scott and Quinn together, who both tend to play in the holding midfielder role. Grosso likes to get forward and support both Fleming and the front three.

“I would say just being more of an attacking threat in the middle, playing forward, being more on an offensive threat,” Grosso said when asked about her role on the team. “Say [Fleming] makes a run in the box – I can just be right there behind her, and we can have more numbers in the box, which leads to more goals.”

Part of Grosso’s recent growth can also be credited to her time with Juventus. She signed her first professional contract at the end of 2021 and has made 15 appearances for Bianconeri, helping her team to a domestic treble by winning the Serie A title, Supercoppa Italiana and Coppa Italia.

In May, she signed an extension with Juventus to keep her with the club until the end of 2024.

“I love the playing style in Italy. They're very possession[-oriented],” she said. “Also, the culture around the girls and the coaching staff – just everything really tied in.”

Grosso joined Juventus after a very successful college career with the Texas Longhorns, where she recorded 15 goals and 12 assists in 42 games. Like many players, there was an adjustment period when she turned professional.

“I would say just the speed of play. It's a lot quicker at Juventus,” she said. “I think in the midfield, the rotations we do – when you're playing in the holding mid, or attacking mid, you're always rotating and you're never really in the same spot in the midfield. So, it's really cool because I can learn different rotations and positioning in the middle.”

The quicker pace has also helped her when she plays with Canada.

“Just coming into camp, I think just the speed of play – it’s not as big of an adjustment as it used to be coming from college,” she said. “So, I would say I feel more prepared coming into to camp with the national team – just speed-of-play wise, I'm ready to go.”

Grosso has yet to cement herself as a starter for Canada, coming off the bench in 25 of her 38 appearances for the team. While Priestman still continues to experiment with the right combination at midfield, she views it as a good problem to have.

“You've seen in the Olympics, some games, Julia started, other games, other midfielders start. And I think that's a real pleasure as a coach where it's not just a given lineup,” she said.