Christen Press passes on her artwork
For the soon-to-be retired Press, the desire to mentor Alyssa stemmed from wanting to be something she didn’t have growing up.
“When I was 20, I didn’t have a relationship with a senior player like they have with me – I’m enjoying the presence that I have with these young players,” she told LA Times.
“The thing that I’m good at is scoring goals, it’s an art and I love it. I’m now kind of showing Alyssa how I trained to become a goal scorer; how you can think about goal-scoring in a very nuanced and methodical way.
“I’m learning as I teach her, I’m seeing the ways that she approaches it different. It’s just kind of a spirit of collaboration that I see as a win-win for everybody.”
In their first season as teammates, Thompson put up career-best numbers with 12 goal contributions in the NWSL – proof that this partnership worked.
It makes the recent announcement bittersweet for the youngster, who admits she grew as both a person and player with Press alongside her.
“I just love her so much as a teammate and as a friend,” the forward said, following her Champions League outing.
“I feel like she helped me so much with my confidence. Being the player I am today, even just coming here and talking to her about it, she has been such a big part of my journey.
“I’m really happy for her. This is a decision she made herself, but also I’m very said to see her go.”
While Press prepares to bid farewell to football, Thompson is beginning to step into her own story – one shaped by belief and the lessons of a legend.
Her first goal in a blue shirt may have been orchestrated by Alyssa, but it was a moment that, in some ways, belongs to both of them.