She is also keenly aware of how that debut campaign has continued to impact her as a player. “From an individual perspective of how I wanted my career to look, it all sparked from that first season. It set the tone.”
And set the tone it certainly did. Since that first season, Bright has been part of a Chelsea squad that has won 15 trophies, including seven league titles and a domestic treble. With Bright on board, the club have also become a regular fixture in the later rounds of the Women’s Champions League, making the semi-finals four times and the final in 2021.
The title still eludes them, however, due in large part to Barcelona, giants of the competition who have ended the Blues’ hopes three times, including in that final. “We really wanted to win it but fell short to the better team,” Bright reflects. “I think it set the level and showed where we were, but where we needed to get to, too. I know how hard it is to reach those finals; to say that I’ve played in the Champions League final is an incredibly proud moment. I don’t take moments like that for granted.”
If it’s not clear by now, I’ll spell it out – Bright doesn’t take a single one of her achievements lightly. That includes the Chelsea captaincy, a role which she calls “a privilege and a massive honour”. To Bright, the captaincy is a marker of just how far she and the entire women’s game have come. “Having been here for so many years and experienced the highs, the lows, the development in the women’s side – where we started to where we are now – is night and day. I just always want to do right by the team, so it’s a massive honour, the biggest honour that I think can be given.”
Although the captaincy carries a huge amount of weight on the pitch, to Bright it means even more than that. “I always speak for more than just the team. When I play for Chelsea, I want to represent the club the right way on and off the pitch.” One area of focus away from the action has been mental health awareness, and Bright has spoken openly about the struggles she and those close to her have been through. She recently became an ambassador for young people’s mental health charity YoungMinds, and is effusive when asked about the importance of their work.
“Mental health [issues] are something I’ve experienced personally. I’ve seen my mum experience it too, so I’ve had someone extremely close to me go through that journey and seen them probably at their lowest point and their hardest point, and how hard it is to come back from that. That’s why I really appreciate what YoungMinds are doing because they’re not only giving young people the support, but also the families. I’ve kind of been on a bit of a journey and learning all about it myself.”
She undoubtedly has been on a journey. In the last ten years, Bright has achieved more than most and, as this last year proves, there is no sign of her slowing down any time soon. Is she even able to comprehend just what that would mean? “I don’t think I digest things. I think, when I retire, everything will probably hit me and I’ll be, like, ‘God… I actually did do that.’”
Lifting the Champions League trophy is one major honour that has remained tantalisingly just out of her grasp. If Bright has anything to say about it, though, that too could just be a matter of time. “Obviously, we want to go one step further and make sure we’re on the other side of the final this time. I’m so driven to win it with Chelsea.”
