Vivianne Miedema: Everything you need to know about the WSL record-breaker
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Goal machine Vivianne Miedema has broken yet another scoring record!
The Arsenal striker has become the first Women's Super League player in history to score against every team she has faced.
She struck her 13th goal of the season as Arsenal continued their unbeaten start with a 2-0 win over Manchester United this weekend.
It's the latest impressive feat for the Dutch star, so check out our guide to find out everything you need to know about one of the most prolific strikers in football history.
Record breaking start
Vivianne Miedema's first memory of football was having her two front teeth knocked out in a challenge with a goalkeeper.
"People might think, 'You're crazy to want to play again after losing two teeth' but playing football is all I ever wanted to do. I didn't really do anything else back then," she told Arsenal TV.
Between the ages of six and 14, the Dutch striker would regularly play for her local boys teams.
She made her professional debut aged just 15, becoming the youngest ever player in the Eredivisie Vrouwen - that's the top-flight of Dutch women's club football.
It didn't take her long to make a mark, as she managed 10 goals in her first 17 matches for SC Heerenveen.
Goal scoring machine
In just her third season as a professional, Miedema won the league's top goal scorer award, striking 41 times in just 26 games.
Some of the biggest clubs in Europe started chasing the young Dutch star, and at the age of 17 she made the move to German giants, Bayern Munich.
Miedema played for Bayern Munich from 2014-17 and won the Bundesliga twice (2015 and 2016). The 2015 title win with Bayern was their first since 1976.
Miedema is known for not really celebrating when scoring goals. One of the only times she decided to celebrate properly was when she broke the Dutch scoring record in 2019.
Her younger brother, Lars, is also a professional footballer playing for Vélez CF in the Spanish fourth division.
She is a co-author of a series of children's comic books featuring her, written in her native Dutch language.
Dutch hero
No other player, man or woman, has scored more international goals for the Netherlands than Miedema.
In 103 appearances, she has scored 85 goals.
Her goal scoring form helped Holland to their first ever European Championship title in 2017.
At the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo in 2021, Miedema broke the Olympic record by scoring ten goals in four matches.
The Gunners
Miedema's dominance in the Women's Super League started in 2017, when she moved from Bayern Munich to Arsenal.
In December 2019, Miedema played a huge part in the biggest win in the history of the WSL - Arsenal beat Bristol City 11-1, with Miedema scoring six and setting up four other goals.
She holds the records for the most goals in the WSL with 64, the most goals in a single WSL season (22 in the 2018-2019 season) and the most WSL goals at one club.
It's a pretty impressive list and shes sure to be breaking more records in the future!
What do you think of Vivianne Miedema? Are you a fan of hers? Let us know in the comments.
- Published20 November 2021
- Published22 November 2021
- Published19 November 2021
