HAYLEY Lauder has a split footballing personality. One is as a creative midfielder, the other a left-back who likes to get forward.
The 26-year-old from Livingston admits even she doesn’t know which is the more dominant. The majority of her appearances for Scotland have been in the back four, while at most of her clubs, including Glasgow City, she has been an attacking midfielder.
“This is a tough question,” she muses, when asked about her preference.
“I always saw myself as a creative player. I don’t have the attributes of a [fellow Scotland player] Fi Brown, who is dynamic and fast, but I think I’m relatively smart and can link up play.
“Having said that, I honestly think some of my best games have been at left-back. I do enjoy playing there for Scotland. Emma [Mitchell] and I have been the two left-backs and what you get from her is different to what you get from me.”
Off the pitch, Lauder has a much more settled disposition, almost invariably coming across as cheery and good natured. She also represents the new breed of elite women footballers, playing the game full time without the distraction of a day job.
Her affinity with football started at her home-town club.
“My dad, David, is a Jambo at heart, but my mum worked at the weekends so we went to watch Livingston,” she says. “I had a season ticket for many years. I still go with my dad to the majority of home games.
“It used to be my life. When Livingston were in the Premier League, finished third, and played in Europe. I loved those days. Now it’s a little different, but it’s still your team, isn’t it?”
Lauder played football at primary and secondary school and joined local girls club Murieston United when she was 14. From there it was on to Edinburgh Ladies, who became Spartans. Shelley Kerr was her coach there, as she was at Scotland Under-19 level.
Lauder’s travels began when she was invited to play for Cypriot club Apollon Limassol in their 2011 to 2012 Champions League campaign. A brief return to Spartans was followed by a season at another island club, Aland United, in Finland, and a year each at two Swedish clubs, Mallbackens and Vittsjo, before joining Glasgow City in 2014.
Lauder, who names her parents as her biggest influences, will be 27 next month, but already has 82 caps. She rates her first medals won at City as among her career highlights, although the European Championship will eclipse anything that has gone before. Surprisingly there is no mention of her goal against Brazil in a friendly in Brasilia at the end of 2013. “I forget about things like that,” she concedes with a smile. “It was a good goal as well, I was quite chuffed with it.”
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