{"id":1643,"date":"2025-06-06T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-06T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jusmedia.co.uk\/sywf\/?p=1643"},"modified":"2025-06-08T11:20:14","modified_gmt":"2025-06-08T10:20:14","slug":"the-swedish-star-who-made-doncaster-home-for-a-year-maria-karlsson-de-cecco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jusmedia.co.uk\/sywf\/2025\/06\/06\/the-swedish-star-who-made-doncaster-home-for-a-year-maria-karlsson-de-cecco\/","title":{"rendered":"The Swedish star who made Doncaster home for a year – Maria Karlsson De Cecco"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Maria Karlsson De Cecco enjoyed a long and illustrious career all over Europe, playing in the Champions League, representing her country, and even winning the Swedish treble. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in 2011, the Swedish star found herself in South Yorkshire, lacing up her boots for Doncaster Rovers Belles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She spoke to SYWF about her year in Doncaster, as well as her current role as the CEO of a global women\u2019s football agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maria, tell me a bit about your career before the move to England:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI started playing football at the age of seven in Sweden. I feel very privileged that I was a girl starting to play football there, because back then it was totally normal for everyone, boys and girls, to play.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I was 17, I signed my first professional contract and began playing in the Swedish top league, the Damallsvenskan, which was a great experience. At that time, it was one of the best leagues in the world, and many international players came to play there \u2013 Hope Solo, Marta, and Ramona Bachmann, for example. My time in Sweden was brilliant. I made over 50 caps in the National team’s youth setup, played in the Champions League, and won the treble!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did the move to South Yorkshire come about?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter exploring and experiencing so much in Sweden, and also realising I probably wouldn’t be the best football player in the world, I decided it was time to go and explore the world while continuing to play football, which was just starting to become a realistic option for female players.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI received a call from a good friend who told me there was a club in England, Doncaster, looking for a centre back, and that a new league, the Women’s Super League, was starting. I immediately went to Google to look up Doncaster, as I didn’t know where it was. I then learned about the rich history of Doncaster Belles, so I decided to sign with them in January, during the first year of the Women’s Super League.<\/em>“<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Maria in action for Doncaster.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve seen that you apparently lived in a hotel in Doncaster during your time here. Is that true? And if so, how was it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes it\u2019s true! I stayed at the Ramada Hotel near the Airport.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was certainly a new and peculiar experience. There was nothing outside, except for a small cafe if I walked a few meters.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI recall on Mondays, we always had dinner at the hotel restaurant, and it was very typical English \u2013 baked potatoes with beans. I had my simple hotel room \u2013 nothing fancy at all. I lived there with three of the other foreign players, but sometimes it was incredibly boring because there simply wasn’t much to do.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe only trained two or three times a week, and those sessions were in the evenings. So I\u2019d work out with the other foreign players in the mornings, but there was always still a lot of time in between. It was miles away from how professional football operates today. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe whole experience was definitely interesting and makes for a good story now, many years later.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You mentioned the English food, did you enjoy it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI live in Italy now, so if I compare Italian and English food, the answer is a very short no.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What was the experience like playing for Doncaster Rovers Belles?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was a new experience in many senses, as it was my first time abroad, and the league was new. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat I really appreciated, which I think was a very good idea from the FA, was the ambassador program each club had. I was a senior ambassador for the Belles, and the ambassadors from each club met once a month. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe general purpose was to teach us how to behave as professional football players, what the Women’s Super League represented, and how we should be as professional footballers. The ambassadors then brought this knowledge back to their clubs.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it was such a smart and easy way to foster a sense that ‘we are doing this together.’ We were starting a new era for women’s football in England, and even as competitors, we were all on the same page with the shared goal of growing the game.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEngland obviously had a long history of women’s football even before, but I can truly understand now why the Women’s Super League has become one of, if not the, best league in the world \u2013 it had a very clear vision and purpose from the start.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIn terms of quality, I\u2019d say the level of play back then was lower than the Swedish league. Top teams like Arsenal were very good, both in England and Europe. However, generally, the Swedish league at that time was better.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn’t move to England because the level was higher, I came mainly because it was something new. I wanted to be part of something new, both in terms of football and to learn a different style of play.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing part of the first Women’s Super League, even though I didn’t know how it would evolve, was very exciting.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You left after a year to go to Italy with Hellas Verona. Why did you leave?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere were many reasons to leave. We didn’t have a good year, the late training sessions, the hotel lifestyle and in all honesty, I received an opportunity to move to Italy and earn almost double what I was making in England.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf the league level had been better and the professional environment at Doncaster had been stronger, I probably would have stayed in England as long as I could. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite having six FA Cup\u2019s to their name, and dominating the women\u2019s game in England in the 90s, Doncaster Rovers Belles struggled with the transition to the professional game.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You mentioned the environment at Doncaster, what was it like?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe facilities weren’t great. We didn’t have a locker room, I’d change clothes at the hotel, go to training, and then go back to the hotel.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe didn’t have a dedicated ‘home’ facility, so to speak.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe did play games at the main stadium every now and then, which was great, but there were hardly any spectators at the time. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOverall, the facilities, especially being at the beginning of the WSL, were very far from being a professional environment compared to the fully professional setups almost all WSL clubs have today.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So after your time with Doncaster Rovers Belles, how did your career pan out?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI moved to Italy in January, where I played for three and a half years with Verona and Brescia \u2013 two top teams in Serie A at the time. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter three and a half years in Italy, I still wanted to explore another country. I then received a call from Saint-\u00c9tienne in the French league, which I decided to take, and I saw out my career there.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You\u2019re now at CMG, how did that come about?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI never thought about being an agent, mainly because agents didn’t really exist in women’s football when I was playing. However, the former Barnsley CEO Khaled El-Ahmad, who is now the GM of MLS club Minnesota, told me, ‘Maria, I think you’d be a good football agent.’<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn’t even know what that meant then, but when I started to understand the business, I really liked it. CMG was founded a year after I retired and I’ve been part of the company since the start.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe’re in touch with everyone involved in women’s football, from the highest levels at FIFA and UEFA to various football associations, clubs, and players. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe stereotype of a football agent is often a man in a suit who only makes transfers. CMG aims to be the opposite. I am the CEO of the agency, and I’m a woman, which is quite uncommon in our business.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it’s important that the agent industry, especially within women’s football, reflects our knowledge of the game. We don’t work in men’s football because our knowledge and network are specifically within women’s football. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll of us who work at the agency have also been in our clients’ shoes \u2013 whether they’re 16 signing their first professional contract, 28 and tearing their ACL, or moving abroad. We’ve done all that, which is very helpful when we speak to our clients.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can read more about the Belles and their history here<\/a>, and also check out our podcast with former Belles coach Katie Rowson who gave some insight into the club’s struggles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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