She’s looking to make her mark as KC NWSL’s newest attack piece on a team that needs it
Fresh off the plane from Europe, Jéssica Silva is seeking stability.
It’s been a tumultuous few seasons for the newest signing at KC NWSL. A move from Spanish club Levante to French powerhouses Olympique Lyonnais in 2019 looked promising on paper for the now-26-year-old Portuguese forward, but injuries and the pandemic limited her to just 18 minutes over two seasons in France.
KC, too, wants steadiness. Four games into life as a newly formed National Women’s Soccer League club, it still doesn’t have a win and has just two goals, both of which were scored in one match against Houston Dash on May 23.
KC needs a player like Silva, and Silva says she needs a team like KC.
“I get confidence from the club,” Silva said Friday before training at Swope Soccer Village. “In this league, there’s something special that there isn’t in the other leagues; the gap between teams is not as big. Any team can surprise ... I think Kansas (City) was the club that gave me the chance and believed in me, so I just want to give (back) all of the confidence that the club put on me.”
Silva, who began training with the squad this week, was announced to have signed a two-year contact with the club May 10 and will be eligible to play subject to international clearance. When healthy and at her best, Silva is a bonafide playmaker; KC NWSL coach Huw Williams said teammates have been counting how many nutmegs Silva has done in practice.
A veteran of the Portugal national team with 64 caps to her name, Silva has lightning pace and versatility with the ability play up front, on the wing or as an attacking midfielder. She has proven mettle with world-class talent: with Levante, one of the top women’s teams in Europe, she scored six times in 34 appearances from 2017-19.
But injuries have been a drawback in recent seasons. A foot injury at Lyon had her out for a year, while an injury in the final Portugal training session before leaving for the UEFA Women’s Euro 2017 tournament left her having to be replaced before a major tournament. Silva said she’s “recovering well” and was fully active in training Friday, though Williams is easing her to full match fitness.
“(My staff) will tell me what the load levels are,” Williams said. “My concern right now for her is she came straight from (a) flight to practice, that’s tough. There’s obviously jet lag involved, we’ve just got to make sure that we don’t overextend her too early. And with that injury, she hasn’t played a lot of 90-minute games, so we’ll have to build her back into that.”
If Silva is cleared to play in KC’s next match — a rematch with the Dash at 1 p.m. Sunday at Legends Field — it’ll become apparent how much the league’s style of play adapts to Silva’s skills.
Silva said that in comparison to European leagues, which she said left much time for “thinking or stopping,” the NWSL is a much more fast-paced league that fits well with her tendencies to go wide and beat players off the dribble.
Williams agrees.
“She provides something different,” Williams said. “She is that creative, flamboyant, entertaining player that will be very good in one-v-one situations. Just a fun player to be around, too. She’s fit in quick with the players. ... She thinks a little bit differently.”
The NWSL is as talent-rich from top to bottom as any women’s league in the world, something that Silva noted Friday.
Fitting in quickly will be a challenge, but it’s an opportunity she says she doesn’t want to take for granted.
“It’s huge,” Silva said. “I’ve always dreamed to come the United States because of the environment ... I saw since I started to play football that the people here really get involved with women’s football. ... Now as a player (here), it’s a great achievement. I just want to show what I can do and also show what Portuguese soccer players can do.”
This story was originally published June 4, 2021 at 1:18 PM with the headline "She’s looking to make her mark as KC NWSL’s newest attack piece on a team that needs it."