Just four days after England had won Euro 2022 last summer, Georgia Stanway was on a plane and travelling out of her comfort zone.
The midfielder had agreed to join Bayern Munich, ending seven years at Manchester City and leaving her friends and family behind.
Stanway arrived in Munich on her own, even opting to fly without her agent, carrying four suitcases and not speaking a word of German.
A year on, the move has most certainly paid off as the 24-year-old shone for Bayern to help them win the Frauen-Bundesliga. Although her German is still a work in progress.
“Terrible,” she says. “I’ve seen a quote which says ‘life’s too short to learn German’ and I completely agree!
“I have two lessons a week and my teacher keeps saying: ‘It’s going to click, it’s going to click.’ But nearly 12 months in and there’s no click yet!”
On the pitch, there has been a click. Stanway believes her game has developed in Germany, particularly her range of passing.
Bayern have used her as a “second No6”, which is similar to Stanway’s role for England, and it allows her to sit deep but join attacks where possible.
Playing in the heart of Bayern’s midfield, Stanway has become a leader and she is relishing taking that experience to the World Cup with England this month.
“I have like a leadership role, which I never expected to happen in such a short space of time,” she says.
“In terms of the way I am as a person, I’m just so much more open. I went to a country where no one knew who I was and I’d never met anyone I was with before and I could be whoever I wanted to be, and no one was going to judge me for that.
“You just come out of your shell a bit and you are able to be more confident in the environment. You are able to ask questions and you can be a little bit more cheeky.”
That cheeky side showed itself during Stanway’s initiation song. England had just beaten Germany in the final of Euro 2022 and the midfielder decided a rendition of ‘Sweet Caroline’ was the best way to endear herself to her new team-mates.
“I wasn’t going to sing that song but when I got up there I thought this is the best way to show who I am and that I just want to have a bit of fun,” she says.
“It was the fastest way I could get to know people - but I’ve not heard the end of it yet!
“I sang it again on a balcony in the city centre when we lifted the trophy and it was the worst version of Sweet Caroline you’ve ever heard. It will be remembered.”
After flying to Munich straight after winning the Euros, life has been a whirlwind for Stanway.
Unsurprisingly she experienced a dip at the end of last year, when the chance for a mid-season break finally allowed her to rest.
“It wasn’t necessarily a dip in terms of emotion, I was just absolutely shattered,” she says.
“I was supposed to meet Keira [Walsh] in Barcelona for New Year, but I didn’t even make it out there for New Year because I was just that tired.
“I was sleeping long past my alarm until the middle of the afternoon, which is something I’ve never done before.
“After that two weeks, January started and you are able to go again. But it’s important that people do recognise how hard we work.”
Now fully recharged, Stanway is excited for England’s World Cup campaign in Australia to get underway on July 22, when the Lionesses face Haiti in Brisbane.
Should England make it to the quarter-finals, a possible showdown with Germany is on the cards and Stanway has admitted she will stay off her phone that week.
Even if her German needs work, the Bayern squad often speak in English and a rematch of last summer’s Euro 2022 will bring out plenty of fighting talk.
Stanway will just be hoping she is the one singing again after it.
