English striker Natasha Dowie and Scottish midfielder Christy Grimshaw recently gave an interview to BBC Sports and the British pair spoke about the life in Italy, the food, language barrier and, obviously, their expectations for the clash against Juventus and the rest of the season.
Dowie on her life in Italy:
"You have the mountains, the lake, incredible food, the fashion and the lifestyle which is pretty special. Everyone knows Italy has such good food. It can be dangerous sometimes! Maybe it's not such a bad thing that we have to stay in at the moment? The pizza, the pasta, the lifestyle and the passion they have for food over here is really what I love. Food for me, apart from football, is my biggest love. I think it's really special when you can share food with your family and friends. The Italians do that so well - it's a big event for them."
Grimshaw on what she misses the most:
"The pre-match food has always been pasta but it's much better-quality pasta than back home, as you can imagine! But fish and chips and Sunday roast dinners… I miss them a lot."
Dowie on the language barrier:
"I've played in Norway and Sweden but this has definitely been the most challenging in regards to the communication side of things. I'm trying to take it as a positive as you have to make more of an effort to try to connect with the players and the staff. It's tough because a lot of the Italian players want to learn English. Their English is better than my Italian, so they tend to speak that to me which means I don't get to practise Italian as much. It is hard but we are all trying, and I think the Italian players can see that."
Grimshaw adds to the subject:
"Football is kind of its own language. Off the pitch it's really difficult to try and make those relationships. On the pitch we almost have a mutual understanding of the game. It's a bit of a struggle. We're getting there though. We have Italian lessons and we try to make jokes. The Italian girls all laugh at us!"
Dowie on the Juventus face off:
"It's a 'six-pointer' this weekend. We all know how important it is. Juventus don't lose games. Winning becomes a habit and they are very good at it. We have to win. They have a better goal difference as well so hopefully they can slip up a bit throughout the rest of the season or we need to start scoring some more goals. Then we have Inter Milan in a semi-final. It's brilliant. It's a derby and they are the ones you want to play in."
Grimshaw on her performances this season:
"There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes before every game. We focus so much on the tactical and analysis side. I need to add that to my game, so being here is really good for me. I'm really enjoying that. Training has been really good this week. We live for this moment. We're hoping to win our first trophy this season. It would mix things up a lot if we beat Juventus. The more I play well and get on the score sheet - especially this weekend - the other stuff will come as a result of that."
