WHEN YOU KNOW, you know.
The old saying rang true when Jess Ziu first pitched up at West Ham United as a triallist.
The Republic of Ireland international has since agreed her first professional deal with the Women’s Super League club; the news announced on St Patrick’s Day. The move, subject to international clearance and a medical, will see the highly-rated Shelbourne teenager cross the water this summer, when the transfer window officially opens.
Ziu knew a month or two in advance, sworn to secrecy alongside her parents, with her full focus on the start of the Women’s National League season.
Two weeks on from the big announcement, the 19-year-old is still smiling.
“When I found out it was getting released on Paddy’s Day for the Irish fans, I thought it was perfect timing,” Ziu tells The42. ”The way everything fell into place was unbelievable.
“I was over with West Ham with another player training with them and as soon as I walked into that facility, I knew that was the club I wanted to be with. I was with another two clubs before them, and I didn’t really like it that much but as soon as I stepped into West Ham, all the girls, the staff, they were all so nice to me and so welcoming.
“I’m lucky that I got the opportunity to go over and train with them instead of just rushing into anything. I think I’ve been patient. I’m going 20 now in June, I’ll go over in July, I think the timing is right.”
It’s something she has been working towards for quite some time, after all.
From being the only girl playing on the streets with the boys, to dreaming of World Cup Qualification.
— Sky Ireland (@SkyIreland) October 20, 2021
Sky presents BELIEVE with Jess Ziu #SkyWNT | #COYGIG | @FAIreland pic.twitter.com/ukFMMswkoY
Football is all Ziu has ever known.
Growing up playing in the streets of Finglas, it’s all she ever wanted to do.
“I grew up playing with a boys’ team,” she recalls. “I don’t know if you’ve heard that story, but I was crying to go up, my Mam was like, ‘It’s just a boys’ sport, you’re not joining.’
“All my friends growing up have just been boys, really competitive growing up with all my siblings. Even when I’m playing with my little cousins, they’re like 10 and I’m like, ‘You’re not winning me.’ I’m just so competitive, I am.”
The youngest of nine children, five boys and three girls — “the favourite child, the spoilt one,” she laughs — born to an Albanian father and an Irish mother, Ziu eventually got her way. One Saturday morning, her Mam bought her a pair of football boots, and that was the start of it all.
From Rivermount Boys (…and Girl, as she was told the clubhouse sign should read) to Shelbourne, and climbing through the Irish ranks from underage to senior, the Dubliner has enjoyed an remarkable rise.
“I try to let nothing faze me,” Ziu smiles, explaining how she has downplayed her dream move to the Hammers in recent weeks as her family’s pride shines through. “They hype me up a lot, they do. They’re all super proud of me.”
Like everyone around her. She’ll remain a Tolka Park favourite until she flies the nest anyway, having helped the reigning league champions get their title defence off to a strong start.
She might be watching her soon-to-be-team from afar but she’s all in with her beloved Reds, joking that she’s aiming to have her position on WNL Team of the Year wrapped up by the halfway point.
“All my focus is still on Shels because I am a Shels player,” she stresses. “I’m gutted that I’m not here for UCL [Uefa Champions League], but since the announcement, I actually haven’t really been thinking about West Ham.
“Sometimes when I’m going to sleep at night, it’s in the back of my mind. I don’t drive, can’t cook, can’t clean, so sometimes that’s in the back of my mind; how I’m going to deal with all that. I’m a bit of a home bird, so I hope that doesn’t really play a factor in it. I’m sharing a house with the girls so I think I should be fine over there on my own.
“But when I go out on Saturdays and train with Shels, I’m not thinking about West Ham whatsoever. My priorities are just with Shels.”
What about that decision to leave? “You know what, it actually wasn’t tough because like I said, when I was there, I fell in love with the place. It was unbelievable, it really was.
“So as soon as I heard that they wanted me to sign a pre-agreement to go over to them, I was like, ‘Yeah, definitely,’ straightaway. I have been with Shels since I’m like 11 or 12 and I do have friendships there that’ll last for a lifetime.
“But I think the timing was right, I think I’ve been patient, don’t want to rush into anything – if I was 24 moving, I wouldn’t mind. I think now is the right time.”
She’s spoken to several Irish players in the WSL, as she prepares to follow in the recent footsteps of former Shels team-mates Jamie Finn and Emily Whelan, who are now at Birmingham City.
In fact, Ziu told all of her international counterparts in camp, talking it out with Leanne Kiernan, Heather Payne, Katie McCabe and Denise O’Sullivan, in particular. Former West Ham star Kiernan gave her the lowdown and offered to put her in touch with some of the players, while Payne encouraged her to give the theory test a go and try get on the road.
“They were all just telling me that I’ll be fine, that it’s a really good move for me to take that next step,” she adds. The prospect of playing full-time football and being fully immersed in the game is certainly an appealing one; having everything she needs nearby to get the very best out of herself.
“It’s everyone’s dream, I think that’s why we all play: to go pro. It’s good too for little girls looking up to us, seeing us making that next step. Just having that set-up around me, the professionalism, it’ll be really good.”
It will be a very different life to the one she leads right now, the FAI EBT course graduate grins.
One thing will remain the same though: football being the centre of her universe.
“I’m a pretty boring one to be honest. Even now at home I just train: train, home, food, shower, sleep,” she explains, though well aware she might need some new hobbies and distractions to maintain balance and break up the obsession in a full-time environment.
“I’m a real family person and a home bird. If I leave my house, it’s on a walk with the dogs or out with my Mam — like she’s my best friend.”
It’s fair to say she’ll be sad when they part ways, but thanks to modern technology, they can stay easily connected. “She will,” Ziu nods. “Someone in Shels said, ‘What are you going to do now with your Wednesdays and Fridays and weekends?’ I actually think she might still go up to them without me, just to talk to the parents.
“I think it’s the other way around though: what am I going to do without her? Because she really is my best friend, I’m with her 24/7. Even all my siblings are like, ‘You’re acting like Mam now, stop!’ I’m with her so much. But look, it’s 40 minutes away. My Mam and Dad and all them siblings said that they’d be over every weekend to watch.”
A special crew won’t be afforded that luxury, though. “Oh my God. I have four dogs and they are obsessed with me, so that’s probably the toughest to be honest. I love my Mam, love my Dad, love my brothers and sisters, but the dogs are just… if you’re having a bad day, you just go to the dogs.”
“They’re always there,” she beams, taking great pride in introducing this writer to Archie, Casper, Paddy and Lily via her phone screensaver.
She has similar eye-catching collages on her shin pads, which sparked conversation after her first start on her fifth cap in December’s record-breaking 11-0 World Cup qualifier win over Georgia.
Complete attention is on the next one against Sweden in Gothenburg on Tuesday week, with Ziu and Ireland relishing the underdog tag.
Having impressed at the Pinatar Cup, she’ll be in contention for a start, hoping to continue a real breakthrough few months. First brought into into the set-up at the age of 16 under Colin Bell, Ziu has had to bide her time and stay patient.
It’s all been worth it, clearly really enjoying her involvement now.
“Even being young when you get selected, you’re kind of looking around hoping younger girls are selected, but now, you’re fine,” she grins. “You talk to all the older ones, they’re all so nice and really funny. They all help the younger ones and all. At the same time – like with Shels – I feel like I’m one of the older ones now.
“Playing right-wing-back is kind of new position for me, I played there for the U17 finals with Dave Bell. But it’s a tough position. Defending-wise, I’m still getting used to it because I am a through-and-through attacker.
“So hopefully with a few more camps and a few more games under my belt, I can get that. Sure having Niamh Fahey, the Liverpool captain, in behind me, there is no better player to have there to help me.”
After unfortunate foot and quad injuries last season, she’s fully-fit and firing on all fronts.
Big goals and ambitions lie ahead for club and country, with London calling in the background.
“Their goal next year is to win the WSL, and I don’t see why that’s not possible,” Ziu enthuses, rounding back to the Hammers.
“They’ve got an unbelievable team, good coaching staff, the facilities… they have everything there, they just need a little push. Hopefully I can come in and contribute to that, get a few goals and a few assists and I think game-time is my number-one priority. I want to go in there, I want to get game time and stay in the national team too.”
“One of my main goals this season is to stay fit,” she concludes with a smile. “I’ve got a programme off West Ham that I’ve been doing.
“Tom [Elmes, assistant coach] and Vera have also been sending stuff in, so they’re my main goals: to stay fit, stay healthy and get stronger, bang the goals in.”
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