Messi-inspired Olivia Moultrie: I want to be the best in the world

Earlier this month, Olivia Moultrie scored her first-ever professional football brace. Exactly 20 days later, she repeated the feat for her nation.

The 20-year-old played a starring role as the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) beat Portugal 3-1 on Sunday, 26 October, her first goal coming in the first minute, with the second following in the tenth.

Despite being given plenty of plaudits for guiding Emma Hayes’s fresh-faced side to victory, Moultrie was quick to deflect and give them instead to her teammates.

“I think the U.S. has been known for a long time for starting fast and I think we definitely want to continue that,” she told U.S. Soccer at full-time.

“From the people who were on the field who started, to the people who came on, the bench… the energy. I really felt connected with my teammates tonight in all ways, and I feel like that is what allowed us to finish strong.”

Despite her young age, Moultrie is looking to establish herself in Hayes’s side in the same way she has become a mainstay in the Portland Thorns in the National Women's Soccer League.

Such drive and determination come from one thing—the desire to be considered one of, if not the, best player in the world.

How to watch the upcoming USWNT friendlies – full schedule and roster

Olivia Moultrie: I want to be the best in the world

Born into a sporting family, becoming an athlete felt more like a rite of passage than anything else for Moultrie.

She had tried a handful of sports as a kid, basketball included, but as soon as she stepped onto the football pitch, it felt like home.

Encouraged by those around her, turning pro was a matter of when rather than if, despite being so young. The California native has always desired to be better than all those before.

“I want to be considered the best player in the world, that is what I’m striving for,” she explained in an interview with SoccerBible.

“Does that equal trophies? Of course. Does that mean winning with my club and country? 100 per cent. I don’t know exactly where that will take me in terms of what teams I’ll play for, but I know that’s what I want.

“Every decision that has been made and everything I do is with that goal in mind.”

A self-proclaimed ‘type-A personality’, Moultrie will not rest until the goals laid out have been checked off her list.

It is the one piece of advice she would give to aspiring players who may wish to follow in her footsteps: make a plan and stick to it.

“I wasn’t planning on being a role model… for me, I just want kids to chase their dreams,” she continued.

“My one piece of advice is to set goals. Decide on the things that you want to be better at and create a plan for how to get there. Give me a list, give me something I’ve got to do and I’ll finish it – that’s how I approach the world.”

Olivia Moultrie: Inspired by Lionel Messi

To become the best, you must learn from the best.

It's a motto Moultrie lives by, which makes sense given that the midfielder's footballing hero is Lionel Messi.

There is one aspect of his game in particular that Moultrie is modelling her own technique around: free kicks.

After netting one earlier this season, which also saw her become the leading teenage scorer in the league’s history, she spoke of her admiration for the Argentine.

“I’ve watched Messi become too good at them, so I decided I want to add it to my arsenal,” she said in a half-time interview, as quoted by She Kicks.

“If I want to be the best, I want to learn from the best, and I try to apply that in every area of my life. I think he is arguably, at least one of the best at those in the entire world.

“I wanted to add another thing that made me dangerous.”

With her sights firmly set on similar greatness and a blueprint built on discipline, it may not be a question of whether or not Olivia Moultrie becomes the best in the world, but how soon she can cross it off her checklist.

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