Canada's Julia Grosso is just getting started in her career of winning ways

By the time Julia Grosso was 20, she already had an Olympic gold medal under her belt, secured on a sudden death penalty kick by the midfielder against Sweden at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Not even a year later, the 21-year-old is adding more accolades to the trophy cabinet with a Women's Coppa Italia win with Juventus on May 22, the Italian club she signed a one-year contract with just over six months ago.

Since then, Grosso has earned another two years in Turin, inking a new deal that will keep her with the club until 2024 after helping the Bianconere lift a fifth consecutive Serie A title and the Supercoppa Italiana in 15 appearances this season.

Not even a year ago, Grosso has gone from playing Division I soccer in the Big 12 with the Texas Longhorns, though her impact down south was immense for her squad with 15 goals and 12 assists in 42 games across three seasons.

Now, Grosso has become one of the most well-known Canadian women's soccer players for her efforts in Tokyo and her impact in Turin — but her ascendance in the women's soccer world is only just getting started.

"It's such a different like culture around soccer here. Especially with Juventus, it's a very big club, especially in Italy. So, anywhere you go, you just really feel the passion. Like even when we travel to different places, there's always Juventus fans coming to our game," said Grosso.

"I think that's been like the biggest thing for me, it's like, just seeing the appreciation and especially with the women's game and seeing all the supporters coming out. It's been unreal."

Long before Grosso made the trek across the pond to join one of the most successful and historic clubs in Italy, she was born in Vancouver and made her debut with the Canadian soccer program at 13 years old, joining the U-15 team.

Appearing in 36 games for Team Canada, Grosso was originally called to the senior national team when John Herdman was still in charge of the women's side, being named to the World Cup roster at just 18 years old.

However, Grosso did not see any action at the tournament — and she had questioned her place on the national team — but under new coach Bev Priestman, Grosso was named to the roster for the 2021 She Believes Cup, which forced a look at what she needed to improve on as a player.

As Priestman saw the potential in Grosso and used her as a regular substitute during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, when Grosso was put in a position to potential clinch a gold medal for Canada, the decision Priestman had made was the right one.

With an already stacked trophy case, Grosso's career is decorated with more wins and memories than some players will achieve in a lifetime, but complacency is simply not an option for the 21-year-old.

"Winning the gold medal and playing for this club, it's definitely an honour and exciting, but I still feel like I have a long way, like, so much more to accomplish for my dreams and all of that," said Grosso.

"There's so many things coming up with the Canada team and like even just that we have to do. I just think like, always, no matter what happens, I always have more and more that I want to accomplish and I don't really think like 'Oh, I did that there, that's a really big thing.' But you know, there's more coming up. There's more Olympics coming up. So it's like, just repeating those actions and getting the job done."

Grosso's growth comes from more than just on-field progress and trophies as she continues her ascent in women's soccer as a leader of the next generation alongside players like Jordyn Huitema and Jessie Fleming who are both also currently playing in Europe.

As Canadian soccer icons Diana Matheson and Steph Labbé retire, the national team's average age is only around 23 years old, and Grosso looks forward to taking on a larger role as a leader heading into the Women's World Cup and Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

"I think one of the biggest reasons, like what I want to do in my career, looking back, I just want to know that I inspired the younger generations that they can do it too, keep pushing for your dreams and all that," she said. "It's so cool to think that someone could be looking up to you, I'm gonna try and help them as much as I can, when they come up. I know, the feeling of the first coming up and all those things, so I would definitely just want to be a good role model and and help as much as I can."

There is no shortage of growth in the women's game as tournaments, league and cup final games continue to shatter attendance records, house some of the best talents of the game and make record signings at clubs.

Despite the fact many women's teams do not play in the same large stadiums as their male counterparts, with expanding fandom and viewership for the game, the direction might just be headed towards more accommodation.

"The future's bright with women's soccer, seeing those big numbers, like Barcelona, you saw 92,000 or something. Just knowing that's where we're kind of at right now, with especially Champions League, I think in the future, it's gonna be even better than that," said Grosso.

"Maybe we can play in those stadiums, and I think it's just gonna continue to grow and grow, which is definitely exciting, especially being 21."

Experiencing the game on a global scale in the centre of the action continues to leave Grosso in awe, but her home roots are still just as important as growing her playing career.

The players who built Canadian women's soccer into the strong program it is today isn't lost on Grosso, and her experiences with the team as they continue to succeed have been her opportunity to learn as a player physically and mentally.

"They're all very inspirational on their own and you see the way they are and that's why they're so successful and everything, I've learned so much from each and every one of them," said Grosso.

"Being in that atmosphere at the Olympics, seeing those players and how they deal with things and how even at the 2019 World Cup it was an honour to be a part of that ... I didn't just see it as I can learn for myself, but to kind of experiment and experience those things with them, so it's been really cool and they're so amazing."

Growing the game in Canada isn't lost on Grosso as she currently resides in Turin, as signing an NWSL contract was thought to be her next step after she finished playing at Texas as many collegiate players do.

However, as Canada is still without an NWSL team and more exposure to the game for young Canadian women outside of the national team, implementing a team close to home is still an important goal as a leader off the pitch.

"The Canada team has done a lot of great things on the women's side, and we definitely need a professional team in Canada, I think that's like the next biggest step, especially for the little girls, like I know here in Italy that we have this team and different teams in Italy, so these little girls are looking up to something like, 'Oh, I want to be like them,' you know," said Grosso.

"I think that's so important in Canada, because they could see going to college or anything like that, but then they don't have a Canadian professional team to really look up to and to go support and see what it's like, they only can look up to like the Canadian women's team, but I think it's important to have that professional environment."

Much like Grosso, many other Canadian national team members have expressed the need for a domestic team, and the national program has taken notice.

Canada is aiming to work toward getting a professional team, hiring a Head of Women's Professional Soccer in order to keep growing the game with the domestic talent available.

The past year of Grosso's life completely changed how the world viewed her as a player, and how she viewed herself, but the added pressure and responsibility has only instilled the work she has put into becoming the player she is today has been worth it.

Drive to succeed is evident in any athlete, but even after the championships and constant success surround Grosso, seeing Juventus and Canada continue to win are the two biggest priorities for the young star.

"Winning everything we can and just growing, building partnerships on the field, I think is definitely exciting. We have a winning culture here, so just to continue to win those championships, continue to grow as a team, and not just be a team here in Italy but expand to all of Europe, getting further in the Champions League, really push for more than just being the winning team here in Italy, but in Europe in general," said Grosso.

"With Team Canada, wherever I'm playing, just to keep striving to win. Like the World Cup for us, we have the qualifiers in the summer, so qualify and go to the World Cup and win, do all these like amazing things. I would say just to keep pushing for greatness, just trying our best to make our country proud."