Siri Worm: “I am happy again” at Tottenham Hotspur Women

If you take a walk along the facade of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, you can see giant cutouts of many of Spurs’ biggest stars, as you would expect. Also present is an image of Tottenham Hotspur Women player Siri Worm. The Dutch international joined Spurs from Everton this summer, part of the massive rebuild undertaken by co-managers Karen Hills and Juan Amoros this summer.

Spurs needed a huge upgrade after promoting from the FA Women’s Championship last season in order to be competitive in their first season in the Women’s Super League; Worm was an international footballer with top flight experience, an invaluable resource.

It didn’t take Worm long to become a key player in Tottenham’s back line. Even though her face isn’t as recognizable to Tottenham fans as Harry Kane, Son Heung-Min, or even countryman Steven Bergwijn, she still thinks its pretty neat to see her face larger-than-life along Tottenham’s new home ground, according to an interview in Dutch newspaper Die Gelderlander.

“It’s cool, a great honor. I’m proud of it. My mother became emotional when she saw me on the stadium for the first time.

“Do the players on the men’s team now recognize me? I don’t know. We sometimes come across them when we enter the meeting room. We also bump into José Mourinho sometimes. They always say hello. It’s very special for us, but probably the most normal thing in the world for them!”

Statistics for the Women’s Super League are difficult to locate, and good luck finding any but the most cursory of advanced metrics like xG or xA. Regardless of stats, obvious is that Worm has turned into an important part of Tottenham’s back line. Worm has started 13 appearances in all competitions for Spurs this season. Positional data isn’t available, but Worm has the ability to play either in central defense or as a fullback, and has two goals this season including this curling beauty in Spurs’ FA Cup win over Coventry United.

Worm has 41 international caps for the Netherlands and was a member of the team that made a surprising run to the 2019 World Cup title game. However she’s fallen out of favor and hasn’t been called up since. Her goal now is to work her way back into manager Sarina Wiegman’s plans, and she stays in touch with her fellow Dutch internationals playing in the WSL.

“I am a bit out of sight of the Dutch team. Of course I am disappointed that I’m not being selected. I still do everything to get the most out of my career. I focus on the things that I have influence on and that make me happy. When I join the Dutch team again, I’ll be very happy.

“[Arsenal players] Daniëlle van de Donk, Vivianne Miedema and Jill Roord live around the corner. I also often meet with West Ham United players Tessel Middag and Esmee de Graaf downtown. If I need anything, I can go to them. It’s nice.”

For Worm, it’s more than just a rejuvenated career — she seems to feel much more at home in London than she ever did in Liverpool. Speaking of her time with Everton, she said that she never really fit in with the Toffees, but she’s found a club at Tottenham that she enjoys and teammates who appreciate her. That makes a big difference.

“I have a more social life here than I did at Everton. I didn’t like Liverpool very much. I didn’t always play and the environment was very negative. There was no fine culture.

“At Tottenham I am happy again as a footballer and as a person. I have teammates who give me a hug when I need it and allow me success. I missed that.”

Spurs Women’s next match is a massive FA Cup quarterfinal match at Arsenal on March 15, followed by a home WSL tie against Birmingham on March 22.