It’s been a great week for Juventus Women as we followed up a 2-0 win over our title rivals Milan on Sunday by reaching the last four of the Coppa Italia on Wednesday. That means we are one point clear of Fiorentina at the top and will face Milan, who are in their first season, in the two-leg semi-final.

I have been particularly impressed with the parity and competition at the top of the Serie A women’s league. I have been aware of a bit of snobbery about the standard here from some players, agents and coaches I have spoken to. There seems to be an uncertainty about it.

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I’d like to put to rest any myths about the quality. There may be an assumption it’s not a high level because some of the teams such as Juventus and Milan are new. However, the measure of a growing league is how much competition there is at the top. We have Juventus, Fiorentina, Milan and Roma – four teams with great history in the men’s game, professional structures and resources – and four points separate the first three.

We lost 3-0 to Milan in November and 1-0 to Fiorentina in the Supercoppa in October but then beat them in the league. Our match against Fiorentina at the end of March should be a huge game in deciding the title. It could be played at Juventus’s Allianz Stadium, which recently drew 15,000 fans to an under-19 men’s Juventus game. I am sure the rivalry between Juventus and Fiorentina will mean another great attendance.

Our game last Sunday was attended by 2,000-plus fans, which is comparable to attendances at a top game in the English Women’s Super League. Sky Italia shows a women’s game every week, which is a huge plus for building a fan base. Our win against Milan was watched by 135,000 people on Sky Italia at 12.30pm, which is significantly more than watched an English men’s Premier League game in Italy at the same time.

I emphasise the importance of a close title race because I know that has made the English Women’s Super League so exciting over the past five years. During my time at Chelsea, although I hated losing to our rivals, for the league it was a positive that you could beat Manchester City and then lose to Arsenal the next week. There have been various title winners over recent years: Liverpool, Chelsea, City, Chelsea again and now Arsenal look set to win it this season. Not to mention the changing hands on the FA Cup and Continental Cup.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Fiorentina, whose forward Lana Clelland is pictured here, are among the leading clubs in women’s Serie A. Photograph: Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images

The same pattern is true for Italy, where Juventus won the league last season but Brescia (now Milan) and Fiorentina won the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa respectively. That is different from France, where Lyon have won the title for the past 12 years. PSG are a great team but can’t seem to compete to win the league. When I considered PSG before I signed for Juventus one thing that put me off was wondering what the point is of coming second every year. PSG won the cup last season but the most coveted prize is the league. My greatest achievement in England was winning it with Chelsea and I hope to do that with Juventus.

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We have Internazionale coming in next year, clubs investing in the women’s game, and Juve and Milan have introduced levels of professionalism that are helping to develop the standard.

European clubs are vying with America now for the best players, although North Carolina proved last year they are still very strong when they beat Lyon and Arsenal, albeit in friendlies. The Italian league is as strong as England or Spain and definitely better than France. The problem is closing the gap when in the Champions League. Teams such as Lyon and Chelsea have developed so much experience at that level and know what it takes to win. Champions league progression takes years.

Italian sides will find it hard to attract the world’s top players while there is a salary cap. A few teams are still not professional, so the league has had to impose semi-professional rules but as soon as we move towards a more professional league or the salary cap is extended then I believe a lot more world-class players will come. There is a real attraction in terms of the culture and the history of football. It’s the same in the rest of Europe and that is why more global stars are coming here. When you see clubs of the stature of Juventus and Milan, who girls like me grew up watching on Gazzetta on Channel 4, then that is only going to help grow the game.

Some of the passing drills are so complicated that you need a really high level of concentration

I’ve learned things in Italy at the age of 31. Some of the passing drills are so complicated you need a high level of concentration and if you mess up the rhythm, believe me you are told! Perhaps surprisingly, I had not been exposed to such levels of complication in technical drills, so it took me a long time to feel confident.

A lot of my teammates who are in the Italy squad left this week to play in the Cyprus Cup and I’m really excited to see what is going to happen at this summer’s World Cup. England are playing in the SheBelieves Cup in the US, which is a chance to see where we stand. I think we can be confident about defeating Brazil after beating them at home in October.

I was surprised to see that Beth England of Chelsea was not in the England squad after scoring a lot of goals. England will also miss Millie Bright, who is a very important player in defence and is injured. But it is better to protect Millie now so she is ready in June. Let’s hope England can win the tournament for the first time and go to the World Cup full of confidence.