Elena Linari lands in London

London City Lionesses are proud to announce the signing of experienced international defender Elena Linari. 

A stalwart of the Italian national team – Linari has featured for Gli Azzurri over 100 times and is the current captain for her country. 

Linari started her professional career with Firenze, before moving to Brescia and Fiorentina. The strong defender made 44 appearances for Fiorentina, impressively finding the net 13 times, known for her impact at both ends of the pitch. 

In Italy, Linari has picked up the Serie A title on five occasions (twice with Brescia, once with Fiorentina and twice with Roma) and won the Coppa Italia six times (twice with Brescia, Fiorentina and Roma) – a true leader and serial winner. 

After a short spell at Bordeaux in 2020, Linari travelled home to Italy to join Saki Kumagai at Roma, where she played over 50 times, majorly credited for improving their defence and leading them to their first trophy in the women’s side of the game. 

She was named in the Serie A Women’s Team of the Year in the 20/21, 21/22 and 22/23 campaigns with Roma, consistently setting high standards, showing leadership and discipline.  

As London City Lionesses continue to evolve, Linari’s arrival marks a significant addition to the club’s ambitions for the WSL. 

Director of Football Ronald Thompson stated: “Elena is a modern centre back who combines old school values with intelligence.  

She is good in the air and strong in the tackle, when necessary.  

Her ability to read the game as it develops is key to her game. This will be key in our first season in the WSL.” 

Having played at the highest level, Linari knows a special environment when she sees one: “Everything is so amazing here, everyone is so welcoming and everything is so professional. 

I’m very happy to be here at another great club, I was pushing hard to have this chance and I’m so happy that London City gave me this opportunity.” 

She also wasted no time in expressing her delight to reunite with World Cup and Champions League winner Saki Kumagai:

“I had the chance to play with Saki Kumagai whilst in Rome, and now I’m looking forward to playing with her again. 

She’s an amazing player, on and off the pitch, her culture is amazing, I love her lots.”