Ayrshire girl sets bold example for Kenny Miller

IF Kenny Miller is at all apprehensive about trying his luck in Serie A, he could do worse than listen to the remarkable story of Rose Reilly. If he has any fears of being lonely at a club like Fiorentina, she could tell him how her first days as an AC Milan player were spent talking to herself in the mirror.

• Reilly in action in Italy in her heyday, and today, below

If he has doubts about the language barrier, she could recall the dictionary she bought on arrival, and her plan to learn three words every day from Gazzetta dello Sport. As for the prospect of success in a foreign land, the Rangers striker need look no further than the woman who grew up in the Ayrshire village of Stewarton, left it at 17, and went on to conquer not just Italy, but the world.

Never mind Joe Jordan and Graeme Souness, who played for Milan and Sampdoria. Forget Denis Law, whose season with Torino didn't work out. If it's inspiration you're after, nothing beats the life of Reilly, who left Scotland in 1972 to turn professional with a French club, Reims, before moving to Italy where she spent 28 glorious years. In four at the San Siro, there were two league titles. By the end of her career, she had won eight in total. Add to that her 22 caps for Italy, for whom she played and scored in the 1983 (unofficial] World Cup final, and she can claim to be one of Scotland's most successful footballing exports.

Not that there has been much competition. Precious few Scottish players have headed beyond these shores, even to the lesser leagues more in keeping with their ability. Miller, it is claimed, would rather move to Fiorentina than Birmingham, which is a good start. Should the clubs ever agree on a fee, his transfer would set a new example to compatriots who have scarcely contemplated a career abroad.

"I think there's a bit of a comfort zone in Scotland," says Reilly. "They're too afraid of the unknown. And it's not just Scottish players, it's British. I remember Ian Rush telling Gianni Agnelli, who owned Fiat and half of Italy, that he was missing his baked beans. It's like the holidaymakers. They want everyone to speak English, they want their favourite newspaper every day, a full English breakfast every morning. They're just not very adventurous when it comes to language and culture."

Reilly was different. A product of Stewarton United 'boys' club', she earned ten Scotland caps before embarking on a career that took her not just to Paris and Milan, but also Naples, Sicily and, of course, Florence. Miller, she says, is right to favour Tuscany over the Midlands. "What an opportunity. It's either that or Birmingham, and he's already been with Wolves. Why do all that again? I'd pick a foreign country every time. I mean, an hour-and-a-half on the train and you're in Rome. It's certainly better than going to Millport."

Reilly did not hesitate to take the plunge when it became clear to her that professional football was not an option in Scotland. Within months of joining Reims, she was spotted by a scout from Milan, where she suddenly was expected to get along without a mobile phone, English television or a word of Italian. "At the start, I was alone in my hotel room, speaking to myself in the mirror so that there was somebody talking back. I was just a wee kid, not like the 17-year-olds today. I was on my tod. The Italian girls didn't speak English so I went out on my own, ordering food in a posh Italian restaurant. I bought a dictionary and decided to learn three words a day from Gazzetta dello Sport. I liked it because it was pink."

Reilly soon acclimatised, to the life and to the football. Crowds of up to 20,000 watched her play at the San Siro where she became so influential that she was withdrawn from attack to midfield. There, she wore the No.10 shirt, like Gianni Rivera, with whom she attended functions on behalf of the Milan giants. "My feet never touched the ground," she recalls.

As her career developed, Reilly twice won Italy's golden boot, with seasons of 43 and 45 goals. She became so well known that there were interviews on television, marriage proposals from fans and one occasion when the owner of a jewellery store saw her looking through the window, shouted "La Reilly, La Reilly" and rushed out to present her with a free watch. She became such a valuable asset that various clubs shuttled her about on first-class flights, to and from her eventual base near Bari, and home to Scotland for Christmas.

During one astonishing season, she won titles in both France and Italy, flying between the two countries twice a week. "I had two football bags – one for my Italian club, one for my French – and my wee Walkman for music. I was so happy then. That was me fulfilled. I finished my game on a Saturday in Serie A, flew to Charles de Gaulle on Sunday morning and away again on Tuesday. That was my everything. I wasn't even thinking about finding a husband or starting a family. I was never in one place long enough. I had no time for things like that. I was married to football."

It is a recurring theme in Reilly's story. Although she was a promising pentathlete, training with Scotland's Commonwealth Games squad, she gave that up in favour of a football career in which there appeared to be no future. As a girl in Stewarton, she had her hair cut short to play in the boys' team. At school, she was punished for repeated appearances in the boys' playground. "I would go and play football there at lunchtime, and get the belt every time I came back. I knew it was coming, but it didn't stop me. I just wanted to play football, and I thought there was nothing wrong in that. I stood up for my love of the game."

In Italy, she was free to pursue the object of her desires. In the days before FIFA and UEFA regimented the women's game, she scored 13 goals for her adopted country. They asked her to legitimise her citizenship by marrying an Italian, but she refused. In the 1983 World Cup final, witnessed by 90,000 fans in Peking – now Beijing – she scored from 40 yards in a 3-1 defeat of the USA. Afterwards, she was voted the best female player in the world.

There are also disturbing memories of that trip. When the Italian team arrived in China with swollen ankles and jetlag, they headed straight for a training session at the stadium, only to be told that it was closed. "We found out the next day that about five people had been executed there. They were burglars or something. And the relatives of the guys that were getting shot had to pay for the bullets. They had to stand and watch it. We all just wanted to go home after we heard that."

Now 56, Reilly is back living in Stewarton, to which she returned in 2001 so that she could care for her sick mother. Her husband, Norberto Peralta, is an Argentine doctor with whom she fell in love after he had successfully treated one of her football injuries. Their ten-year-old daughter, Meghan, is a promising ballet dancer. Born in Italy, Meghan and her parents have a six-week holiday in Sicily every year. "She is bilingual," says Reilly. "That's the best start I can give her in life."

In their Stewarton home, they talk Italian, watch Italian TV and, if Rose has her way, watch Italian football. She knows her Serie A, including Fiorentina. Adrian Mutu, she says, is on the way out – if anyone will have him. Alberto Gilardino is coveted by Juventus. If Miller is given the opportunity, he should grab it with both hands. "The Italian game will be different to what he is used to, but it is a wee bit easier for a striker. Goals are the same everywhere. If he scores goals, he will be an idol over there." And she should know.