Matildas and Paris St Germain defender Clare Hunt spoke to the media as Australia attempts Olympic qualification. Should they succeed, she’ll be on home turf.
By Emma Burke 21/2/24
Photo: Clare Hunt via Football Australia
Clare Hunt has had a whirlwind 12 months, debuting for the Matildas in February, playing every minute of a historic home World Cup run, signing with Paris Saint-Germain, playing in the Champions League, and now, is staring down the barrel of qualifying for the Olympics.
She spoke to the media ahead of the Matildas’ first of two final qualifying games against Uzbekistan about all of this and more.
“Everyday I inch a little bit closer to understanding what’s going on, some days I’m waking up and I’m like ‘what are you doing in Paris? How did this happen?’ said Hunt.
“Being over at a club like that [Paris Saint Germain] it’s been a steep learning curve, there’s such quality and high expectations, but for me that’s what I thrive off.”
Since joining the top-flight French club in September, Hunt has featured in 17 games, six of which have been in the Women’s Champions League. PSG has now booked a spot in the Quarter Finals where they’ll face BK Häcken, a Swedish team that fellow Matilda Aivi Luik currently plays for.
While living in Paris, Hunt has started what she called the exceptionally slow process of learning French. She declined to show off any of what she’s learnt so far, claiming that her accent makes the language difficult to translate back into English.
“It’s nice to have a little outlet outside football where I can apply myself and personally develop in a way that’s stimulating for me outside of the football space.”
Hunt revealed that just six months before her debut with the Matildas she had started her Doctorate of Physiotherapy at Macquarie University back in Australia, something she has always had a keen interest in.
“I’m very interested in that side of things and applying myself academically quite a lot. It was something that I was doing whilst managing football and playing in the A-Leagues at the time,” she said.
Her doctorate has since been put on the back-burner, as she’s a little busy now that she’s a full-time professional athlete, which was always her goal.
The next goal for Clare Hunt? Olympic qualification. With the tournament being hosted in Paris, Hunt has had a different view than most, seeing the infrastructure being put up in real time, and all the advertising has hit her with the reality of the situation much harder.
All that stands in her way from becoming an Olympian is Uzbekistan, a country that Australia are fairly unfamiliar with on a national footballing stage, but one that Hunt believes the Matildas are capable of handling.
“We’re working on how to counteract their capacities and also continue to work on ours too. Although they’re unfamiliar, we’ve had fairly good experience against other Asian countries which will help us prepare.”
It’s been a rollercoaster of a year for Clare Hunt, one that she’s taken in stride. She’s learnt a lot about playing football at a fully-professional level, grasping opportunities with both hands, and (the beginnings) of a whole new language.
Most importantly, Hunt has been able to finally reap the rewards of all her hard work.
“It’s almost been a year of reprieve and enjoyment and a reward for all the hours I had put in. I never saw it manifest because I was always rehabbing injuries, it’s taught me that you won’t know when your time is but be ready when it comes.”
Follow Impetus ’71 on social media –
Twitter (X): @impetusfootball and @impetus71 TikTok: @Impetus71 Facebook: @Impetus71
Instagram: @Impetus_71 Threads: @Impetus_71
impetusfootball.org 