by Ben Gilby (6/4/24)
Above: Ellie Carpenter speaking from the Matildas Florida base. Image: Football Australia.
With a whole week of training behind them in the build-up to next week’s friendly with Mexico, Ellie Carpenter and Sharn Freier have been speaking from the Matildas’ Florida HQ.
Ellie Carpenter: “I really think we can achieve something special”
Ellie Carpenter feels the benefits of only playing one game in this international window could be hugely positive for the Matildas Olympic chances later this year, with the team having longer together to focus on “nailing” their style and game plan.
“It’s really rare that we only have one game in a window, and this allows us to train a bit more harder, do some more gym…I’ve really enjoyed this training block and it’s really important leading up to the Olympics,” the Olympique Lyonnais star said.
“We’re just nailing down our tactics. Getting the really big syncronising with everyone. We’re not really together that much during the year, so building those relationships on the ball (is important).
“We’ve come fourth at the last two (global) tournaments we’ve played and we’ve got that in the back of our mind not to let it repeat itself. Within the team, on and off the field, we’re in a really good place. We have a mix of some really experienced, some returning players, young up and coming (ones) – I think that’s a really great balance. Once that clicks, and I think it nearly has clicked…come mid-July…I’m really thinking forward with this team for the Olympics, and I really think we can achieve something special.”
Despite still being only 23, it is now ten years since Carpenter first played for Matildas at U17 level – a stat that the Cowra-born defender still finds hard to comprehend – but one she is visibly proud of.
“The time has just flied. It honestly feels that I debuted couple of years ago. I’m very proud of that and I feel I am a senior player in this squad despite still being quite young. You don’t know what it’s like to be a Matilda unless you’ve been in here for so long. The belief in the team and what we stand for.
“I’ve grown up in this team. I’ve really seen myself change a lot as a player and as a person…coming in here is always fun, I can’t explain why.”
“Recently I feel like I don’t have to change who I am – I am who I am. I feel I’m a leader on the field when it comes to communicating and showing my presence.”
Ellie Carpenter
That presence and respect has come with additional responsibilities. “It’s nice to be named vice-captain, having that respect from my team mates and showing I can be a leader. I think I’m also DJ now too, when we go to games it’s a kind of given that I’m on the music box…yeh, I’ll take that!”
Carpenter also has a sense of unfinished business this year – her club side Olympique Lyonnais are in the Champions League semi-finals, with the defender aiming to get back to European club football’s biggest showpiece event after injuring her ACL in the 2022 final. The 23-year-old admits she may have part of the winning team in that final, but “it feels like I didn’t win.” In order to play in the final again, Carpenter will have to get past Paris St. Germain – and a player she knows very well – Clare Hunt.
“It’s crazy! We’ve were running against each other since we were, like, nine years old, so fast forward 15 years later and we’re playing in a semi-final Champions League. You wouldn’t write about it!”
Some 15 years on Carpenter and the Matildas are not only living the dream, but bringing large numbers of the population with them on the way. The defender is determined that confidence that the team took from last year’s World Cup will ensure that the next stage of that dream will include a medal in Paris.
“When we go home, it’s like another world now, and I think that’s credit to what we achieved as a team. I remember the press conference (against France in the World Cup) and I said ‘If I inspire one boy or one girl, then I’ll be happy’. I think I did that, I think we did that for hundreds of thousands of kids around Australia.”
Ellie Carpenter on the legacy of the Matildas’ home World Cup.
“We always had belief, but actually going out there and finishing fourth in the world just enforced that even more…in our brains, we can compete with the best nations…as a team we know we can.”
Sharn Freier – “Every little detail matters”
Sharn Freier’s status as a Matilda started in the most unexpected of ways – a phone call from her sobbing mum whilst the Brisbane Roar player was trying on clothes in a shop.
“It was not expected,” she admitted. “I was on the reserve list and I was pretty stoked with that. My mum found out first, and she was overwhelmed with emotions…I was trying on an outfit and I missed the call from Mel (Andreatta) and mum called me from work and she was already crying so I knew…she gets very emotional about these things…and she was like, ‘I got an email, I will forward it to you’.
“I was with my partner, so it wasn’t like I was alone…I was trying on an outfit for our (end of) season awards with Brisbane Roar – I haven’t bought one yet, but I was trying one on!”
The way Freier found out she was a Matilda is the latest installment of a fairy tale comeback from an ACL injury two years ago, and she takes up the story.
“At the time my twin sister did her ACL like nine weeks before I did. It was a hard time for both of us. It was good in a way that I had her to lean on…we did our rehab together, and I’ve never really been a big gym person…so it actually opened my eyes up to see just how important those things are.
“It definitely made me a lot stronger, you are stuck in the gym for the majority of the time so it was understanding how important it was…after going back to playing I kinda prioritised the gym just as equally so I could stay at the same level and after that I felt so strong in my knee and good with everything like that, so it was really eye-opening for me.”
That renewed focus on the off-field requirements to be a top player paid dividends with Freier shining in this season’s Brisbane Roar side.
“I got a lot more game time this year, and it really helped me grow as a player..it’s a confidence thing. More game time allows you to have more of yourself on the field. It allowed me to be more free on the field.”
It’s all a long way from Freier’s earliest days playing sport with her sister. “I have a twin, Laini, we’ve always played sport together. We started playing netball actually when we could first join a team, I think we were around five. It didn’t really do it for us though!” she smiled.
“We moved over to football, and my dad said: ‘I’ll give youse some money if you score a goal,’ I think Laini got, like 14, or something crazy and from there there was no more – ‘no-one’s getting any money!’ I haven’t thought about not playing. It’s all I want to do.”
Freier kept developing and four years ago was rewarded by a contract with Brisbane Roar – the culmination of a dream.
“Going into (Brisbane) Roar, I was very nervous, a little bit intimidated to have such big names in the team, but it’s something I learned…they are just so professional and they bring that to the team and they lift the environment and you know what is expected of you. The only way to get better is to keep those standards, and they definitely lead from the front.”
Inspired by those around her in Queensland, the 22-year-old has been rewarded for her career-best form with that first-ever senior Matildas call-up – and she is loving every second of the challenge.
“It’s been good…there’s been a lot of information, adjusting to the way they play…I feel it’s more intense and it’s quite a big step up and I think it’s been challenging, which is a good thing for me. I’ve been learning each session we’ve had and for me to keep improving and be a better player, that’s something I’ll benefit from.”
The key take-away aspects for the midfielder so far? “It’s realising that every little detail matters. Making sure you nail your first touch and your movement because it’s all so fast-paced so you don’t worry about the little things, you concentrate on the bigger things that will help you improve and hopefully bring you into more camps.
“It’s given me more of a drive to be even better…it’s crazy, it’s a good feeling, it pushes you to want to be better…you just know there’s expectations and standards that have to be there…it’s a challenge but it makes you want to be better…obviously it’s overseas, and I’m not used to that, but it’s been welcoming and allowed me to be focussed on what I need to do…it’s fast, it’s intense, there’s a lot of chat, everyone is expected to do well. The environment is something that I’m honoured to join.”
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