When the Matildas won their first major international trophy at the 2010 AFC Women’s Asian Cup, the significance of that moment had not occurred to most of Australia.
Not only had the women’s football team made history as the first Australian national team to win an AFC title, securing their qualification into the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup – but it was a moment the nation is yet to relive.
Melissa Barbieri was the Matildas’ captain at the time.
She still remembers what it was like when the team – including players like Sam Kerr, Sarah Walsh and Kyah Simon – returned home after winning big for Australia.
“We basically arrived to one [photographer] in the international arrivals hall,” says Barbieri.
A lot has changed since then.
And when Australia hosts the upcoming AFC Women’s Asian Cup in 2026, there will be a lot more than one photographer.
From Joe Montemurro taking on as coach to Kerr having a baby, the Matildas make headlines on the regular these days.
Barbieri, now 45 and still playing for the team, says a tipping point for women’s football in 2023 has accelerated the momentum she and many others worked so hard over the years to see.
“Now, I’m sure if the Matildas do well in this Asia Cup, we’re gonna have a lot more people at every game,” she says.
It’s a dream come true for teammates like forward Kyah Simon who has wanted to represent Australia in sport since she first saw Cathy Freeman at the Sydney Olympics.
“That really inspired me,” she says.
“I was able to see a strong, powerful black woman represent her country and do her country proud on the world stage, and that resonated with me massively.”
Today, Simon has joined the ranks of Indigenous athletes breaking new ground for Australia.
At the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Simon scored both of Australia’s goals in a 2-1 win over Norway which qualified the Matildas for the quarter finals – while also making her the first Indigenous Australian footballer, male or female, to score at a World Cup tournament.
It was one of the most memorable moments of her career aside from her debut game.
“It was 2008 in America, I was 16 at the time, it was a real pinch me moment,” Simon says.
“And definitely the 2010 Asian Cup, lifting the trophy, I don’t think I realised the enormity of it at the time.
“I have such vivid memories of [these moments] that set me on a path to be able to have the longevity in my career and I’m proud to have been in the team for the last 17 years or so.”
All of this has come with an immense amount of grit to get past injuries and dark times along the way.
“Having a strong mind has definitely kept me in the game,” she says.
“I wouldn’t still be playing if I didn’t have that level of mental toughness to want to keep playing.
“Considering all the dark and tough times that I’ve gone through, the fact that I want to keep coming back for more is a pretty good sign that I’m in it for the right reasons, and that my love and passion for the game is still very much there and burning at 33.”
Australia is watching now
These days it’s difficult to get a seat for a Matildas match with even live screenings drawing massive crowds around the country.
For players like Barbieri who signed up at a time when the future of women’s football didn’t look as bright, it brings tears to think about how far things have come.
When she became pregnant in 2013, she says the sentiment at the time was that her career was over.
“I was taken out of the squad,” she says.
“I wasn’t given any resources. I wasn’t given any doctor monitoring or any programs.”
But Barbieri, whose passion for football saw her become the first woman to play in the semi-professional’s men’s league, was never going to let what others think stop her.
In fact, she was so driven to prove that women could have athletic careers after becoming mums, she ended up playing so well she scored the W-League Goal Keeper of the Year award – seven months after giving birth to her daughter.
“I knew that for all the hardships that I had, that I had to continue because if I didn’t, I would have so many regrets,” she says.
“And for me, personally, I got to showcase to all the people who told me that I couldn’t do it because I was a mum, I showed them that they can.
“And I love it when somebody comes up to me and thinks I can’t believe you’re a mum and you do all this, and all the girls that are 16 in my team and their mom is the same age as me, and they look at me and think ‘wow, I don’t know how you do it, my mum’s the same age’ and I just love being able to inspire that.
“Women can do it.
“It doesn’t matter what age, if you have children, if you don’t want children, you’re all valid in your own special and unique way.”
Thanks to players like Barbieri, the football world has realised that parenthood doesn’t kill an athlete’s career.
“When Katrina Gorry [aka Mini] was pregnant with her child [in 2020], she was able to not only continue on her Matildas’ contract but she was helped to return,” says Barbieri.
“Each and every mother is different but I think the provisions now are huge and broadcast.
“Tameka Yollop and Mini have so many sponsorships now just because they’re mums.”
The 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup will be hosted in Australia next March with some of the region’s best teams battling it out on homeground.
And this time when their boots hit the pitch, the Matildas know Australia will be watching.
Reflecting on their journey, the Matildas share a piece of advice for other athletes coming through the ranks.
“The biggest thing is to have belief in yourself, to grow that confidence and work hard – you can have all the support around you, but it really needs to come from within: that drive, desire, and belief … not being afraid to fail but really going after it,” says Simon.
“Don’t let success go to your head or failure go to your heart,” says Barbieri.
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