Alicia Ferguson in action for Milwall Lionesses in 2013. Photo: Flickr - James Boyes CC BY 2.0.

Alicia Ferguson in action for Millwall Lionesses in 2013. Photo: Flickr - James Boyes CC BY 2.0.

Record TV audiences, consecutive sell-out crowds and increased participation have risen the beloved Matildas to the status of most popular national team in Australia, inspiring the next generation of girls and boys along the way.

The disparity on and off the pitch in women’s football from 30 years ago to now is chalk and cheese, with women’s football now taken seriously in Australia and the rest of the world through serious investment and strategic planning.

Many past Matildas players have set the foundations for a brighter present and future, including former captain and Olympian Alicia “Eesh” Ferguson.

With 66 caps and six goals to her name for the national side, the 42-year-old enjoyed the highs and suffered the lows throughout her 17-year career, drawing similar comparisons to what the current squad in Paris are having to deal with.

Starting out as a forward before discovering her most effective position in the centre of midfield, Ferguson grew into an instrumental performer and leader – someone who her teammates could look up to for inspiration.

Raised in a family who cherished nothing more than the round ball, a career in football was always meant to be.

“I’m the youngest of five kids and my dad is Scottish, so football has always run in our blood,” Ferguson told Round Ball Australia.

“Out on the park in Queensland, I would kick the ball around with my brother who is only a couple of years older than me. I was born in Brisbane but played football in Cairns for around three to four years which is where I started, and from there I became obsessed with it as I began to play against the rest of the boys.

“I would stay up late at night with my family to watch World Cups and the Old Firm derby with half of us being Celtic and the other half Rangers supporters. It’s been in my blood my whole life.”

Due to the privilege of being hosts, the Matildas qualified directly for their maiden Olympic tournament where they would make their debut in front of crowds as high as 33,000 at Sydney Football Stadium.

Minimum wage, less investment, less popularity and limited familiarity on the world stage meant that although Australia was not carrying the pressure to win, they were still holding the expectation of a home crowd.

A different type of pressure haunts this current core of Matildas, with the expectation to now go on and claim a medal after previous defeats in the final stretch.

Reflecting on the pinnacle of her playing days, Ferguson put into words the incredible emotions and pressures felt throughout the Olympics.

“The 2000 Olympics was the highlight of my career and the most incredible experience,” she admitted.

“Being a part of the Matildas’ delegation for last year’s World Cup, I was beyond excited for them because as a professional footballer, you spend so much time away from your family, friends, and loved ones to pursue a dream. To showcase what you do and how much you sacrifice in front of all those people is truly special.

“We automatically qualified in 2000 as the host nation and it was only the second iteration of women’s football at the Olympics.

“It was incredible, but I don’t think we felt too much pressure because we overachieved our full-time program at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) leading up to the 2000 Olympics. I moved to the AIS after my 16th birthday where I completed my schooling, and that system helped us in the development phase.

“The first game we lost convincingly to Germany, in Canberra but put up a terrific fight against Sweden to earn a point. The loss against Brazil was the most frustrating because we were all over them, yet a couple of silly mistakes made us learn that the elite will punish any lapse in concentration.

“Of course, we put pressure on ourselves to make the country and our families proud, but it’s one of those moments that give me goosebumps. The Olympics is a different experience compared to a World Cup.”

Pitted in that tournament’s ‘group of death’ alongside powerhouses Brazil, Germany, and Sweden in 2000 – the current Matildas outfit is set to embark on a similar route as they prepare to face Germany, USA, and Zambia in Group B at Paris 2024.

24 years ago, the Tillies were never expected to topple the elite nations. However, despite accumulating one point out of nine, learning to play against that particular calibre of opposition set the national team up down the line.

“A lot of people forget that only 12 countries qualify for the Olympics and that’s never changed, so it’s inevitable that you get a focal point of the best teams on the planet which means there are no pushovers,” said Ferguson.

“Us going full-time with our program switched us on tactically, mentally and even physically where we would regularly come up against representative boys’ teams, whether it was the ACT or local men’s club teams to increase our intensity, helping to familiarise in a professional environment.

“Before the tournament, our coach Chris Tanzey was a brilliant tactical coach who got us well set up to play against those quality opposition which took us to the next level. That was day in and day out of repetition, analysis and high-intensity training in a high-performance environment that helped us exponentially.

Aside from Mary Fowler to an extent, Tony Gustavsson’s Paris squad seem like they have been around for an eternity because of how young they were exposed to the international scene, in some cases as early as 15 – the same age Ferguson made her Matildas debut.

The Queenslander was called up for the Matildas’ tour of Europe in August 1997, making her first senior appearance for the green and gold in a 4-0 victory against Hungary.

With a new influx of talented young girls bursting onto the scene, Australian football’s improved development program and pathway have the next generation in safe hands.

“A few weeks ago I visited Leah Blayney who is the Australia women’s U20s coach preparing the squad for the U20 World Cup in Colombia next month, and I said to her: ‘You have to be focused on the process, not just the outcome,’ because the process is about being exposed at that high level consistently,” she said.

“The great thing now is the depth is there and already there are many young players who are playing at the highest level domestically or challenging themselves abroad like Daniella Galic for example.

“That’s a lot different to my experience because I was a full-time athlete and still working, but I wasn’t a professional and didn’t move overseas. That aspect will set the players apart from who is going to make it and who aren’t. I found it difficult enough moving away from Brisbane to Canberra when I was 16, so to experience a new language and new culture on top of fighting for places are contrasting pressures to what I experienced.”

While more emphasis on researching women’s anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries is welcomed, the problem is not shying away with star striker Sam Kerr the latest name added to the list.

Technology advancement nowadays has quickened the recovery process, yet it was not the case two decades ago when it took upward of 12 months to fully recuperate – an experience Ferguson endured not once but twice, opening up on those “lonely” moments and what Kerr could potentially be going through.

“That was my second ACL injury in 2009 (W-League semi-final for Brisbane Roar) which was on my left side, and I was devastated because I remember having a great season in the W-League when all of a sudden I hyper-extended my knee and knew it was serious,” Ferguson explained.

“I had previously ruptured my right ACL in 2002 which was more gruelling because the second one I knew I was retiring, but after I ruptured the first one it was like I was waiting to do it again. We talk about their prevalence in modern-day football, and there were a lot of girls I knew back then without the amount of learning who were suffering the same injury.

“It was a lonely existence having to be in the gym by myself completing the boring rehabilitation, which is the moment when I realised I missed being with the team, so not being able to kick a ball is the toughest obstacle from a mental standpoint.

“I was around when Ellie Carpenter did her ACL [in 2021], and sometimes it gives your body a rest to allow yourself time to take a step back and reevaluate what else is going on in life, so the one positive is that players can come back mentally fresher and have had to build up resilience.

“The same applies to Sam who is not only missing out on the Olympics but also had a tough World Cup last year, but they are all setbacks that can bring out the best version of players. It’s how you bounce back from adversity.”

Heartbreaking fourth-placed finishes at the previous Olympics and World Cup tournaments demonstrate the brutal climb to the podium. However, Ferguson is adamant the Matildas’ strengths will come to the fore.

“What the World Cup last year proved to us is that Australia can bounce back from a poor performance really well,” she said.

“The strength of this team at the moment is that there haven’t been too many changes despite a few injury concerns which is the same for every team, but this squad has been together for so long and they understand their roles and responsibilities.

“It will be the same formation with similar tactics and a relatively consistent starting 11, so it becomes automated which is a real positive to carry into this Olympic campaign.”

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