Lisa De Vanna

[Murfy1]

[Luke]

lovely 

[agoalie]

signed Lisa De Vanna from tards on 1 year contract. Article on HS now.

[fidrildid6]

Already got a better marquee than our men's team

[Falastur]

Went looking for info on the de Vanna deal (looks like a great first signing - unfortunately as I'm not an Aussie I know nothing about her though) and came across the following article.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/football/melbourne-city-captures-matildas-captain-lisa-de-vanna-from-cross-town-rival-melbourne-victory/story-fni2wcjl-1227437232153

Note this bit, half-way down:

The English women's season finishes in September and it's understood that as many as three of Manchester City's stars who played for semi-finalists England at the women's World Cup could make their way to Australia for the W-League season, which is likely to kick-off in November.

Would be very interested to see this happen - especially as both of our leagues are so short, and I never felt like they gave the women a proper season of football. Would be fantastic to see Steph Houghton, Lucy Bronze and Toni Duggan (at a guess) running out for Melbourne City on loan.

[n i k o]

Now it makes sense, they were talking about women when they said Man City players would play for Melbourne. Here I was thinking we would get some young gun playing for us in the aleague. 

[NewConvert]

Now it makes sense, they were talking about women when they said Man City players would play for Melbourne. Here I was thinking we would get some young gun playing for us in the aleague. 

At my age, they are still young guns.

[Deeming]

Brilliant signing. My wife's favourite player

[Shahanga]

Brilliant signing. My wife's favourite player

your mrs knows her football. Watching her at the World Cup I learnt 2 things. 1. She's still the best female player in the country.

2.She's a world class finisher.

this is an awesome signing!

[Murfy1]

The full article:

 

Melbourne City captures Matildas captain Lisa De Vanna from cross-town rival Melbourne Victory

 

MATT WINDLEY

JULY 10, 2015 11:00PM

 

 

MELBOURNE City has made its W-League ambitions abundantly clear, audaciously plucking Matildas captain Lisa De Vanna from cross-town rival Melbourne Victory for its inaugural season.

The Herald Sun can reveal De Vanna will play for the Manchester City-owned club after signing a one-year deal on Friday, becoming the first player to join Australia's ninth women's professional club.

Although restrained by a $150,000 salary cap, City is hellbent on exploiting its global network of scouts and contacts to instantly compile a championship-contending squad.

The English women's season finishes in September and it's understood that as many as three of Manchester City's stars who played for semi-finalists England at the women's World Cup could make their way to Australia for the W-League season, which is likely to kick-off in November.

But De Vanna's capture is a massive statement to begin with. The 30-year-old arrived back from Canada last week where she helped the Matildas to a historic World Cup quarterfinal appearance.

In scoring two goals in five games, De Vanna joined Socceroo Tim Cahill as the only Australians to score in three World Cups.

A typically forthright De Vanna said it was "sort of" hard to defect from Victory, but being from Perth initially she said she didn't have the same emotional attachment to the club as a Victorian player would. City women's coach Joe Montemurro — who previously coached De Vanna at Victory — got in touch with the striker earlier in the year to gauge her interest and she said that once she saw the club's facilities at its La Trobe University training base she was sold.

"Straight away I was like, 'this is what all women's clubs need to be like', these facilities are just incredible," De Vanna said. "After the World Cup he came back to me to see if I was still interested and I was.

"City coming in is massive for the sport and it's a good stepping stone for the rest of the W-League because it shows the standard that all teams should have."

 

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/football/melbourne-city-captures-matildas-captain-lisa-de-vanna-from-cross-town-rival-melbourne-victory/story-fni2wcjl-1227437232153

Edited July 11, 2015 by Murfy1

[tomby]

She looks like MrAiDaN66.

[Murfy1]

Official:

 

Melbourne City FC Signs Inaugural W-League Player

 

 

Saturday, 11 July 2015

 

Melbourne City FC is pleased to announce that Matildas co-captain Lisa De Vanna has joined the Club ahead of the 2015/16 Westfield W-League season.

Fresh from leading Australia to a quarter-final berth at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the 30-year-old striker arrives at Melbourne City FC as the Club’s inaugural W-League player.
Widely regarded as one of the world’s best female footballers, De Vanna has enjoyed a successful international career, representing her country in three World Cups and the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.
After registering her 100th international cap in Australia’s opening match of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, De Vanna’s goal in the 3-1 defeat to eventual winners USA saw her become the first Australian female to score at three consecutive World Cups. 

De Vanna enhanced her reputation as one of the world’s best strikers with an exceptional performance at the 2007 World Cup in China, with her four goals earning her a place in the tournament’s All-Star team and a nomination for the 2007 FIFA World Player of the year.
De Vanna received a nomination for the 2013 FIFA Puskas Award following a spectacular bicycle kick for Sky Blues FC in the American National Women’s Soccer League, joining the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Neymar as contenders for the award.
Melbourne City FC W-League coach Joe Montemurro was delighted to secure a player of De Vanna’s stature as the Club continues to prepare for its maiden W-League campaign.
"We are very proud and honoured to have Lisa as our first W-League player," Montemurro said.
"We all know what Lisa has achieved as a Matilda and to have a player of her stature come to Melbourne City FC in its inaugural season is something the whole Club is excited about."

Lisa has played a large part in the rise of women's football in this country and to have her on board means we can build towards creating a competitive side in this year's W-League."
De Vanna said she was relishing the prospect of an exciting new challenge with a developing squad ahead of the W-League season.
“Joe approached me a few months ago about playing for City and he invited me to come and visit the City Football Academy,” De Vanna said.
“After 10 minutes of being there I was sold to the idea of playing for City; it’s a great opportunity and I’m quite honoured to be part of it.”
Melbourne City FC will continue to build its squad ahead of the start of the Westfield W-League 2015/16 season.
 

http://www.melbournecityfc.com.au/article/melbourne-city-fc-signs-inaugural-w-league-player/1qo8y95674va71supz3lns0oek

 

Edited July 11, 2015 by Murfy1

[Dylan]

Great news. De Vanna  is going on the back of my away kit. 

[Murfy1]

De Vanna is a fantastic signing. A real proper statement signing. The captain of the national team, and a widely respected international, a prolific striker, still a good age, and poached from the morons across town. A very good start to building our W-League team.

 

I agree about there being a W-League sub-forum, and we'll hopefully create one in the near future.

[NuggetsMcGreggor]

De Vanna is a fantastic signing. A real proper statement signing. The captain of the national team, and a widely respected international, a prolific striker, still a good age, and poached from the morons across town. A very good start to building our W-League team.

 

I agree about there being a W-League sub-forum, and we'll hopefully create one in the near future.

plagued by long term ankle injury. 30+.

sounds about right

[Murfy1]

plagued by long term ankle injury. 30+.

sounds about right

Is only 30, played all 5 games at the World Cup and scored 2 goals, and played every game bar 1 last W-League season.

 

Will rip up the W-League for Melbourne City next season.

[Ace1234]

Official:

 

Melbourne City FC Signs Inaugural W-League Player

 

 

Saturday, 11 July 2015

 

Melbourne City FC is pleased to announce that Matildas co-captain Lisa De Vanna has joined the Club ahead of the 2015/16 Westfield W-League season.

Fresh from leading Australia to a quarter-final berth at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the 30-year-old striker arrives at Melbourne City FC as the Club’s inaugural W-League player.
Widely regarded as one of the world’s best female footballers, De Vanna has enjoyed a successful international career, representing her country in three World Cups and the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.
After registering her 100th international cap in Australia’s opening match of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, De Vanna’s goal in the 3-1 defeat to eventual winners USA saw her become the first Australian female to score at three consecutive World Cups. 

De Vanna enhanced her reputation as one of the world’s best strikers with an exceptional performance at the 2007 World Cup in China, with her four goals earning her a place in the tournament’s All-Star team and a nomination for the 2007 FIFA World Player of the year.
De Vanna received a nomination for the 2013 FIFA Puskas Award following a spectacular bicycle kick for Sky Blues FC in the American National Women’s Soccer League, joining the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Neymar as contenders for the award.
Melbourne City FC W-League coach Joe Montemurro was delighted to secure a player of De Vanna’s stature as the Club continues to prepare for its maiden W-League campaign.
"We are very proud and honoured to have Lisa as our first W-League player," Montemurro said.
"We all know what Lisa has achieved as a Matilda and to have a player of her stature come to Melbourne City FC in its inaugural season is something the whole Club is excited about."

Lisa has played a large part in the rise of women's football in this country and to have her on board means we can build towards creating a competitive side in this year's W-League."
De Vanna said she was relishing the prospect of an exciting new challenge with a developing squad ahead of the W-League season.
“Joe approached me a few months ago about playing for City and he invited me to come and visit the City Football Academy,” De Vanna said.
“After 10 minutes of being there I was sold to the idea of playing for City; it’s a great opportunity and I’m quite honoured to be part of it.”
Melbourne City FC will continue to build its squad ahead of the start of the Westfield W-League 2015/16 season.
 

http://www.melbournecityfc.com.au/article/melbourne-city-fc-signs-inaugural-w-league-player/1qo8y95674va71supz3lns0oek

 

Very good first signing but thought we would get Melissa Barbieri as our first signing.

[Deeming]

Should take Koren as well. At least he'd be able to play at a level he's suited to.

de Vanna > Koren

[malloy]

Split the Lisa De Vanna posts into a new thread. Seemed silly to only have one thread where everything was being discussed.

[Jimmy]

Am I the only one who is so ignorant that I only learnt this women existed today?

Will make an effort to keep tabs on the W-League now that we have a team though.

[Jun]

Am I the only one who is so ignorant that I only learnt this women existed today?

Will make an effort to keep tabs on the W-League now that we have a team though.

I hope so

[pattyd89]

De Vanna is a better shooter than Williams, Dugandzic and Ramsay combined. I would put her in my starting 11 now for this season's men's campaign! 

[Shahanga]

Am I the only one who is so ignorant that I only learnt this women existed today?

Will make an effort to keep tabs on the W-League now that we have a team though.

I'll save you the you tube search.  AS 'arry Redknapp would no doubt say "the girl is different class".

Puskas nomination for this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuvXaZ8BGzI

World cup goal of the tournament nomination here:

Makes some highly rate seppos appear ordinary here:

Plenty more of that if you look for it.  A class act and only 30.

[Jimmy]

That last one was pretty damn special.

[Murfy1]

Australian soccer captain Lisa De Vanna joins Bundoora United for the remainder of 2015 Women’s Premier League campaign

 

TIM MICHELL

JULY 26, 2015 

 

BUNDOORA United has pulled off the signing of the Women’s Premier League season, securing Matildas World Cup captain Lisa De Vanna for the remainder of the campaign.

The dynamic attacker made her debut off the bench in a 2-0 victory over Casey Comets on Saturday, helping set up Bundoora’s second goal.

United coach Mark Torcaso described De Vanna as the ‘the Ronaldo of women’s football’, adding her presence had given the third-placed outfit a lift.

“She was looking at somewhere to play to get herself ready for her W-League season with Melbourne City,” Torcaso said.

“With the connection through myself, knowing her through Melbourne Victory when I was the goalkeeper coach ... and her playing there.

 

“The contact with Enza Barilla and Louisa Bisby being the Melbourne City team manager, there was just that bit of a connection there.

“She got a couple of pretty big offers from other clubs in the league but decided ... the locality of Bundoora, close to Melbourne City’s training ground at La Trobe Uni, would be the best thing for her.”

The 30-year-old has played more than 100 games for Australia’s national side, scoring 37 goals including two strikes at the recent Women’s World Cup in Canada.

Torcaso said commitments with the Matildas would force De Vanna to miss two rounds of WPL finals, but she could be available if Bundoora reaches the grand final.

“She should play the first week of finals, then she’ll head off to the US for seven days for a couple of practice games,” he said.

“Then, fingers crossed if we make the grand final, she’d be back for the grand final.”

He said the standard of Bundoora’s training had gone to another level since De Vanna linked up with the club.

“What it’s done for our group in the last week of training has just been absolutely unbelievable,” he said.

“A lot of these girls look up to Lisa. She’s like the (Cristiano) Ronaldo of women’s football. 

“To have her on our training track, training with the girls, was the biggest boost.”

Stacey Papadopoulos and Louisa Bisby scored United’s goals in the victory over Casey.

De Vanna could make her starting debut for Bundoora when it tackles Sandringham on Monday, August 3.

 

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/north/australian-soccer-captain-lisa-de-vanna-joins-bundoora-united-for-the-remainder-of-2015-womens-premier-league-campaign/story-fngnvocb-1227457406414

[Kinnibari]

Sounds like her ankle's going ok then.

[Shahanga]

That last one was pretty damn special.

You did see the first one that wasn't embedded?  Nominated for international goal of the year (and not hard to see why).  If Williams could finish like her, we'd have won the league by now.

Anyway this is what she had to say in an interview with the club:

http://www.melbournecityfc.com.au/video/inaugural-w-league-signing-lisa-de-vanna---interview-part-1/1296132

http://www.melbournecityfc.com.au/video/inaugural-w-league-signing-lisa-de-vanna---interview-part-2/1296910

 

[Kinnibari]

In part 2 she talks about the 'core group of players that we have' but gives no other details. I wish we knew more about the other players we have presumably signed! 

[jw1739]

In part 2 she talks about the 'core group of players that we have' but gives no other details. I wish we knew more about the other players we have presumably signed! 

Yeah, would be nice, wouldn't it? We could do the same with the A-League squad too...But hey, got to get your priorities right - we've joined "Snapchat."

[Dylan]

There was one vote for continuing the tour of the USA and it was DeVanna who wanted the trip to go ahead.

[Luke]

Shes seen through their bullshit 

[bt50]

Already BT's favourite player

[Murfy1]

2015 newsmaker – Lisa De Vanna: I've done a lot of changing and soul-searching

 

Mike Hytner

23 December 2015

 

Often labelled the bad girl of Australian women’s football, the Matildas star moved on from her past and enjoyed a hugely rewarding 2015

By her own admission, Lisa de Vanna was not an obvious choice to be one of two women to lead her country at a major international tournament.

But earlier this year, the Matildas’ coach, Alen Stajcic, had the foresight to look beyond the veteran striker’s reputation as a difficult character with a history of insubordinate behaviour and instead focused on a player whose passion for the game and her country, not to mention ample amounts of skill, could inspire others around her.

Two Australia players named in Women's World Cup All-Star squad

De Vanna, with Clare Polkinghorne, were handed the captaincy of the Australian team before the 2015 edition of the Women’s World Cup; they, and the women’s game, never looked back.

The Matildas staged a glorious, thrilling run to the quarter-finals in Canada – the first time an Australian football side, men’s or women’s, has gone so far at a World Cup – along the way captivating a nation which had previously, generally speaking, yet to be entirely convinced of the merits of the women’s game.

Post-tournament, some doubters remain but the outlook for women’s football in Australia has never been rosier, with no little thanks to De Vanna.

“I definitely did not expect to be co-captain,” De Vanna tells Guardian Australia, as a remarkable year for her and her team-mates draws to a close. “When the coach told me I actually cried. Obviously I’m not the ideal captain given my past, but I did a lot of changing and a lot of soul-searching.”

De Vanna admits she “didn’t go through the right channels” in her life and the well-documented difficulties of a tough upbringing in Perth could easily have seen her stray down the wrong path. As it was, her love of football – and the support of good friends and family – ensured she went down the right track, which first led her to Adelaide at a young age and then to Melbourne.

Yet the firebrand character she forged in Fremantle stayed with her. Stories of fluctuating interest levels in the game, occasional failures to show for training and the disruptive behaviour that led to her expulsion from a Matildas’ training camp before the 2011 World Cup are proof that “bad Lisa” could at any time pop up to overshadow the achievements of “good Lisa”.

Now, at the end of 2015, there is a whole lot more of the latter incarnation to enjoy. De Vanna insists she has come a long way since those unpredictable days; she says she is a different character, that she has been on a journey of change. And there is no doubting the significance of the decision Stajcic made in the creation of the De Vanna we see today.

“When you’re given a big role like that, that’s a big belief,” she says. “It changed me completely, what I do – on the field, off the field, how I talk to people, how I approach things. You’ve been given such a big honour. Not many people get to captain the team, a successful team. Obviously there was a lot of pressure. You don’t want to be the captain who didn’t lead their team to victory. You get the highs and lows of it but the fact he gave me so much belief and put trust in me and Clare as co-captains meant a lot.”

Even so, De Vanna doesn’t rate being handed the Australian armband as the defining moment of what has been a remarkable past 12 months for her, a stark indication of exactly how much she achieved in 2015. Not only did she captain her country and lead the Matildas to the quarter-finals in Canada, she also made the tournament’s All-Star team, won a 100th international cap, scored against the world champions, secured a transfer to Melbourne City and subsequently helped her new club go the entire W-League season to date unbeaten.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the single-minded focus and dedication to a team ethic that has been the bedrock on which her success has been built throughout the year, De Vanna has no doubts in her mind about her proudest achievement. “The Brazil game,” she says, without flinching. “And how it changed women’s football in Australia.”

She is, of course, referring to the last 16 World Cup match in June, whichAustralia won 1-0 to book a place in the quarters. If the Matildas had flown under the radar before that match against one of the best teams in the world – settled by Kyah Simon’s late winner, slotted home after De Vanna’s shot had been fumbled by the Brazilian keeper – there was no ignoring them afterwards.

The result in Moncton was the first time an Australian team had won a knockout phase game at a World Cup and gave Australia their first ever tournament win over the football-mad South American nation. It was a genuine watershed moment for women’s football in Australia.

The significance of the victory was not lost on De Vanna at the time, although typically she was already thinking of taking the next step. “I had an idea [of what it meant], but I didn’t get caught up in the moment because I knew that if we went one step further to a semi-final position it would have just been massive back home.”

It wasn’t to be. Reigning champions Japan lay in wait in the quarter-finals and the Matildas were sent packing. Nevertheless, the impact of their run in Canada was already being felt back in Australia. The profile of women’s football had never been more prominent and off the back of the Matildas’ success the lobby for increased pay more commensurate with a full-time job gained momentum.

It was a debate that would rage for much of the remainder of the year, and one which De Vanna became embroiled in after the Matildas effectively went on strike as talks between Professional Footballers Australia, the players union, and FFA stalled over a new collective bargaining agreement. A planned tour to the US was cancelled, but De Vanna’s deep-seated love of playing for her country stopped her from joining the picket line.

The issue was potentially divisive enough to have wrecked many dressing rooms, but when De Vanna met up with her team-mates on subsequent tours to China and South Korea, once the boycott had ended and an interim deal had been agreed, there were no hard feelings. “The girls know exactly what I’m about,” says De Vanna. “I always want to play for my country, that’s a big thing for me. So do they. I understand where they were coming from, and they understand where I was coming from.

“What they did and what they fight for shows what sort of characters they are and what type of personality they have on the field as well. There was no [bad blood] once it was addressed. These issues needed to be addressed, it was such a big issue. Once they heard my side of the story, they understood where I came from.

“I’m 31 years old. I don’t know when my last game’s going to be. I always want to play for my country, so it was hard for me because I’m always up for a challenge and wanted to play against the best team in the world. The girls wanted to [as well], but at the same time they felt they needed to make a stand and I support them and they support me and it was just a miscommunication at the time.”

De Vanna did, at least, get to face the much-vaunted US team earlier in the year, in the Matildas’ opening group stage game at the World Cup. It was a landmark moment for De Vanna – she reached a century of appearances for her country – and she got her name on the scoresheet, but the result, a 3-1 defeat, meant the occasion was disappointingly bittersweet.

“It would have been the icing on the cake to beat the US on your 100th cap, but it wasn’t the fairytale ending I wanted,” she says. “But the performance for about 60 minutes was world class. I had mixed emotions when I got off the field but the messages and support from fans was overwhelming. It was great but it was also a bit disappointing because we played so well against the US but didn’t get the outcome we wanted.”

Listening to De Vanna, her passion for the game is abundantly clear. She simply loves playing football – it’s been coursing through her veins since she was a kid kicking a ball about with her brothers on the streets of Fremantle and has remained with her ever since, on a nine-year journey that has taken her to 13 club sides on three continents. The latest stop on her travels is Melbourne City, the W-League newcomers for whom De Vanna signed post-World Cup from Melbourne Victory.

City may be the new kids on the block, but the impact the club has made on the W-League in their short existence has been phenomenal. De Vanna, who stayed loyal to coach John Montemurro in following him across town from Victory, has never seen a more professional outfit in all her time in the game. Thoroughly impressive off the pitch, the club’s class is showing in results on the field – City have won every one of their nine games this season, scoring 31 and conceding just three. They sit pretty atop the ladder and a maiden title in their debut season appears to be a formality.

Yet the club’s early dominance of the competition has, curiously, attracted criticism from some quarters and there have been suggestions City’s financial clout and unprecedented recruitment drive during the off-season will ultimately prove detrimental to the league.

It’s not a view De Vanna subscribes to. “This is where I’m a little bit confused,” she says. “We complain that we want more money, better facilities and to be treated like a professional, but we complain when a team does that. For me, they’ve done the right thing, they’ve looked after us. It’s time for other clubs to step up and do what City does if things are to change and grow.”

It’s difficult to imagine how an athlete who has achieved so much during one calendar year could possibly improve in the next, but in all likelihood De Vanna, who says she never entertains complacency and always strives for more, will be adding a third W-League title to her palmarès early in the new year. Beyond that, an arduous qualification campaign for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games awaits.

The Matildas must play five matches in 10 days, including clashes against Japan and North Korea, and come in the top two of the six-team round-robin tournament in Osaka if they are to make it to Rio, which unlike the men’s tournament is open-age and considered on a par with the World Cup. It’s a tough assignment, and one that, typically, is all-consuming for the patriotic De Vanna.

“Qualifying for the Olympics is the only thing I can think of at the moment,” she admits. “I’m telling you now, if we qualify for the Olympics, we’ll come home with a medal. No federation has to go through what we’re going through, with the teams we’re playing with only two spots.

“I’ll make sure we come back with a medal.”

 

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/dec/23/2015-newsmaker-lisa-de-vanna-ive-done-a-lot-of-changing-and-soul-searching

[Kinnibari]

Great interview. I really like De Vanna, very pleased she's playing for us.

[Dylan]

On 23/12/2015 at 6:27 PM, Murfy1 said:

2015 newsmaker – Lisa De Vanna: I've done a lot of changing and soul-searching

 

Mike Hytner

23 December 2015

 

Often labelled the bad girl of Australian women’s football, the Matildas star moved on from her past and enjoyed a hugely rewarding 2015

By her own admission, Lisa de Vanna was not an obvious choice to be one of two women to lead her country at a major international tournament.

But earlier this year, the Matildas’ coach, Alen Stajcic, had the foresight to look beyond the veteran striker’s reputation as a difficult character with a history of insubordinate behaviour and instead focused on a player whose passion for the game and her country, not to mention ample amounts of skill, could inspire others around her.

 

Two Australia players named in Women's World Cup All-Star squad

De Vanna, with Clare Polkinghorne, were handed the captaincy of the Australian team before the 2015 edition of the Women’s World Cup; they, and the women’s game, never looked back.

The Matildas staged a glorious, thrilling run to the quarter-finals in Canada – the first time an Australian football side, men’s or women’s, has gone so far at a World Cup – along the way captivating a nation which had previously, generally speaking, yet to be entirely convinced of the merits of the women’s game.

Post-tournament, some doubters remain but the outlook for women’s football in Australia has never been rosier, with no little thanks to De Vanna.

“I definitely did not expect to be co-captain,” De Vanna tells Guardian Australia, as a remarkable year for her and her team-mates draws to a close. “When the coach told me I actually cried. Obviously I’m not the ideal captain given my past, but I did a lot of changing and a lot of soul-searching.”

De Vanna admits she “didn’t go through the right channels” in her life and the well-documented difficulties of a tough upbringing in Perth could easily have seen her stray down the wrong path. As it was, her love of football – and the support of good friends and family – ensured she went down the right track, which first led her to Adelaide at a young age and then to Melbourne.

Yet the firebrand character she forged in Fremantle stayed with her. Stories of fluctuating interest levels in the game, occasional failures to show for training and the disruptive behaviour that led to her expulsion from a Matildas’ training camp before the 2011 World Cup are proof that “bad Lisa” could at any time pop up to overshadow the achievements of “good Lisa”.

Now, at the end of 2015, there is a whole lot more of the latter incarnation to enjoy. De Vanna insists she has come a long way since those unpredictable days; she says she is a different character, that she has been on a journey of change. And there is no doubting the significance of the decision Stajcic made in the creation of the De Vanna we see today.

“When you’re given a big role like that, that’s a big belief,” she says. “It changed me completely, what I do – on the field, off the field, how I talk to people, how I approach things. You’ve been given such a big honour. Not many people get to captain the team, a successful team. Obviously there was a lot of pressure. You don’t want to be the captain who didn’t lead their team to victory. You get the highs and lows of it but the fact he gave me so much belief and put trust in me and Clare as co-captains meant a lot.”

Even so, De Vanna doesn’t rate being handed the Australian armband as the defining moment of what has been a remarkable past 12 months for her, a stark indication of exactly how much she achieved in 2015. Not only did she captain her country and lead the Matildas to the quarter-finals in Canada, she also made the tournament’s All-Star team, won a 100th international cap, scored against the world champions, secured a transfer to Melbourne City and subsequently helped her new club go the entire W-League season to date unbeaten.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the single-minded focus and dedication to a team ethic that has been the bedrock on which her success has been built throughout the year, De Vanna has no doubts in her mind about her proudest achievement. “The Brazil game,” she says, without flinching. “And how it changed women’s football in Australia.”

She is, of course, referring to the last 16 World Cup match in June, whichAustralia won 1-0 to book a place in the quarters. If the Matildas had flown under the radar before that match against one of the best teams in the world – settled by Kyah Simon’s late winner, slotted home after De Vanna’s shot had been fumbled by the Brazilian keeper – there was no ignoring them afterwards.

The result in Moncton was the first time an Australian team had won a knockout phase game at a World Cup and gave Australia their first ever tournament win over the football-mad South American nation. It was a genuine watershed moment for women’s football in Australia.

The significance of the victory was not lost on De Vanna at the time, although typically she was already thinking of taking the next step. “I had an idea [of what it meant], but I didn’t get caught up in the moment because I knew that if we went one step further to a semi-final position it would have just been massive back home.”

It wasn’t to be. Reigning champions Japan lay in wait in the quarter-finals and the Matildas were sent packing. Nevertheless, the impact of their run in Canada was already being felt back in Australia. The profile of women’s football had never been more prominent and off the back of the Matildas’ success the lobby for increased pay more commensurate with a full-time job gained momentum.

It was a debate that would rage for much of the remainder of the year, and one which De Vanna became embroiled in after the Matildas effectively went on strike as talks between Professional Footballers Australia, the players union, and FFA stalled over a new collective bargaining agreement. A planned tour to the US was cancelled, but De Vanna’s deep-seated love of playing for her country stopped her from joining the picket line.

The issue was potentially divisive enough to have wrecked many dressing rooms, but when De Vanna met up with her team-mates on subsequent tours to China and South Korea, once the boycott had ended and an interim deal had been agreed, there were no hard feelings. “The girls know exactly what I’m about,” says De Vanna. “I always want to play for my country, that’s a big thing for me. So do they. I understand where they were coming from, and they understand where I was coming from.

“What they did and what they fight for shows what sort of characters they are and what type of personality they have on the field as well. There was no [bad blood] once it was addressed. These issues needed to be addressed, it was such a big issue. Once they heard my side of the story, they understood where I came from.

“I’m 31 years old. I don’t know when my last game’s going to be. I always want to play for my country, so it was hard for me because I’m always up for a challenge and wanted to play against the best team in the world. The girls wanted to [as well], but at the same time they felt they needed to make a stand and I support them and they support me and it was just a miscommunication at the time.”

De Vanna did, at least, get to face the much-vaunted US team earlier in the year, in the Matildas’ opening group stage game at the World Cup. It was a landmark moment for De Vanna – she reached a century of appearances for her country – and she got her name on the scoresheet, but the result, a 3-1 defeat, meant the occasion was disappointingly bittersweet.

“It would have been the icing on the cake to beat the US on your 100th cap, but it wasn’t the fairytale ending I wanted,” she says. “But the performance for about 60 minutes was world class. I had mixed emotions when I got off the field but the messages and support from fans was overwhelming. It was great but it was also a bit disappointing because we played so well against the US but didn’t get the outcome we wanted.”

Listening to De Vanna, her passion for the game is abundantly clear. She simply loves playing football – it’s been coursing through her veins since she was a kid kicking a ball about with her brothers on the streets of Fremantle and has remained with her ever since, on a nine-year journey that has taken her to 13 club sides on three continents. The latest stop on her travels is Melbourne City, the W-League newcomers for whom De Vanna signed post-World Cup from Melbourne Victory.

City may be the new kids on the block, but the impact the club has made on the W-League in their short existence has been phenomenal. De Vanna, who stayed loyal to coach John Montemurro in following him across town from Victory, has never seen a more professional outfit in all her time in the game. Thoroughly impressive off the pitch, the club’s class is showing in results on the field – City have won every one of their nine games this season, scoring 31 and conceding just three. They sit pretty atop the ladder and a maiden title in their debut season appears to be a formality.

Yet the club’s early dominance of the competition has, curiously, attracted criticism from some quarters and there have been suggestions City’s financial clout and unprecedented recruitment drive during the off-season will ultimately prove detrimental to the league.

It’s not a view De Vanna subscribes to. “This is where I’m a little bit confused,” she says. “We complain that we want more money, better facilities and to be treated like a professional, but we complain when a team does that. For me, they’ve done the right thing, they’ve looked after us. It’s time for other clubs to step up and do what City does if things are to change and grow.”

It’s difficult to imagine how an athlete who has achieved so much during one calendar year could possibly improve in the next, but in all likelihood De Vanna, who says she never entertains complacency and always strives for more, will be adding a third W-League title to her palmarès early in the new year. Beyond that, an arduous qualification campaign for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games awaits.

The Matildas must play five matches in 10 days, including clashes against Japan and North Korea, and come in the top two of the six-team round-robin tournament in Osaka if they are to make it to Rio, which unlike the men’s tournament is open-age and considered on a par with the World Cup. It’s a tough assignment, and one that, typically, is all-consuming for the patriotic De Vanna.

“Qualifying for the Olympics is the only thing I can think of at the moment,” she admits. “I’m telling you now, if we qualify for the Olympics, we’ll come home with a medal. No federation has to go through what we’re going through, with the teams we’re playing with only two spots.

“I’ll make sure we come back with a medal.”

 

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/dec/23/2015-newsmaker-lisa-de-vanna-ive-done-a-lot-of-changing-and-soul-searching

Fuck this girl is great

[Kinnibari]

De Vanna out of today's game with injury, should be back for the final game of the regular season, according to her twitter.

[hyperfuzz]

she didn't park in a car spot today. no respect for the marked areas.

[Murfy1]

Lisa de Vanna on Melbourne City’s W-League dominance

 

By Lisa De Vanna

Source: The Women’s Game

21 Jan 2016

 

When Joe [coach Joe Montemurro] approached me in March discussing do you want to come and play for City, I told him these are the key players that I want. And obviously Jess Fishlock was someone that I respect and think is one of the best midfielders in the world and has so much knowledge to bring to the game.

We sort of put down a backbone of defender, midfielder and a striker, so we work on that and see if we can build some young players as well. The big key for me was the cohesion and characters in the team because you can have the best players in the world but it’s not necessarily going to win you games. You need players that want to win and want to work because you can be 1-nil down and they’re the ones that have got the heart to fight back.

We’ve got the facilities, we’ve got the environment, we’ve got everything that we want, now it’s up to us. And yeah, sometimes it can be a bit challenging because teams are a bit intimidated by the way we play and the players we have, but it’ all about growing and challenging ourselves and not being complacent. And sometimes we find that complacency in ourselves which isn’t a good thing because we need to be ruthless all the time and expect better from each other because that’s the only way we’re going to grow.

We’re doing pretty well but every game’s different and, like I said, it can take one goal and teams can defend or anything could happen, so we just take one game at a time. 

This is an excerpt of the following interview with Lisa de Vanna. Courtesy of The Women's Game. 

 

http://www.sbs.com.au/topics/life/zela/article/2016/01/21/lisa-de-vanna-melbourne-citys-w-league-dominance?cid=cxenseab_a

 

 

Lisa De Vanna opens up about the captaincy, the Matildas’ strike and the Olympics

 

By Lisa De Vanna

 Source: The Women's Game

22 Jan 2016

 

 

We can always count on Lisa de Vanna to be candid! And this interview does not disappoint...

 

2015’s stand out moment

Well obviously a lot of people would say the World Cup, but for me it was the process of the World Cup. Six months together and a lot of soul-searching and a lot of team bonding. A unity stands out the most. It was a life-changer for me personally to see it all displayed at the World Cup.

The key to Australia’s World Cup success

I think obviously we were a good side, with a lot of young players.

When we got to the World Cup I think a lot of it was we learnt more about what it means to go out and play for your country and learn more about yourself and about doing it for yourself. To go out and display the way that we did every individual found that ability in themselves to go out and perform. That was the biggest thing for me to see out of that last twelve months.

I’ve been in the team for a very long time and the belief and the aura and the unity in this team this year was different to the other years.  We felt that we can take any team. And to have that in the whole team instead of relying on three or four players that we have in the past, it was a moment for me. I’ve always felt there were always a couple of players I had to rely on, but everyone dug in and everyone played a special part in the success, and obviously the outcome back at home with people wanting to know about the Matildas was all based on our performance.

That first game against the USA, eventual world champions, leading the team out as captain

Yeah, it was an amazing experience.

Obviously to captain my team especially playing the US on my hundredth cap was probably one of the highlights of my career, but as you walk into the stadium you don’t think about anything else but your role and your job.

And for me, walking into the change room, to see everyone’s jersey up and the armband there, I thought, “Wow, this is real life, this is what I’ve prepared for my whole life”. And not only am I doing it with potentially the best group of youth players coming through Australia, but to be the captain of it, it was an amazing experience. As we were lining up and everyone was focused, and we lined up to walk out to the national anthem, for about it felt like two minutes but it was probably about ten seconds, it just felt like an out-of-body experience.

I’m looking at myself and looking at the team and looking at the crowd and thinking, “Wow, I can’t believe I’m actually doing this”. Because it’s the biggest honour and the greatest achievement to lead your country out, especially against a nation like the USA, and obviously having Abby Wambach there, who I’ve played with for many years and who I look up to. I’m standing next to an icon. The national anthem just felt a bit different, the vibe felt a bit different, and to have friends and family and everyone around the world watch this game, it was just … I can’t explain that feeling, it’s a cherished moment for me.

Becoming the Matildas captain in a surprise move

Yeah, I’m in the same boat as everyone else, I was a little bit surprised. I never thought in a million years that this would ever happen to me, obviously because of my reputation. But I’ve played for a very long time and I have a lot of experience and if you speak to anyone they know how much playing for my country means to me.

The key for me was having a co-captain in Clare [Polkinghorne]. I’ve played with great leaders and I don’t have the full package. I wasn’t a born leader, but I’m a born winner and I think sometimes that’s what you need. I’ve learnt a little bit from everyone and I’ve played with Abby and learnt things from her, Cheryl Salisbury taught me some things. When you have players like Jess Fishlock and Sonia Bompastor, who are similar and passionate and driven, you just get that instilled in you. it’s what you want to be as a player and you lead that out. When

When Staj told me I actually, literally cried. I was in tears because I’m thinking is this a joke? I was waiting for someone to come out and go, “I got you, tricked you!”. I had flashbacks to the last ten years of my life and thought, I’m going to do what I can to lead this country to the most successful ever because I’m so driven to success with the team.

The LDV captaincy style

To be honest, there are some things I need to work on. I’m not the full package. There are a couple of players that are not quite there yet but do have the full package. I’m a different character to a lot of players, a lot of people, so I don’t know.

I think it’s about my success and how I play and how hungry I am on the field. I’m more of a leader on the field than off the field. I think Polks has that communication stuff. I learn from how she speaks to players. She’s a true leader in the off-field stuff, as well as on-field but mostly off-field. I learn a lot from her, so it’s a good balance and I think I like that balance where I don’t have the full responsibility of doing both on and off the field, because the reality is that’s not my greatest strength.

At the end of the day, I know it’s just an armband but it’s a big thing to me because I love playing for my country that much. To lead these girls out there just makes me a different person, makes me a different player. I’m constantly thinking about the team and my behaviour and how it affects the team or how my lifestyle out of football could affect the team because it just means so much to me.

The love of playing for Australia

Staj [coach Alen Stajic] and I have that same driven love for our country and we’re probably be the ones that kiss our jersey every night and sleep with our jerseys because we’re just such proud people.

But I think getting out of my comfort zone, like we did with team bonding stuff, meant that the girls could hear me talk about my country or talk about football, and they could see it in my eyes. They could feel it. I actually connect with them when I talk about it because I speak from the heart.

I think Staj saw that and thought, “You know what, she’s got experience, she’s driven, she’s not as crazy as everyone makes her out to be” and that I could lead the country to something great. I think that was his reason because there are a lot of good leaders in the team who in a few years’ time will be fantastic captains for the Matildas. So it’s a great journey for me at the moment.

The strike controversy & taking a different line to the rest of the team

That issue was probably a little bit of a misunderstanding.

Obviously, I totally agree with what the girls fight for and obviously they’re very passionate in what they want to do. I support them a hundred percent, but it comes to that sort of in-between. It’s instilled in me that my country always comes first. For me I felt that I couldn’t walk away from that because it goes with my integrity and what I believe in. I knew exactly what the outcome would be. It would probably put me in a situation where I’d have to explain myself, which I did. And at the end that’s all it was, I had to explain to them. They understand where I’m coming from and I get where they’re coming from.  It was how I felt because I come from Fremantle, I come from Perth.

I’ve come from a different channel where that shirt is what got me to where I am now. It’s gotten me out of things where I could have gone down a bad path. It was always that shirt that kept me level-headed and kept me focused. I promised myself that that jersey comes first. 

So as a player, as a person and as something that I believe in, I just couldn’t say no to playing for my country, even though I knew the reason behind what they wanted to do and I support that one hundred percent. Because if anyone has seen how hard these girls worked in the last six months, they deserve more than what we’re getting now. 

Team unity and the Olympic qualifiers ahead

Look, it was a bit rocky afterwards as it should be. There were a lot of people heartbroken from the whole situation. I was a little bit hurt and they were a little bit hurt, the staff were a little bit hurt. Because that six months we spent together we were family, you know? The coaching staff - we were each other’s family. 

There was a little bit of disharmony in the beginning, everyone was a little bit hurt and that takes a bit of time to heal.

On the China tour you saw it on the field a little bit. We didn’t have that cohesion that we did at the World Cup. That took time, but we’ve built on that. So obviously I had a little bit of a chat to the girls and slowly now we’re getting back to things and everyone’s happy, everyone’s focused, and I’m very confident that when February comes we’re going to take it to all the Asian teams.

Lessons from a playing around the world in 2015

I think about these things all the time: what have I done as a player, as a leader, as a person to make an impact on the young girls in football or just in general? It’s a tough one because I don’t really have an answer.

When I look back at the last twelve months I just think of the hard work we put in, it’s something that we’ve never done before. Every player dug in, they found that player inside them that wanted to go out and be so successful and the outcome of women’s football changed. And that’s all I want. To leave a legacy and for more girls to look up to us, not just, “Oh, play women’s football because you can travel” but actually, “You know what, I want to play because I want to be the best player and impact the world as much as I can”. So to me, when I look back, it’s the World Cup and how much it changed women’s football in Australia.

The future

It goes up and down. I have this discussion with Staj and it comes down to obviously the body. As long as the body’s good, how long I can keep up with the game? I don’t want to leave when I’m not good enough. I want to leave on my terms where I can walk away from the game and go, “You know what, I’m still good enough to walk away, then be kicked off the team because I wasn’t good enough.” 

This interview with Lisa de Vanna was recorded by The Women's Game.

 

http://www.sbs.com.au/topics/life/zela/article/2016/01/20/lisa-de-vanna-opens-about-captaincy-matildas-strike-and-olympics

[Kinnibari]

It's funny that they started in March, but we were getting so confused as the season got closer and closer and there were no player announcements and we had no idea what the team would look like.

Of course I also found out yesterday that the period to sign w-league contracts for the season only opens a few weeks beforehand so you can only make planned arrangements beforehand, which is bizarre.

[Shahanga]

11 hours ago, Kinnibari said:

It's funny that they started in March, but we were getting so confused as the season got closer and closer and there were no player announcements and we had no idea what the team would look like.

Of course I also found out yesterday that the period to sign w-league contracts for the season only opens a few weeks beforehand so you can only make planned arrangements beforehand, which is bizarre.

I loved the passion De Vanna showed in that interview.

In regards to the W League contracts, does that also mean you can't sign multi year deals?

Very strange.