Four World Cups, one Olympic Games, three Asian Cups and a career spanning a quarter of a century and counting: Melissa Barbieri’s esteemed record speaks for itself.
But nine years ago, after giving birth to daughter Holly, the veteran goalkeeper felt the external expectation was that motherhood would curtail her playing days.
Fat chance.
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“When I had Holly, the overwhelming perception (was) women don’t come back and play because not many people had done it,” Barbieri says.
The 42-year-old speaks to A-Leagues All Access; she’s the central character in this week’s episode of the ground-breaking docuseries: Don’t Look Back.
“There weren’t many who did it before me,” Barbieri continues.
“People were telling it to my face: women don’t come back from having a baby and play. It should be a choice, and it should be up to you.
“I certainly didn’t want to allow people to dictate to me what I could and couldn’t do with my body. That’s such a nasty perception to have.”
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Today, her daughter Holly is nine, and Barbieri is in the early stages of the 26th year of her football career. Her longevity in the game comes down to multiple factors, including “juggling family life with football, with a lot of support.”
“My husband and I, we’re a team,” Barbieri says. “Who can take (Holly) to school, who can drop her off, do we need after (school) care?” These are the questions Barbieri answers each day in order to achieve what few expected of her almost a decade ago: balance the life of a parent with that of a professional footballer.
Today, Barbieri plies her trade at Liberty A-League powerhouse Melbourne City FC. She’s in the grips of a healthy, competitive battle to be the club’s No.1; joining her in that battle is Young Matildas star Sally James, one of the nation’s most exciting young prospects touted to become a key contributor for the senior Matildas side.
Looking at the likes of Matildas goalkeepers Mackenzie Arnold, Lydia Williams and Teagan Micah, who all play at top clubs around Europe, James can see a career pathway to follow: star in the Liberty A-League, break into the senior Matildas squad, and eventually, blaze a trail of her own overseas.
But for now it’s day in, day out on the training track at City where James is honing her craft – and she’s doing so alongside Barbieri, one of the most experienced shot-stoppers in the Australian game, who captained her nation to Asian Cup glory in 2010.
Barbieri remembers those times vividly, and the changes which have occurred since to benefit the next generation of young Australian talent in which James is a key figure.
“We were role models before the brand ‘Matildas’ came along,” Barbieri says. “We talk about the million-dollar contracts that the players are on now – and I wholeheartedly believe we should be on those contracts – but it certainly was a different landscape when I was going through the national team.
“Many of us were on the dole, or working as part-time baristas or in the servo, doing what we can to make ends meet. I recognise the struggle that we went through, and I’m humbled by the fact those years shaped me as a person .”
Barbieri continues: “You get treated differently as a goalkeeper. Like a leper. Everybody hates goalkeepers because we tend to make a lot of mistakes. We are a team. That’s why we call it the goalkeeper union.
“The balance of being a good goalkeeper and a good teammate (is) ou’ve got to walk into your team and know your worth whether you play minutes or you don’t.
“Doing that day in, day out and still having that mentality of: I need you to succeed because I’m part of this team, even though I’m not playing.”
This week’s A-Leagues All Access episode follows Barbieri through City’s 3-0 win over Brisbane Roar in Round 3. James continues in goal, with Barbieri on the bench: in the end, interim head coach Dario Vidosic needs both of his keepers to play a role in the comprehensive win.
The episode showcases Barbieri’s mentality and standard-setting approach to playing a key role in a squad regardless of whether she’s in the starting side or not. Vidosic describes Barbieri as “a monster” on matchday, just moments after calling her “a mum for the girls” in the City squad.
“When she wakes up, I think the last person she thinks about is herself,” says Vidosic. Barbieri’s actions throughout the episode vindicate that statement. Players both young and old, tune in and take notes.
It’s the light and shade of a player whose mentality stems from a key understanding of goalkeeping: “you never know when something is going to happen, so you have to be ready 100% of the time,” Barbieri says. “You might end up doing nothing in the whole game, but you have to prepare like that one moment is where you’re going to get that chance.
“You’ve got to be grateful for that moment, and the ability to do the things that you love, and opportunities to make mistakes because you don’t know when it’s going to be taken away from you.”
Produced by KEEPUP Studios and JAMTV, each new episode of the docuseries will debut on Thursday at 7:30pm AEDT on 10 Play, KEEPUP.COM.AU, the KEEPUP app and KEEPUP on YouTube. It will be available on Australia’s fastest growing streaming service, Paramount+, and will then be broadcast on 10 Bold at 2:00pm AEDT on Saturday afternoons as an appetiser for the evening’s Isuzu UTE A-League Men game on the same channel.
