Abby Erceg is set to end a 13-year absence from the Ninja A-League when she next takes the pitch. The experienced defender sat down with aleagues.com.au ahead of the new campaign…
13 years and 10 months in fact, a footballing lifetime for the 36-year-old defender who last played in the old W-League at Adelaide United for two seasons between 2011-13.
Since Adelaide, Erceg has played in Germany, for four different clubs in the United States, and Mexico, before making the move to Wellington Phoenix.
And while some players from the 2012-13 season are still playing in the Ninja A-League – like Phoenix teammate Tameka Yallop – there has been a generational change.
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“I feel a bit of a visitor in my own country sometimes,” Erceg said when speaking with aleagues.com.au reporter Teo Pellizzeri.
“So it’s been cool just to come back and, you know, reintroduce myself to the country and to the team and to football and New Zealand and Australia.
“It was nice to come back and see some family and meet some of the girls and, you know, get down to Wellington, familiarise myself with the environment down there.
“I knew some of the girls, so it was nice to just have some of that camaraderie with the girls already.”
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Erceg and Phoenix coach Bev Priestman had pre-existing connection from the latter’s time working in New Zealand the early 2010s in a range of roles, including national team assistant coach.
“I knew who she was and what she was about, kind of the culture that she drives in her team,” Erceg said.
“So I was quite excited to work with her and make sure that I could help her kind of carry the legacy forward in New Zealand.
“I’ve been to a lot of clubs around the world, and I’ve experienced a lot of cultures, both internationally and nationally. And I think [Priestman] has done a really good job of combining both, because they do look quite different from a day to day versus when you’re going into camp with your national team or at a major event.
“I think she’s really brought the professionalism up in Wellington and in football in New Zealand.
“There are always going to be places that we can grow. And I think bringing players in that have experience myself, [Tameka Yallop] coming in,
“We can work together and make sure that we make that environment world class”.
Erceg is as well qualified as any New Zealand footballer on having to leave home to pursue a professional career, something one of her Phoenix teammates Milly Clegg attempted in 2023.
Clegg, still only 20, went from the Phoenix to Western Sydney Wanderers before stints at Racing Louisville, Halifax Tides in Canada and Vittsjo in Sweden, with game time and goals all hard to come by.
Now back at the Phoenix, Erceg is ready to mentor not just Clegg but all the aspiring New Zealanders looking to make the leap to the professional ranks overseas.
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“We just don’t have the resources at the moment to be able to develop the players in the way that we want to play, to be successful on the world stage,” Erceg said.
“So I think getting that exposure overseas, knowing what the level is, so that when you do step into a national team environment, you understand the level that’s required and you’re not surprised by that.
“And it’s kind of one of the areas that I’ve recognized that I think New Zealand can be better at is just getting the players overseas, getting them in those environments and making sure that they play in those environments.”
Erceg, who is defending against Clegg every day in training, backed the young striker to re-find her best form in the coming season.
“Obviously Milly had a couple of tough runs [overseas],” Erceg said.
“It just shows the kind of level that overseas is kind of developing in their players. It’s athletic, it’s fast, it’s tactical, it’s technical. You need to have the whole package.
“I like playing with Milly. I think she’s got a lot of talent. She’s a dribbler. She likes to have the ball at her feet and for a defender, that’s always difficult to defend.”
Erceg retired from international football in January 2023, taking herself out of consideration for the home FIFA World Cup joint-hosted with Australia.
The 146-cap defender said there wouldn’t be any consideration of a return to the international arena despite the coming Ninja A-League season leading into another World Cup year.
(Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
“I’ve had a lot of conversations about it already, and I think that’s natural. Just coming back to New Zealand [for club football], you’re obviously going to ask those questions,” Erceg said.
“I don’t really have any plans to go back to play with the Ferns again. So, you know, I enjoyed the time that I had with them. But I think for now that chapter’s closed.”
