Once, Alana Cerne was the face on the fans’ side of the fence. Now, she’s the one signing autographs for local kids and showing what’s possible.
Cerne owns a slice of Western United history as the club’s inaugural Liberty A-League signing prior to the 2022-23 season, and she was back at the scene of where her football journey started – Fawkner Soccer Club – to speak to KEEPUP.
The 20-year-old is an integral member of Western’s league-leading team, while she has also emerged as a Matildas bolter, such have been her performances for Liberty A-League’s fairytale story.
But long before she was matching it with Australia’s best, Cerne was a football-loving junior experiencing what most players go through at that age – playing all kinds of position, including goalkeeper.
The struggle was real.
“I used to be thrown into positions that I didn’t even know I could play,” Cerne told KEEPUP. “I think there’s photos of me in the goalkeeper kit when I was eight years old and Under-11s and I could barely touch the crossbar.”
Fortunately for Cerne, it was one and done as a goalkeeper for Fawkner SC.
Returning to Fawkner SC rekindled special memories for the talented defender. CB Smith Reserve and its surrounds in Melbourne’s north have been a breeding ground for footballing talent, and it’s where the journey began for Cerne, who even had her mother as a team manager.
“She helped out so much around this club. She used to cut up oranges, get the bags of lollies ready,” Cerne recalled. “Make sure I was ready because I had my away kit on with home socks.”
That’s after her mum’s best attempts to see Cerne play netball. Football won out and she hasn’t looked back.
“Mum was a netball player and she tried bringing me down to ‘net, set, go’ back in the day and I put on the skirt, looked at it and said mum, this isn’t for me,” Cerne said.
“So my best friend when we were in primary school, and we’re still best friends, we used to kick the ball all the time together. Just one day, he said to me ‘why don’t you come down, my dad is the coach and why don’t you just come down and kick the ball with the boys?’
“I think from then on I didn’t look back. I just knew soccer was my passion. I just wanted to play with my friends. Now I still want to do the exact same thing.”
Western’s unbreakable bond
A new team, new players and a new league. There are usually teething issues associated with an expansion club. But, Western United Women are no ordinary team.
On the surface, the Liberty A-League’s newest outfit are riding an incredible wave in their first season – top of the table by two points having played a game less than second-placed Melbourne City – but their foundations were laid years before.
It all comes down to the close partnership with NPLW VIC juggernaut Calder United. A pathway has been established from juniors all the way through to the A-Leagues.
You could say Western are Calder in disguise, with head coach Mark Torcaso and players Cerne, sisters Adriana and Melissa Taranto, Emma Robers, Julia Sardo, Aleks Sinclair, Natasha Dakic, Alyssa Dall’Oste, Stacey Papadopoulos, Raquel Deralas and Harriet Withers all part of the NPLW VIC club’s championship-winning campaign in 2022.
“It helped so much having players come with you through your journey at the start as a new club, as a new female team,” Cerne said.
“I feel that people we signed from outside of Calder just came in and instantly gelled. We became a family. The club is a family.
“It makes it so much easier when you have people that feel like family that we see actually more than our family. I see them more than my mum and dad, and brother. They’re all my sisters. I see them every morning and night. On our days off, we spend time together.
“It just proves we’re more than just a team. It definitely makes it so much easier to play alongside these girls.”
Cerne became Western’s inaugural Liberty A-League recruit in August – as if to bring things full circle, she even FaceTimed her mum to share the news.
“It comes back down to being here at six years old again,” Cerne reflected on finding out she had signed for Western.
“Setting those goals for myself. Now being able to say I play for Western United and represent not only the west but this club as a junior footballer. It just feels surreal.
“I owe everything back to this club, my family and everyone that helped me throughout the journey. All my coaches, all my teammates. All the young girls who I used to play with, we used to just kick the ball around for fun. It’s just surreal.”
The showpiece event fuelling a dream
The success of Western and the excitement around the Liberty A-League coincides with a massive 2023 for women’s football in Australia, and New Zealand.
The FIFA Women’s World Cup will be co-hosted by Australia and trans-Tasman neighbours New Zealand, starting in July.
“I don’t think we see how big this is doing to be. It’s going to be awesome at home and it will bring so much more to the female community of football,” said Cerne.
“It just gives us and younger girls a bit of a kick up the backside, like this is here. This is actually real. We can see it with our own eyes. We have games we can go to.
It’s amazing for Australia in general to bring females and show we’re as good as the men.
Cerne, herself, has emerged as a Matildas bolter for FIFA’s showpiece event on home soil.
It is Cerne’s first taste of the Liberty A-League but she has already established herself as an integral part of Torcaso’s Western line-up in nine appearances so far.
With the World Cup looming Down Under, it is only fuelling Cerne’s dream of representing Australian.
“It’s been such a jump for me from playing one year of senior football at Calder then straight into the A-Leagues. Just jump after jump, so I’m ready for whatever else comes my way.
“But I’m definitely hoping and working so hard to try and get there. Hopefully one day I’ll be there.”
