Why rising Jets star had to ‘grow up quickly’ on journey from the Hunter to Geneva and back again

Prior to 2022, Tessa Tamplin had never spent more than two weeks away from football.

But, after returning from a dream move to Switzerland and Servette FCCF, where she faced European giants in a memorable UEFA Champions league run, Tamplin has been sidelined without a club for the best part of six months.

Returning to Newcastle Jets after a one-season absence, Tamplin feels refreshed and reinvigorated for the Liberty A-League season ahead, buoyed by the experience of an “incredible” trip from the Hunter to Geneva and back again.

“I got back roughly six months ago, there were some complications with my contract and I couldn’t play anywhere else – but it was a really nice break for me,” Tamplin told KEEPUP.

“The longest I’ve ever not played is two weeks. I’ve always gone from a season to a different season, to a new league, to the A-League into the NPL or Young Matildas camps. I’ve genuinely never had longer than two weeks off.

“I did some training here and there with the Jets academy boys, just to keep my touch. But it honestly was really nice to get my life back a little bit.

As much as we love football it takes up a massive portion of your life. We unfortunately miss out on a lot of things you have to sacrifice for the game, which any footballer will agree you’re happy to do. But having that little break gave me the opportunity to go to baby showers, 21st birthdays, things like that which I definitely missed.

Tamplin joined Servette in July of 2021. The following month the club’s Champions League campaign began; Tamplin’s side were made to qualify for the group stage the hard way, defeating Glentoran, Åland United and Glasgow City just to make it to the last 16.

“Initially to be honest I didn’t think we were going to make it that far,” Tamplin said. “We were the bottom of the bottom of the Champions League, we really had to work our way up to the group stage. That in itself was amazing.

“It was my first experience in that sort of environment. I had only been there for two months, everything was still super fresh, but it was so good. Players were crying… just the vibe once we knew we made it was incredible. I’ll remember that forever.”

After a testing qualification run, Servette were placed into Group A alongside VfL Wolfsburg, Juventus and… Sam Kerr’s Chelsea.

Sam Kerr of Chelsea competes for the ball against Amandine Soulard of Servette FCCF during the UEFA Women’s Champions League Group A match at Kingsmeadow on November 18, 2021.

“The best moment of that entire experience was when Chelsea came to us in Switzerland. We had an incredible crowd, it was on home soil. We were playing bloody Chelsea FC!

“Even though we ended up getting flogged, but the experience and the vibe in the stadium, having the whole Swiss league pretty much behind you, the people I met that day, it was definitely the highlight, that one night.”

Servette finished bottom of Group A, unable to match it with the might of the European giants. But from Turin to Kingsmeadow, Tamplin mixed it with some of the best in world football.

It’s memories like that which translate into vital experience for the developing full-back eager to harness what was learnt on a brief but brilliant European stint to ignite her homecoming Liberty A-League campaign at the Jets.

“It was an incredible experience,” Tamplin said. “It was definitely a challenging experience – but worth all of its challenges. I learnt a lot about culture, about Europe, about myself, football, other people… and growing independence. I still am quite young, and going overseas I had to learn a lot about life and in a way grow up really quickly, do things by myself and make friends who were significantly older than me in the team. 

“Now I’m home and I’m loving being home. It surprised me how much I missed home and the Australian culture. I had opportunities to go to other places and I tossed up the idea – but I was ready to come back. There’s always another opportunity in the future if I look to take that avenue again, but for now I’m very happy being home.”

Featured image credit: Servette FCCF

Tessa Tamplin.