Adelaide United vice-captain Kahlia Hogg puts injury woes behind her, a decade after launching her career at English giant Chelsea
She launched her career at Chelsea more than a decade before Matildas star Sam Kerr joined the English Premier League giant. But Kahlia Hogg is focused on repaying Adelaide United’s faith following her injury nightmare.
Adelaide United
Don't miss out on the headlines from Adelaide United. Followed categories will be added to My News.
More than a decade before Sam Kerr’s high-profile move to Chelsea, another rising star of Australian women’s soccer was on the books of the English Premier League giant.
Kahlia Hogg was just 12 when she earned a place in the Blues’ academy and spent three years rubbing shoulders with Jose Mourinho’s title-winning side.
Stream over 50 sports Live & On-Demand with KAYO SPORTS on your TV, computer, mobile or tablet. Just $25/month, no lock-in contract. Get your 14-day free trial and start streaming instantly >
The Canberra-born midfielder would play matches at the club’s Cobham training ground, alongside pitches graced by the likes of England greats Frank Lampard and John Terry.
For the Adelaide United vice-captain, who later became a national youth teammate of Matildas star Kerr, it was an opportunity that shaped her globetrotting football journey.
“It was my first formal football experience and it was phenomenal,” Hogg, 25, recalled.
“I’d gone from playing on rocky, dirt fields in Papua New Guinea against whatever local teams would rock up, to an English football academy which was a world of difference.
“The facilities, the professionalism, even as an under-14 girl, were second to none and they were teaching us to play the same style of football as the men.
“You drive into Cobham and see all their Aston Martins parked out the front, then you see them training on the field.
“From a club perspective, it’s giving visibility to the juniors that this is what you’re aspiring to be.
“It was a single club culture and since I’ve left the UK that FA Women’s Super League has completely evolved, so it’s an incredible opportunity for Sam.”
Hogg has demonstrated her fierce drive and commitment in overcoming an injury nightmare to start the Reds’ first three matches of the W-League campaign.
But her career-defining Chelsea chance came about thanks to her father, Steve Hogg.
The governance specialist moved his young family to Vanuatu, PNG and, eventually, England, in his role overseeing Australian international aid.
Hogg also inherited her Dad’s soccer talent, given he played 162 NSL games for Canberra City and Brisbane Lions from 1977-86, and won four Socceroos caps.
“It was something that Dad always supported me in doing,” said Hogg, who counts Canberra United and Western Sydney among her previous clubs.
“He has a love of the game and for as long as I can remember, we used to go and kick the ball around together.
“Dad was like a coaching mentor, but he never pushed me to do it.
“Moving your life around every four years can be difficult.
“But you get to live in some of the most incredible, difficult countries, and see other sides of life than the Australian bubble.”
Hogg’s nomadic ways continued during five years in the US college system, first at Florida State and then the University of Colorado, where she gained a mechanical engineering degree.
But her Reds arrival was soured by a meniscus issue in her knee, which restricted her to just two appearances last summer.
“I felt like I had unfinished business,” said Hogg, who played for Illawarra Stingrays in the NSW top flight over winter.
“From a loyalty perspective, I felt I owed the club and Ivan because they’ve stood by me the whole way.
“We’ve played the top three teams (on the table) and we’ve had really good patches of football against them, so we’re going into this game with a lot of belief.
“All it takes is that one win, particularly with a young team, to turn things around.”