Adelaide United’s US recruits set for W-League season-opener against Melbourne Victory
AMBER Brooks has trained alongside Pep Guardiola and been inspired by her mother playing soccer against men. So the US recruit and compatriot Veronica Latsko were undaunted by helping Adelaide United relinquish its W-League wooden spoon.
AMBER Brooks has shared a training ground with Pep Guardiola and drawn inspiration from her mother playing soccer against men.
So the US centre back was undaunted by the challenge of helping Adelaide United improve on last season’s W-League wooden spoon.
Brooks, along with compatriot Veronica Latsko, was set for her Reds debut in Sunday’s season-opener having joined from National Women’s Soccer League club Houston Dash.
It came five years after she left university early to sign with German powerhouse Bayern Munich.
There Brooks rubbed shoulders with Barcelona great and current Manchester City manager Guardiola, while cutting her teeth during two seasons in the women’s Bundesliga.
“At the time I was so ecstatic to be playing pro soccer and playing for such a big club,” Brooks, 27, said.
“But I didn’t quite realise the daily struggle of getting adjusted to a new culture and a different language.
“I loved the different kind of soccer over there because it’s very disciplined, very structured, very team-oriented.
“When I was there, Pep Guardiola was coaching the men’s side so I would be eating lunch in the (club) cafeteria while overlooking him on the men’s training field.
“It was a great experience both on and off the field and something that really prepared me well to come back to the States and also make this move to Australia.”
Soccer was ingrained in Brooks from childhood by her Mum, Jean, who played for Ashland University men’s team from 1976-79 as the Ohio school did not field a women’s side.
Latsko, 22, completed her double degree in public policy and foreign affairs at Virginia University this year while scoring four goals in her NWSL rookie campaign.
The striker said her former teammates and ex-Adelaide players Dannielle Colaprico, Makenzy Doniak and Sofia Huerta had convinced her to spend the American off-season in SA.
Lining up alongside Matildas stars Kyah Simon and Clare Polkinghorne at Houston had also attracted her to the W-League.
“It was a great experience learning from Kyah and seeing how she plays and trying to adapt some of those skills,” said Latsko, who helped the Dash to a surprise sixth place finish.
“I’m really excited to come down here and see what else I can learn.
“Last season being with Houston and everybody expecting us to finish at the bottom only gave our team more motivation to prove everybody wrong.
“It’s great being able to come into this (W-League) season with that same mentality of proving people wrong and showing people what we are as a team.”
The US duo hoped to make an immediate impact for the Reds when Ivan Karlovic’s team kicked off its campaign against Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park (3.45pm kick-off).
Brooks, who had represented her country at every level from under-17 to full international, said it was an opportunity for United’s youthful line-up to lay down an early marker.
“I’m really encouraged by some of the younger players, but the big thing is the younger players having confidence in themselves,” the ex-University of North Carolina captain said.
“Obviously they don’t have the experience us older players have.
“But if we can instil that (belief) in them and have them believing, that’s half the battle going into the game.”