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This was published 6 months ago
‘Age is just a number’: Michelle Heyman is your new Matildas star
By Vince Rugari
If you’re among the 95 per cent of Australians who only jumped on the Matildas’ bandwagon during the Women’s World Cup, you had probably never heard the name Michelle Heyman until this past weekend, when she made her long-awaited and well-earned return to the national team. And you probably still don’t know much about her, aside from the fact that she clearly knows where the goals are.
Firstly: you are forgiven. Secondly: you’ve come to the right place. This is everything you need to know about the Tillies’ new 14-year overnight sensation, who has surely locked in her spot for the Paris Olympics after a stunning four-goal burst against Uzbekistan on Wednesday night.
Just quietly, this might be one of Australian sport’s greatest comeback stories in recent memory.
She’s won a lot of stuff (and scored a lot of goals)
Heyman is from Shellharbour on the NSW South Coast. She grew up as a mad Wests Tigers fan - hey, nobody’s perfect - and idolised Benji Marshall, played touch footy and rugby during her childhood, and finally got into football at age 11.
She made her domestic debut in what was then known as the W-League (now A-League Women) for Sydney FC in 2008 after starring in the local Illawarra competition. The following season she played for the Central Coast Mariners, where she won the golden boot and her first of two Julie Dolan Medals as the competition’s best player, but she’s most closely associated with the lime green jersey of Canberra United, where she has spent the vast majority of her career. It’s also where she tasted team success at professional level for the first time - they did the double in 2011-12 as she claimed another golden boot, won the premiership in 2013-14 and 2016-17, and also the grand final in 2014. Heyman is basically the face of the club.
Michelle Heyman is basically the face of Canberra United.Credit: Getty
She made her Matildas debut in front of zero fans
That’s right. Heyman came off the bench on March 3, 2010 in a friendly against North Korea, played behind closed doors at Spencer Park, the humble home of NPL Queensland side Brisbane City. It finished 2-2. She had never represented Australia in any of the junior national teams before, forcing her way into then-coach Tom Sermanni’s plans through her terrific domestic form.
And thus began a pretty good career with the Matildas. Her first major tournament was the 2014 Asian Cup, starting in all but one match, including the final, which Australia lost 1-0 to Japan. She also went to the 2015 Women’s World Cup, scored in the shootout which they ultimately lost to Brazil in the quarter-finals of the Rio Olympics in 2016, and then went to another Asian Cup in 2018 - but this time she didn’t play a single minute, and it was during that tournament when things started to unravel for her.
Michelle Heyman back in her heyday at the Rio Olympics.Credit: Getty
She retired from international duty, then fell back in love with football
After hurting her knee at the 2018 Asian Cup, and then missing out on the squad for the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France, Heyman called time on her Matildas journey after 61 caps and 20 goals, declaring her body was unable to cope with the rigours of top-level football.
She later admitted the knee problem, while real, was just a cover story, and what she really needed was a mental break from the game after being unceremoniously ‘fired’ from the national team. And so that’s what she did. She stepped away from it altogether, sitting out the 2019-20 W-League season.
During her sabbatical, Heyman completely recharged her batteries. She got her body right, discovering the wonders of reformer Pilates and infra-red saunas. She worked as a W-League commentator, which helped her see the game differently. The hunger returned. And when she resumed her club career with Canberra United in 2020-21, she was a player reborn, eclipsing Sam Kerr’s record to become the W-League’s all-time leading goalscorer.
“I needed that break. And it’s OK to have a break,” she said on Network 10 on Wednesday night. “And it’s OK to come back at 35 and have some fun out there because I know I can still do it.
“Age is just a number. I’ve still got it.”
She’s now in the box seat for the Paris Olympics
Heyman scored 10 goals in her comeback season, then nine, then 12 last term. This season, while Canberra United are rooted to the bottom of the A-League ladder, she’s top of the charts again with another 12 goals plus five assists. But all throughout her footballing renaissance, Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson didn’t seem interested.
That was until Sam Kerr’s ACL injury changed everything. Suddenly, Gustavsson desperately needed a striker - and since there were no younger players banging down the door, he turned to a 35-year-old Heyman. Good decision: her five goals across the two legs against Uzbekistan have won her a new legion of fans and proved to herself and everyone else she is not a spent force.
The only question now is if Gustavsson can find room for her in his 18-player squad for the Olympics.