By Emma Kemp
It is often said that one has mastered a new language once one begins to think in that language. If this is the case, then Ellie Carpenter has French down pat. “Whenever I’m at training I do [think in French], because everyone speaks French,” the Matildas right-back says. “But even sometimes at home, I would think in French or even speak a little in French – well, Franglish.
“A lot on my phone is in French now, like the news. And whenever I go on Instagram or Facebook or even Twitter, everything’s in French. So I guess I do read French every day. If you’d told me before I’d be fluent in French, I’d be like ‘no’.
It has been both the shortest and longest four years since Carpenter signed with Lyon to replace Lucy Bronze (now with Barcelona). In many ways, it feels like yesterday when she received her first UEFA Champions League winner’s medal. The 24-year-old arrived in France just in time to fill the role of unused substitute as her new club defeated VfL Wolfsburg in the 2019-20 final. The fact she was there for it at all was pure coincidence – the match, initially scheduled to be played in May 2020, had been postponed until August due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In one of those odd tricks of time, her second winner’s medal – two years after the first – could have been an age ago. Rehabbing a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament will do that, she supposes. Carpenter was well and truly in Lyon’s starting XI by the time they played Barcelona for the 2021-22 trophy. But she injured her ACL early in the first half and was once more forced to watch the win from the bench, before embarking on a nine-month recovery to return in time for the 2023 World Cup.
“It’s third time lucky, this one,” she says. “My memories [of last time] were not so great. But also great? I remember walking out [at Juventus Stadium in Turin] before kick-off and being like, ‘Wow, a full stadium, this is sick’. It’s a Champions League final – the best club game you can be playing in your career.
“Then in the game, before I got injured, Amandine [Henry] scored that amazing goal. We won, and I had that feeling of winning and lifting the trophy at the end. But I hope Saturday is a bit different.”
Ellie Carpenter is helped through the post-match celebrations by teammate Damaris Egurrola after the Australian defender ruptured her ACL in the Champions League final against Barcelona in 2022.Credit: Getty Images
Saturday (Sunday, 2am AEST) is when Lyon will again face Barcelona in the 2023-24 Champions League final. It is when a fit-and-firing Carpenter will start and, all going smoothly, also finish. She has already had some things to celebrate. In mid-April, Lyon won a third consecutive Division 1 Feminine title. On April 28 – Carpenter’s 24th birthday – the team won its Champions League semi-final tie against Paris Saint-Germain 5-3 on aggregate.
Now she will return to the scene of her first decider, the San Mames Stadium in Bilbao. “But it’s not good for us because, obviously, it’s [against Barcelona] in Spain, and I think the crowd is like 50,000,” Carpenter says. “I like that, though. It’s better. Honestly, I love it when there’s more opposition fans there because it riles me up.”
Joining the opposition fans will be the actual opposition. A team full of Spanish World Cup winners now rivalling Lyon as the global point of reference for women’s club football. Reigning Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati will be in midfield, and Swedish star Fridolina Rolfo could well be on the left wing.
“Without a doubt, they are one of the best women’s clubs in the world,” she says. “I think it’s us and Barcelona, if you look at history, at the finals, at the players. But they have more depth than ever – whoever starts and comes on, whoever’s not even in the squad. Hopefully, that pushes us. We have such a rapid front line, and it will be really important to hit them on the counter.”
Ellie Carpenter celebrating her birthday and the Champions League semi-final victory over PSG in April.Credit: Getty
After the game, Carpenter will fly to Australia to join the Matildas for their two-match pre-Olympics friendly series against China in Adelaide and Sydney. Then the team will head into camp to prepare for the Paris Games.
“The French girls on my team were talking about how they’re so excited to have an Olympics at home,” says Carpenter, who is contracted with Lyon until 2026. “I was like, ‘It’s my home, too’. I was just joking. But when I came here for the [2019] World Cup, I had no idea this would be my home. Even my family are coming over, and they can stay at my house and drive to the games.
“I feel very at home here, and I feel like this is the best environment for me to keep improving and keep being the best I can be. I want to be the best right-back in the world, and I think being here – around the best players, in the best training environment and playing the best games – I can really achieve that.
“It took me a while to get back from my knee, but post-World Cup this would’ve been my best season in Europe.
“I feel very confident in myself at the moment, on and off the field. I’m coming into my fifth season with Lyon, I can speak the language, and it’s very much home here.”
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