Love of the game kept new Fern going
Michaela Robertson is a real battler and that’s not going to stop now. The 23-year-old forward was included in a Football Ferns squad for the second time this week – but this time she’s actually going to get to go on tour.
And after an 18-month stretch where her family was struck by tragedy and football took a back seat, she’s ready to savour every moment of it.
On the first weekend of August in 2018, Michaela was playing for the Wellington United Diamonds while her dad, Tim, was in action elsewhere for the North Wellington Onslows.
At halftime in his match, Tim had checked how Michaela, one of his six children, was going and the news was good – the Diamonds were winning and she had scored twice.
Shortly afterwards, he collapsed and died, age 50.
Michaela played again the following Saturday, the day after her dad’s funeral, as the Diamonds won a titledecider, but in the weeks and months that followed, football understandably became less of a priority.
She had been part of the Aucklandbased Future Ferns Domestic Programme (FFDP), which brings the country’s most promising footballers together in one environment, but soon decided she needed to be home in Wellington.
A return to Auckland and the FFDP followed at the start of last year, but in April she went home again.
‘‘I wasn’t sure if I was closing the door on what football might hold in the future, by moving back home, but home was where I needed to be,’’
Michaela said this week.
‘‘So I made that decision, and I’m just so glad that I’ve been given a chance despite all of that, and that I’ve come out the other side.’’
Michaela has been a talent worth watching since she emerged in 2013, playing for the Diamonds in Wellington and Capital in the National Women’s League.
She represented New Zealand at the OFC Under-20 Championship in 2015, but didn’t make the cut for the Fifa Under-20 World Cup that followed in 2016.
If she takes the field for the Ferns at the Algarve Cup in Portugal, which starts next week, Michaela will join a select group to have made it that far in recent years without attending an agegroup World Cup – a testament to her perseverance.
After her dad’s death, she considered giving football away altogether, but her love of the game kept her going. ‘‘It’s been a struggle,’’ Michaela said ‘‘Because when Dad passed away, a lot of his dreams were my dreams, and it almost felt like my dreams died with him.
‘‘To be where I am now and still playing . . . there was a time when I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to keep playing.
‘‘It was tough.
‘‘You’ve got to come back to the root of why you’re playing, and I play for the enjoyment of it – there’s some sort of release in the game, and a freedom in it, and also just being part of the team environment, and being around the girls.’’
Michaela was first called up to the Football Ferns at the end of last year, for a pair of matches in China, but was cruelly denied a shot at a debut when injury struck on the eve of the tour, while she was playing for Capital.
‘‘I made the squad for the China tour and then we had a doubleheader weekend in the national league, and in the first game against WaiBop, about 20 minutes in, I went into a tackle and something went in my knee.
‘‘As soon as I got back to Wellington, I saw my physio, and we were hoping it was just a grade-one MCL strain, but even then it was going to be a push.
‘‘I saw Alyse [Cameron], as well, the Ferns’ sport doctor, and went for an MRI and X-rays and found out it was a bad grade two, which ruled me out,’’ she said.
Michaela returned to Auckland and the FFDP once more at the start of this year, knowing she had to be close to getting another chance with the Ferns.
‘‘I knew that if my performances and my effort had got me there, then the opportunity would come again.
‘‘I didn’t know how early it might present itself, so to be selected again right off the back of the injury, I was stoked.’’
Her callup comes with Ferns coach Tom Sermanni looking for fresh faces at the attacking end of the field ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in July.
The Ferns scored only four goals (as well as forcing an own goal) during their 12 matches last year and Sermanni said he was keen to see what Robertson could offer, praising her as someone ‘‘who keeps bouncing back’’.
‘‘I think what she brings is enthusiasm, energy and an injection of pace.
‘‘She’s a very talented and skilful player individually, so it will be interesting to see how she makes that step up to international level.’’