Cup call-up prescription for success
THREE months ago Elise Kellond-Knight was battling for her spot in the Matildas squad while juggling studies to be a pharmacist at home on the Gold Coast.
Now the 24-year-old Australian soccer star is one of the breakout names of this year’s Women’s World Cup and has secured a two-season professional contract in Germany with FFC Turbine Potsdam in the Bundesliga.
She returned to the Gold Coast on Sunday but will only spend two weeks at home before flying to Europe.
Ever humble, KellondKnight says she still questions whether her success would have come without having been afforded a chance to prove herself by the current Matildas coaches.
The team made it through to the quarter-finals against Japan.
“We’ve got a really competitive squad. We all actually compete for starting positions in the team and leading into the World Cup I wasn’t actually getting any game time,” she said.
“The coach had pulled me out of the line-up and I spent a fair bit of time on the bench.
“It wasn’t until our farewell match against Vietnam in May, just before we took off for Canada, that I earnt a starting spot.”
Kellond-Knight also paid tribute to th the team at the Amcal Hope Island pharmacy, where she was training to become a p pharmacist.
With Australia’s w women’s soccer stars for the most p part forced to earn a living outside of their sport, Kellond-Knight says the flexibility her employer gave her in relation to training and playing w was incredible.
“I think I’ll end up working there again eventually,” she told the Bulletin.
The Bundesliga kicks off in September.