It has been another massive year for women’s football but few players have enjoyed so many new highs as Sydney FC and now Matildas utility Chloe Logarzo.
It has been another massive year for women-s football but few players have enjoyed so many new highs as Sydney FC and now Matildas utility Chloe Logarzo.
The Sydneysider is the latest member of the Matildas having earned her first cap against China last month with a surprise eleventh hour call-up following a spate of injuries.
It capped a remarkable 12 month period for Logarzo which also included a Westfield W-League grand final winners- medal, Young Matildas selection and captaincy, plus a trip to Japan for the International Women-s Club Challenge.
Little wonder the athletic Logarzo is looking back on 2013 with equal parts pride and bewilderment.
“I can-t believe how much I have accomplished in this year,” she says. “I only got into Young Matildas this year. I look back to start to start of 2013 and I didn-t think it would be possible to have experienced so much.”
The crowning glory was undoubtedly a call-up off the bench for her senior international debut against China in Wollongong. The fact that Logarzo entered the fray in place of Matildas icon Lisa De Vanna just added an extra layer to the moment.
“Getting on was so much more than I ever expected,” said Logarzo. “I was fortunate that (Matildas coach) Hesterine (De Reus) gave me the opportunity and I-m grateful for that.
“It was such an honour and privilege to play for the Matildas. It has given me even more hunger to work at my game.
“It is certainly a massive confidence booster to know that I-m on Hesterine-s radar and I will be working hard for the weeks, months and years to come.”
While many players are products of the youth development system, Logarzo was a name very much under the radar until some 18 months ago.
Hailing from Sydney-s north-west suburbs, Logarzo, who boasts an Italian father and Scottish mother, never played representative football in her teenage formative years unlike many peers in the Sydney FC and Matildas side.
“It was a slow process,” says Logarzo with a tone of wonder. “But suddenly everything has happened for me in the last year and a half so it is exciting.”
The next task at hand is helping Sydney FC retain the Westfield W-League crown. The Sky Blues are well placed with no defeats from their four outings and with two matches in hand.
“It is a different feel to the team this year,” says Logarzo, who spends her week visiting young players in a development role with Football NSW. “We have more experience this season. There are a lot of players I can learn off and I hope to do so over what I hope will be a big two months.”