New Matildas doco sheds light on game-changing 2010 win
Kyah Simon and Melissa Barbieri will never forget the moment they made Australian football history.
Now, they can't wait for everyone new to the Matildas to learn about it too.
Football Australia is releasing a documentary on Friday to commemorate 15 years to the day since the breakthrough 2010 Women's Asian Cup triumph in China.
The Matildas beat powerhouse Japan 1-0 in the semi-final, qualifying for the women's World Cup, before facing North Korea in the decider.
Just 19 minutes in, a 16-year-old Sam Kerr scored the opener in Chengdu.
North Korea responded through Jo Yun-mi in the 73rd minute and the game dragged through additional time, then into penalties.
Barbieri, watched Yun Song-mi put North Korea's second penalty wide of her left goal post, and her teammates keep sinking spot-kicks.
Simon, who scored the decisive fifth penalty, remembers the monsoon-like conditions and a pitch that resembled a cow paddock.
"Walking out, my boots each felt a kilo or two heavier just by the amount of water that was soaked up in my socks," Simon told AAP.
"I remember standing on halfway with the other girls and keeping my focus on my penalty.
"I just stuck to my guns and kept my focus as I walked up to the spot. It felt like the longest walk in history.
"But when I finally got there, went through my processes, and was really pleased that I could hit it as sweet as I did.
"Just that pure elation and joy, when seeing the ball ripple in the back of the net, and all the water spray off it, and just turning around and seeing all the girls run towards me was just an amazing feeling.
"I don't think I realised probably the enormity of us winning it, which probably worked in my favour."
Barbieri remembers two cameras flashing at the team's arrival back in Australia, then having to ring news organisations herself to get more coverage.
"I thought it was a lot of media, being 18," Simon says with a laugh.
"Whereas, if you asked me about now, if we won the Asian Cup, and there was that response, I'd be thinking: 'that's appalling'."
Kerr, Tameka Yallop, Simon, Barbieri and Aivi Luik are the only active players left from that squad ahead of next March's Asian Cup on home soil.
"Re-living the 15-year anniversary this year, in the preparation for the tournament next year, it builds a lot of hype," Simon said.
"It also touches on the history of the tournament, what we have done previously.
"Hopefully we can do that again next year here on home soil, with obviously a much bigger reception than we had in that final in front of 1200 people in the crowd in China 15 years ago."
But first, Barbieri and Simon and their teammates of 2010 will take a moment to reflect.
"Us as players have never seen ourselves on a screen, And that is really, really important for us to relive and and to remember," Barbieri said.
"Because everything about a footballer is about 'what's next, what do I need to do? What's my goal?'.
"And very rarely do we get a chance to look back and say, 'Hey, we did some pretty special stuff.'"
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
2 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Boys who love a scrap': Concern over the rise of backyard fight clubs
'The authority will be taking compliance action against the organisers and all registered combatants that participated in the contest. The authority will continue to remain vigilant in its efforts to regulate the NSW combat sports industry to minimise harm to combatants and ensure the integrity of combat sport contests.' A person who holds a combat sports contest without a permit in NSW can be fined up to $40,000 or jailed for a year, or both. As well as concerns about safety, unlicensed fighting has also been linked to illegal gambling. Boxing Australia, the national federation for amateur boxing, said it did not support any form of unsanctioned combat sport. 'BA prioritises the safety of athletes and the integrity of our events and processes above all else. It is of obvious concern to see unregulated fights being conducted without the correct medical and technical supervision that underpins all of our supported tournaments,' Boxing Australia chief executive Dinah Glykidis said. 'We would strongly encourage anyone who wants to participate in boxing to contact any of the accredited gyms and coaches we have all over Australia, not put their health at risk for the entertainment of others on social media.' Valeri previously made headlines for starting a relationship with female prison guard Melissa Goodwin at Silverwater Correctional Complex during a two-month stay at its maximum-security remand and reception facility. An alleged former Rebels bikie associate, he told ex-bank robber Russell Manser's podcast in 2023 that he'd turned his back on a life of crime and wanted to be a role model for youth. Combatants wore mixed martial arts gloves in the Hood Contender, which was launched on June 7 and inspired by a backyard fight league in New Zealand, run by Kiwi UFC competitor Dan Hooker, that has become an online sensation. Professional fighters were not permitted to enter and organisers said there were other fight days planned. Mundine's proposed World Bare Knuckle Fighting series has warned that there could be further instances of off-the-books fights if a regulated form of hand-on-hand combat was not approved. 'It's forcing it underground, and it's only a matter of time until someone gets seriously injured,' said Oliver Joseski, one of Mundine's business partners. 'You only have to look at TikTok, Instagram … they're advertising it everywhere.' The separate Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, in which McGregor is a part owner, has drawn large crowds in the United States, Britain and Spain since its founding in 2018, but this month it had an application for a first Australian show in Perth rejected by Western Australia's Combat Sports Commission. Mundine's group has lobbied the Minns government and other states to give the green light to bare knuckle boxing, making a detailed submission in March to the Combat Sports Authority of NSW. It included concussion, medical and safety protocols, the establishment of a sanctioning body and constitution and an endorsement from retired Sydney GP Lou Lewis, a renowned ringside doctor. Lewis said that despite the bloodiness and brutal perception of bare knuckle boxing, it carried less risk of brain trauma than regular boxing with gloves because bouts were shorter and there were fewer sustained blows to the head. 'With any combat sport there is going to be an element of danger,' Mundine said. 'We've done all our research and studies on both arts, and it's come up even safer.' Loading The NSW government has a $16 million deal with the UFC for three events, the second of which took place in February, and Premier Chris Minns has embraced the global cage fighting powerhouse despite the controversy it attracts, saying not all Sydneysiders were interested in the arts scene and many liked mixed martial arts. The Combat Sports Authority of NSW said it was weighing up the merits of bare-knuckle boxing. 'The authority is considering the application [from Mundine's World Bare Knuckle Fighting] which includes obtaining advice from the authority's medical advisory committee in respect to health and safety of combatants,' a spokesperson said.
The Age
2 hours ago
- The Age
‘Boys who love a scrap': Concern over the rise of backyard fight clubs
'The authority will be taking compliance action against the organisers and all registered combatants that participated in the contest. The authority will continue to remain vigilant in its efforts to regulate the NSW combat sports industry to minimise harm to combatants and ensure the integrity of combat sport contests.' A person who holds a combat sports contest without a permit in NSW can be fined up to $40,000 or jailed for a year, or both. As well as concerns about safety, unlicensed fighting has also been linked to illegal gambling. Boxing Australia, the national federation for amateur boxing, said it did not support any form of unsanctioned combat sport. 'BA prioritises the safety of athletes and the integrity of our events and processes above all else. It is of obvious concern to see unregulated fights being conducted without the correct medical and technical supervision that underpins all of our supported tournaments,' Boxing Australia chief executive Dinah Glykidis said. 'We would strongly encourage anyone who wants to participate in boxing to contact any of the accredited gyms and coaches we have all over Australia, not put their health at risk for the entertainment of others on social media.' Valeri previously made headlines for starting a relationship with female prison guard Melissa Goodwin at Silverwater Correctional Complex during a two-month stay at its maximum-security remand and reception facility. An alleged former Rebels bikie associate, he told ex-bank robber Russell Manser's podcast in 2023 that he'd turned his back on a life of crime and wanted to be a role model for youth. Combatants wore mixed martial arts gloves in the Hood Contender, which was launched on June 7 and inspired by a backyard fight league in New Zealand, run by Kiwi UFC competitor Dan Hooker, that has become an online sensation. Professional fighters were not permitted to enter and organisers said there were other fight days planned. Mundine's proposed World Bare Knuckle Fighting series has warned that there could be further instances of off-the-books fights if a regulated form of hand-on-hand combat was not approved. 'It's forcing it underground, and it's only a matter of time until someone gets seriously injured,' said Oliver Joseski, one of Mundine's business partners. 'You only have to look at TikTok, Instagram … they're advertising it everywhere.' The separate Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, in which McGregor is a part owner, has drawn large crowds in the United States, Britain and Spain since its founding in 2018, but this month it had an application for a first Australian show in Perth rejected by Western Australia's Combat Sports Commission. Mundine's group has lobbied the Minns government and other states to give the green light to bare knuckle boxing, making a detailed submission in March to the Combat Sports Authority of NSW. It included concussion, medical and safety protocols, the establishment of a sanctioning body and constitution and an endorsement from retired Sydney GP Lou Lewis, a renowned ringside doctor. Lewis said that despite the bloodiness and brutal perception of bare knuckle boxing, it carried less risk of brain trauma than regular boxing with gloves because bouts were shorter and there were fewer sustained blows to the head. 'With any combat sport there is going to be an element of danger,' Mundine said. 'We've done all our research and studies on both arts, and it's come up even safer.' Loading The NSW government has a $16 million deal with the UFC for three events, the second of which took place in February, and Premier Chris Minns has embraced the global cage fighting powerhouse despite the controversy it attracts, saying not all Sydneysiders were interested in the arts scene and many liked mixed martial arts. The Combat Sports Authority of NSW said it was weighing up the merits of bare-knuckle boxing. 'The authority is considering the application [from Mundine's World Bare Knuckle Fighting] which includes obtaining advice from the authority's medical advisory committee in respect to health and safety of combatants,' a spokesperson said.
Sky News AU
2 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Australian chess prodigy Reyaansh Chakrabarty talks grandmaster ambitions
For 11-year-old chess prodigy Reyaansh Chakrabarty, the hit Netflix show The Queen's Gambit sparked a love for the game that now takes him around the world on a quest to become Australia's first world champion. 'During the pandemic, I watched it a little bit, it's one of the things that got me interested in chess,' he told NewsWire this week in an exclusive interview. 'I didn't really know what chess was but I found it quite amusing, the pieces. 'She (Beth Harmon) is like looking up on the ceiling and watching the pieces move.' Like the fictional hero of the smash-hit show, Reyaansh imagines chess games in his head. 'I see pieces kind of everywhere,' he said. Reyaansh, from western Sydney, is a FIDE master with a classical rating of 2346 and his sharp rise has the Australian chess world excited. 'He is showing a lot of promise at a young age,' Australian Chess Federation publicity director Paul Power told NewsWire. The next level is international master, which generally means a rating of 2400 and three 'norms' or performance benchmarks a player needs to hit to gain the title. And then there is the rarefied world of grandmaster, a huge achievement that takes years of dedicated practice, study and ambition. Australia has only produced 10 grandmasters from a global field of about 2000. 'It's hard to predict that he is necessarily going to become a grandmaster, but he is certainly going about it the right way,' Mr Power said. 'Should he get to the GM title, Australia would be very pleased. It would be a feather in the cap, not just for Reyaansh and his family but for Australia.' Reyaansh's ambitions go even further and he dreams about becoming world champion. 'It's a huge call but right now I'm focused on improving step-by-step,' he said. It's an ambition that might seem extraordinary for an 11-year-old, but chess is a young person's game. The world champion is 18-year-old Indian wonder Gukesh Dommaraju, who ascended the throne in 2024 after beating Chinese GM Ding Liren in Singapore. Before Gukesh, the title was held by Norwegian legend Magnus Carlsen, widely credited as one of the greatest players in history alongside Garry Kasparov and controversial American icon Bobby Fischer. Mr Carlson became world champion at the age of 22. Reyaansh, a year 6 student at Strathfield South in Sydney's inner west, trains about five hours a day during the week, one hour before school and then four hours in the afternoon, and then for eight hours on Saturdays and Sundays. 'My school is very supportive of my chess, so I don't have much homework to do,' he said. 'But of course you still have to go to school and complete whatever you have to do.' He practises tactics and openings, or the first few moves in chess that dictate the development of a game, and constantly analyses his games looking for errors. Reyaansh also studies with Polish grandmaster Jacek Stopa through the Sydney Chess Academy, with face-to-face classes. 'He teaches me how deeply you need to prepare to get to the GM level,' he said. 'At the end of the class I'm very tired. The puzzles he gives me are very tough, like grandmaster level.' For black, Reyaansh loves the Caro-Kann and Queen's Gambit Declined defences. For white, he loves the Italian and Ruy Lopez openings. Russian champion Boris Spassky and Mr Fischer are his favourite players. 'I think he (Spassky) was very strong but also a nice guy. Bobby Fischer because he was a genius, one of the best players to ever live.' Reyaansh was born in Kolkata in India and immigrated to Australia at the age of two with his parents Sounak and Tapasri, both of whom support his chess dreams. Reyaansh has already beaten GMs, including Australian heavyweight Darryl Johansen at a match in Melbourne. 'It was the first GM I defeated,' Reyaansh said. 'It was a good game, it was probably heading towards a draw but he blundered and I won it.' Mr Johansen was gracious in defeat. 'He was a bit disappointed, but we discussed some moves after the game,' Reyaansh said. But there was no time to celebrate. 'I had two games the next day, so I had to kind of forget about it and prepare for the next time.' The youngster, who likes to read JK Rowling and the Dog Man comic books, has also interacted with legends of the game, including former world champion Vishy Anand, whom he met in Singapore. 'It was like a dream come true. He gave me advice on staying patient,' Reyaansh said. He returned to Sydney last week after competing in a tournament in Norway and has travelled to the Czech Republic, Hungary, Belgium, Switzerland and Singapore to play against the best players in the world. When asked what he found really special about chess, he emphasised the intensity of the game and the mental focus it took to win. 'Even if you play perfectly the whole game, if you make one mistake, it's over,' he said. 'You need to focus from start to finish. You can't ever let you guard down.' Chess is in the midst of a popularity boom, triggered in part by The Queen's Gambit and the rising visibility of grandmasters on social media. Netflix claims more than 62 million people watched the show in its first 28 days on the streaming platform. Mr Power has also witnessed a growing number of youngsters trying out the game. 'The enthusiasm of primary level students is refreshing,' he said. For Reyaansh, finding a 'love for the game' is the first step children should take in their own chess pursuits. 'You have to find your love for the game,' he said. 'Otherwise, you'll kind of feel it is a chore. If you don't love it, you'll feel bored with it.'
