The young Australian lived a turbulent year but is in the ideal position to turn her dreams into reality
At just 21, Alex Chidiac is no stranger to pressure, the young Matilda has been performing on the big stage since she was a teenager.
Chidiac made his national team debut when he was only 16 and has been playing competitive football for over six years.
Yet in the past 18 months he has faced some of the biggest challenges of his young career. And she hasn’t been on the field for more than half.
Chidiac was the last guest on the podcast of Remember the name of Sporting News and has spoken thoroughly of his football life to date.
In particular, it opened its dream move in Europe, the pain of losing the Matilda 2019 World Cup team and facing a serious injury during the COVID-19 epidemic.
For Chelsea fans all his life, playing football in Europe has always been a goal for Chidiac.
“Football from an early age is all I’ve ever wanted to do,” said Chidiac.
“I was a big Chelsea fan when I was older so I wanted to be like Didier Drogba. I was obsessed with the Premier League.
“I remember one when Chelsea won the Champions League and went into extra time and Drogba got the winning goal, I absolutely lost it. It was the best thing. Every year I received a Chelsea kit from London, so I had all the kits growing “.
Each member of his family has adopted a different team to support, creating a rivalry in the Premier League that would have seen them at all hours of the morning watching football.
But this has translated into the field for Chidiac, with his family and coaches convinced that he has what it takes to become a professional footballer.
“When I was younger, I had the support of everyone around me who said ‘you’ll become a professional footballer’,” said Chidiac.
“At the end of the day, they saw that it was something I was very passionate about and that’s all I ever wanted to do.”
With her supportive parents pushing her every step of the way, Chidiac has started to rise to the levels of Australian women’s football.
She played for junior representative teams, made her debut as a 15-year-old in the W-League for Adelaide United and was given her first national hat for Matildas at 16.
When he was 16, Chidiac had had some first discussions about moving to Europe with an Italian team. But in 2018, he took his career in his hands and eventually made his dream move.
“It was something I always wanted to do is go abroad and play football,” said Chidiac.
“Much of this was looking at EPL, La Liga and all overseas leagues and being like” I want to do it. “As soon as I discovered that opportunity at that age, I was like” how can I make it happen? ‘ “
Chidiac came into contact with an agent specializing in major European moves and after examining a number of clubs, Atletico Madrid eventually won his signature.
At first, he did not believe that Atletico Madrid was interested in signing it.
“I remember receiving the email at 3 in the morning,” said Chidiac.
“I looked at my phone, I don’t know why I woke up … I looked at my phone and put it aside and thought ‘it’s not true’. The next morning he [Chidiac’s agent] she called me and said “no, it’s legitimate”. “
After a couple of weeks which included translating the contract and negotiating with Matilde to make it play in Spain, she was ready to move to Madrid.
“I didn’t know much about how to go to Spain,” admitted Chidiac. “It was more, I have to do it because I can’t refuse Athletico.”
Chidiac never worried that the move didn’t work because she knew at such a young age that experience would only help her grow.
But she was definitely pushed out of her comfort zone in her first training sessions with athletes.
“I was relying on two of my teammates, one from Italy and one from Portugal, if I hadn’t had them in that season I would have exploded in a certain sense,” joked Chidiac.
“The first year, I won’t lie, it was happening too much that I couldn’t concentrate on the things of football, it was more survival.
“I wanted to know what I was doing in the tutorial, I wanted to know what the tactics were, but it was never clear.
“Even on the pitch, I didn’t know one hundred percent what position I was playing or where they wanted me to be, it was more like I just had to keep playing.”
As evidence of his perseverance and his decisive character, Chidiac studied and obtained an II certificate in the applied language, so his Spanish has definitely improved.
And don’t forget the 311 days in a row on Duolingo. While she couldn’t wait to put it to good use, an ankle injury had suddenly excluded her.
And it was like that for the better part of a year.
“It happened in September and it sucks because I was finally starting to gain a lot of momentum in training,” recalled Chidiac.
“The coaches noticed how well I performed and I felt very, very confident.
“I immediately understood that there was something wrong, I always get up from the tackles and I never had an injury.
“I was told about a month and a half, so it wasn’t bad … but in the end it was almost a whole year now.”
– Alex Chidiac (@ chidiac10) June 17, 2020
The harmless challenge of a teammate interrupted what had been a disappointing 2019 for Chidiac, and which is still recovering from now.
Earlier that year, Chidiac was the only contracted Matilda to lose a place on her team for the 2019 World Cup.
“Being the only contract that Matilda did not go to, not even being in the team in formation that preceded him, he certainly hurt”, admitted Chidiac.
“Especially after the tough first season I had in Spain. I feel I could have made a decision there not to give up, but I probably couldn’t have worked as hard as I did to get back into a good state.”
Thanks to Covid-19, Chidiac found himself in Australia as he continued to recover from his ankle injury.
Athletes also allowed her to spend some extra time here at home compared to the rest of the team, knowing that it would help with her rehabilitation.
However, it wasn’t the simple travel story you could associate with a player from a professional football team like Atletico Madrid.
“There have been no real precautions or anything that is happening in Spain,” said Chidiac.
“Out of nowhere, I remember a day when I’m like ‘we close schools now’.
“Things were changing hour by hour … and we were like ‘what’s going on?’
“[The club] he said to stay home, they gave us a pair of dumbbells, exercise straps and things to take home with us, but we had no idea.
“And then on Monday, when the complete blockade occurred and we had to stay home. The army patrolled the streets and the hospital was packed, we lived across the street.”
Although no decision has been made on the Priméra Division season, some international athletes have decided they want to go home for their health and safety.
“Technically we could not [return home] because we were still contracted, “said Chidiac.
“At that point, it was three or four weeks in which I was like” I need to go home. “I was really annoyed because a few days earlier it was the last normal flight, being normal 23 hours instead of 45.
“So when I booked that 45 [hours], I was like “because I’m doing it”. But obviously it was definitely worth going home. “
For Chidiac, at only 21 he knows he has a lot of his career ahead of him.
But the resilience and perseverance he has learned in the past 12 months are bound to be the mark of his footballing style.
“To be able to go back to where I was before the injury, I was really happy,” said Chidiac.
“I am very proud of how I was able to take things and move forward.
“Obviously a lot of highs but I was a little prepared that I would cross some lows.”
The past 12 months have seen a series of high-profile Matildas move to Europe, just like Chidiac in 2018.
Sam Kerr, Caitlin Ford, Lydia Williams, Steph Catley, Ellie Carpenter, the list goes on.
“Now it’s strange, everyone comes to Europe … they can come around,” laughed Chidiac.
“After the World Cup, all the girls saw that we fought against the European teams and the way they played. If we want to improve as a national team, we have to oppose a little more than I did before.”
But it is Sam Kerr’s move to Chelsea that particularly attracted Chidiac’s attention and revealed a new long-term goal.
The article continues below
“Now there is a way for the Australians, come on,” Chidiac said in a potential trip to Chelsea.
“It is definitely something I hope for a day [playing for Chelsea], I’m not ready for this yet. I have to make sure I’m there at the perfect time where I can get number 11 and everything has to fall into place.
“I’m also aiming for this. If I scored a goal for Chelsea, honestly, that would be all.”
.
