Matildas star to train with men’s team in bid to cap striking comeback at Olympics

Michelle Heyman will spend the next six weeks training with a men’s team as she awaits official confirmation that she will return to the Olympics with the Matildas – after admitting she “panicked” under the pressure of her debut Games eight years ago.

Heyman wore a teal blazer at the launch of the Australian Olympic team’s opening ceremony uniform on Wednesday morning but is not reading too much into her role as a human mannequin, aware of the difficulty coach Tony Gustavsson is facing in finalising his 18-player squad.

“I feel very honoured to be here – to be wearing this jacket, putting this on, being part of the Olympics,” she said. “For myself, personally, this is a big step.

“But I have no idea what’s going on in Tony’s head. Fingers crossed, I’ll be wearing this jacket soon.”

The 35-year-old has surely done enough to make the final cut. She is coming off a career-best season in the A-League with Canberra United, and skipper Sam Kerr’s long-term knee injury means she is the most highly credentialed striker available.

Heyman played 62 minutes in last week’s 2-0 friendly win over Mexico – only her third cap since being recalled from the international wilderness earlier this year – but struggled to make an impact and admits she is still a work in progress as she readjusts to the demands of top-level football.

Michelle Heyman (right) with Australian sprinter Torrie Lewis on Wednesday.

“It’s been a lot of information that I’ve been taking in, feeling really confident within my own ability, and [I’m] just going to continue to push on the things that I need to work on,” she said.

“From Tony’s side of things, he enjoys what I’m doing. We’ve had some good conversations, and it’s been a lot of fun. It’s been very open and honest, which I really enjoy – none of this beating around the bush kind of stuff. I feel very happy with my performance, I just would like to work on a certain couple of things.”

With Canberra failing to make the A-League finals – which continue this weekend with the first legs of the two semi-finals between Newcastle and Melbourne City, and Central Coast and Sydney FC – Heyman will stay put in the capital and expects to link up with a men’s team, probably in the Capital Football NPL competition, for training.

Gustavsson is expected to name his Olympic squad around the start of June.

Michelle Heyman is eyeing her second Olympics.

“I’ll be training just in Canberra, probably with a men’s team, just keeping up to speed with them, because I think that will definitely help when I get back into Matildas,” Heyman said. “And just individual training – I’ll be on a bike, I’ll be running and I’ll be doing everything possible to make sure my fitness is up to scratch with the girls and that my football brain is still switched on.”

Heyman was part of the team that reached the quarter-finals at Rio 2016, where they lost to Brazil on penalties. So much has changed since – her own confidence, the progression of women’s football and the stunning rise of the Matildas as Australia’s favourite national side.

At the uniform launch at Clovelly on Wednesday, she was easily the most in-demand athlete.

“At Rio, I panicked,” she said. “It’s quite scary going to the Olympics, and I think when you’re younger it’s a little bit overwhelming knowing that, one, you’re at an Olympics, and two, there’s fans everywhere screaming at you. But now it comes with age … when I get out on the field, I don’t even notice anyone else. I’m just doing the things that I need to be doing to win games.”

Meanwhile, Heyman is still getting her head around all the perks that come with being a current Matilda, having last played for the team in 2016 before her recall for their Olympic qualifiers against Uzbekistan.

“So business [class] flights, now – we’re not in economy [any more],” she said. “You get to sleep in your own room, without a roommate.

“The quality of recovery – they really care about your recovery side of things, so we have the ice baths, we have the protein, we have, like, 26 staff. I think back in the day, we had 10, if we were lucky. There’s pretty much one staff per person.

“They’ve set you up to be successful within the Matildas, and you can see that now. You can see the reason why sometimes it takes a bit of money to invest in women’s sport to see a great outcome.

“So I feel very privileged, very honoured to be a part of that, and to see the big change.”

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