This week, TribalFootball.com talked exclusively with Australia international midfielder Alex Chidiac about her first NWSL season for Racing Louisville and her hopes for a place on the Women's World Cup squad next summer.
TribalFootball.com spoke exclusively with Australian international and Racing Louisville midfielder Alex Chidiac (23), who is playing in her fourth country and third continent after joining Racing Louisville in the NWSL this season. Chidiac is well in on the Matildas' frame for the Women's World Cup Finals next year, which Australia will co-host with New Zealand.
TribalFootball.com first asked about Chidiac's first season with Louisville, “It's been a really good experience—I didn't really know what to expect. A lot of Australians have played over here [in the NWSL] but coming to Racing, none of the girls have been to the club before, so it was really important for me to learn as much as I could before coming in and I had a really good chat with Kim [Bjorkegren—Racing's head coach] to get me over here. It was a bit of a last-minute decision but I'm really glad I made that decision and I've been able to work my way into the league and learn a new style of play and develop my game."
Though Racing Louisville failed to make the playoffs in their second season in the NWSL in 2022, they did show marked improvement over the 2021 season in their style of play though their final results were similar: 5 wins and 8 ties for points for 23 points in 22 matches and ninth place among 12 teams versus 5 wins and 7 ties for 22 points and ninth place among 10 teams; Chidiac was a key part of that improvement, starting in 14 of her 18 matches and scoring 2 goals.
Chidiac compared the styles of play in the four leagues that she has played in (Spain's Primera Iberdola, Japan's WE-League, Australia's A-League Women and the NWSL) and said that there were, “So many differences; the style of play in itself is very unique in each country. Spain and Japan are quite similar, but in terms of where the leagues are at and the professionalism, what the WE-League has done is really impressive—they had a plan in place for the past few years and last season went fully professional, hit the ground running and have a great setup going there at the moment.
"In the Spanish league, when I was there, it was still developing…a minimum wage got put into place and that was a big positive step. The league at home [A-League Women] is expanding and getting more and more professional. It's great to see across the board that women's football in each country is picking up. But there are lots of differences, particularly coming in as an international as well, and knowing what to expect. There were challenges in each spot but it [her cumulative experience of playing around the world] brought me here and it was easier to take the risk to come here."
We then discussed her 2021-22 season on loan at Melbourne Victory, when her initial short loan period was extended through the end of the season, when the side won the A-League Women Championship title after they just squeaked into the post-season ahead of Perth Glory on goal difference.
Chidiac reflected fondly on their title winning campaign, “It was unexpected—I signed a two-year deal in Japan and was expecting to be with them but, the first part of the season, I didn't really get the game time I was hoping for and we were about to go into a three-month break; it aligned well with coming back home. It was only meant to be a short-term loan deal but ended up staying because I loved it so much and there was momentum around the team. The biggest thing for me was the culture in that team, which is something I thrive on and I need to be part of a good culture to be able to perform….We went through some rough patches together. We didn't have games for three weeks because of COVID …We went through 7 games in 19 days and scraped into the finals.
"We were all extremely exhausted by that point. That just shows that if you have a strong team; everyone wrote us off during the season even though the team had won the year before [the club's third league title in their history], they weren't impressed with our performances [but] behind the scenes we were such a close team and I think that's what got us the win in the end. That was set by Jeff [Hopkins—Melbourne Victory's head coach] and what Victory had done in the past. Being able to come into the team late and be welcomed so much—they trusted my experience and wanted me to play a bigger role within the team. It was one of my favorite seasons to be a part of, for sure."
The Victory won three playoff games on the road in the playoffs, streaking past higher seeds in Adelaide United (2-1), one of Chidiac's former teams, which was playing their first ever playoff game in 14 years, Melbourne City (3-1) and Premiership (regular season) winners Sydney FC (2-1), “Everyone was writing us off and we knew that as well. We lost to Adelaide 3-nil [in Round 13 on February 26 in Adelaide]; everyone was thinking they were going to just walk over us. Little did they know we got one week in between games to recover finally and then we went out and put in a performance that we knew we could do all season and especially beating Melbourne City as well, after they had thumped us early in the season [5-1 in Round 4 on December 26].
"Going into the final against Sydney as well [a 2-1 win in which the Victory controlled the play throughout], I think no one thought we were going to win it. We knew within ourselves that we had a really special group and, with what we had all been through together, we would be able to do it on the day. In finals, anything can happen and we had to do it the hard way to get there. There's lots of really good moments that all came together at the end and it was a very special title to win for sure."
In terms of a return to A-League play for the 2022-23 season, she said, “I will definitely look at that; at the moment we're discussing it—I'd love to go back and play a few more games; I'm not sure exactly at the moment if I can but that's the aim."
We then discussed what she had learned from Coach Kim Bjorkegren at Racing during the season, particularly as he has a similar international background to her's, having held head coaching jobs in Sweden, Cyprus, China and now in America, “One of the things that Kim and I discussed when we had our first chat before I decided to come to Racing was, we had some similar difficulties in going away from our countries and facing different barriers. We bonded over that a little bit because we had faced similar issues."
She said that she and Bjorkegren were very clear about their objectives for the 2022 season in Louisville, “He definitely took a risk coming here and trying to implement his coaching in a very difficult league and I was looking to challenge myself too and that is something we have both been working on together this year and it has worked out really well. I've definitely learned a lot from him; he said we will work on this together because I had absolutely no clue how to properly play in this league. It's definitely one of the hardest leagues in the world. He's been a great support for me personally this season."
Chidiac expounded on some of these differences that she has experienced in her transition to Racing and the NWSL, “It's constant transitions, to be aware of that; in Japan and Spain it is possession-based so you are not running nearly as much as you are in this league. It is having to play quicker, having to know that when you are attacking, you will have to run all the way back in a second to defend. Things are a lot quicker here and he's taught me how to pace myself more within the games, not to take as many touches as I am used to taking when I play at home and have a bit more time on the ball.
"It's been adjusting a few things within my game; for me personally I have had to be a lot more aggressive in the way I play here because the physicality is a lot different. It's little things I have had to adjust and he's helped me do that and shown a lot of trust in me as well to get to that point by the end of the season."
We then discussed her aspirations for the national team, for which she has played since 2015, when she was 16. She was on the Matildas squad for the two friendlies in September at home against Canada and for two earlier games against New Zealand during the summer, “I think a big part of that [playing in two games—one game in each series—this year for the Matildas] was me coming to the U.S. because the way our national team is going, we are trying to match the standard of the U.S. [current Australia WNT head coach Tony Gustavsson was an assistant coach to two U.S. Women's World Cup winning sides, in 2015 and 2019].
"So that's why I wanted to come here and bring that part of my game, to give myself the best opportunity to make that team; obviously the goal is to make the [Finals] team but it is out of my hands at the moment. I have to keep playing, keep putting in performances, and hope that they are watching and want me to be involved in the team so that is the end goal ultimately and it is coming up really quickly, but if I was to not make the squad, I am pretty happy with what I have been able to accomplish, especially with Racing this season. It has definitely been a challenge for myself and put myself outside my comfort zone once again; all these experiences overseas have brought me to this moment. If I was to not make the [national] team it would be heartbreaking, but I know I have done everything I possibly can so it is kind of out of my control at the moment."
Note: The day after the interview, Alex Chidiac scored the winning goal in Racing Louisville's 3-1 win in Los Angeles with a successful penalty kick, her second goal in 18 matches for the club this season. In her career, she has been perfect from the penalty spot, scoring 5 times in 5 chances. The Racing win was in front of a sellout crowd of 22,000 fans in Los Angeles. Racing, with their second win in three matches, severely dented Angel City's chance to make the playoffs in their first season, as a win would have left them in sixth place and in the last playoff spot entering the last game of the season in early October.
Chidiac is an extremely analytical and articulate person to talk with. Personally, I think we will see Alex on Australia's Women's World Cup finals squad in 2023. Besides being impactful throughout the middle of the park, she is a positive person who coaches — particularly Jeff Hopkins of Melbourne Victory — have raved about. In addition, she has won two A-League Women titles (Melbourne City in 2015/16 and Melbourne Victory in 2021/22) and a league title with Atletico Madrid in Spain in 2018-19. The Matildas, in a bit of a prolonged results funk (see our recent column: The Week in Women's Football: A-League & Matildas; chat with NZ's Gabi Rennie; Chelsea star Sam Kerr on FIFA - Tribal Football), could definitely use her winning experience, cerebral play and deep understanding of the game which should make her a essential piece of the Women's World Cup Matildas for next summer in my estimation.
Tim Grainey is a contributor to Tribal Football. His latest book Beyond Bend it Like Beckham is on the global game of women's football. Get your copy today.
Follow Tim on Twitter: @TimGrainey
