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Sacks
GET A LIFE!!! |
    
Scotland's star striker shows success is far from fleeting
By Graham McColl
THE lament that Scotland is no longer able to produce world-class footballers has been loud and long but it may soon come spluttering to a stop. Julie Fleeting, the 22-year-old striker for the Scotland international women’s team, is beginning a year in which she can establish herself as one of the top footballing talents on the planet. She turned professional last year to sign for San Diego Spirit in the US women’s league and in April begins her first full season with her new club. It could end with them as champions of the world’s premier women’s club competition.
Fleeting will simultaneously face her most demanding year so far at international level — Scotland this year join the Category A nations in European women’s football for the first time and will be competing against the best the continent has to offer. The draw for their European Championship group could have been kinder — they will meet Germany, the European champions — but that only cheers Fleeting, whose composure in the face of a challenge can be measured by her striking rate of 75 goals in 61 games for Scotland.
“It all happened quite quickly,” Fleeting says of her move to San Diego Spirit from Ayr United Ladies. “They contacted me in May and I went out on July 8 for the last eight games of the season.
“The first game I played for them was really strange because during the game they actually have music on every so often. At first, I was looking about me questioning if this was normal but it doesn’t bother the players and it gets the fans singing, so it makes for a great atmosphere.
“At San Diego, the stadium has a capacity of 7,000 and they get over 6,500, so it is almost full for every game. I have loved playing in front of the crowds.
“The standard of play was brilliant. With every single team that I played against, you wouldn’t know if they were at the top of the league or at the bottom. Every game can be won by either team and that made every game exciting.
“The players are also very, very strong. I had to learn that quickly or else I would find that defenders were just pushing me off the ball. I learnt how to deal with it and to keep my body between the defender and the ball. There’s a lot to say for their weight-training — you do upper-body and leg work before football training — it definitely helped me.”
In signing for San Diego, Fleeting became one of a tiny band of choice foreign players — only four are allowed per team — good enough to earn a place in the US league but she also entered a high-risk environment. “I signed a three-season contract but they decide whether they want you at the beginning of every season. They can either pick up your contract or drop it.”
Omid Namazi, San Diego’s coach, was promptly on the telephone at the end of last season to assure Fleeting she would be welcomed back in 2003. With four players from the United States national team, the women’s world champions, as team-mates — Julie Foudy, the captain, Shannon MacMillan, the striker, Joy Fawcett, the defender, and Aly Wagner, the midfield player — San Diego look to have a chance of taking the league title this season.
“Oh, definitely,” Fleeting says. “The US national team players that we’ve got in our team are among the best in the country. So they have always thought San Diego should at least be in the play-offs, if not winning the league. That’s what we’re looking to do.”
Players in the national team are celebrities in America, where women’s football is a major sport, and stars such as Mia Hamm, the striker, have become millionaires. Vera Pauw, the Scotland national coach, has stated that Fleeting could become an even better player than Hamm but, for the moment, Fleeting is happy with the initially modest rewards from playing professionally. “I get paid enough to mean that I can live in San Diego, which is quite an expensive place,” she says. “It’s fine; plenty to live on.” She has also recently signed her first sponsorship deal, with Puma USA.
Fleeting is currently enjoying some time at home in Kilwinning but her dedication to football remains evident — the freezing February weatherwould make indulging in comfort food forgivable. Instead, Fleeting opts to munch on a bunch of grapes as she discusses her football career. “It’s a huge year for me,” she says. “I’m looking forward to feeling a part of the whole season with San Diego, rather than coming in midway through.
“With the national team it’s a huge jump for us. We know that for Scotland it’s not going to be easy to stay in Category A but we feel we are of a better standard than a few of the teams at that level and we need to start proving that with our results. So it’ll be a big year; a big test.”
It is a test Scotland’s star striker will relish. Her presence among the elite of the women’s game is likely to be far from fleeting.
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Luceo Non Uro
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Total Posts: 1692 | Joined Sep. 2001 | Posted on: 9:26 am on Feb. 10, 2003 | IP
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DesertJock
GET A LIFE!!! |
Go on girl! I think she's a wee smasher anaw.
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and by Plane, Train or Taxi...........
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Total Posts: 428 | Joined July 2002 | Posted on: 2:57 pm on Feb. 10, 2003 | IP
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Rob Russell
GET A LIFE!!! |
75 in 61 games, WTF. Any chance of getting into the mens team ( we could put a fake beard on her or something)
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COME ON MOTHERWELL!!Born in e*****d, CONCEIVED IN SCOTLAND!
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Total Posts: 476 | Joined Dec. 2002 | Posted on: 10:42 am on Feb. 26, 2003 | IP
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Tartan Army Message Board
We Got That Julie Fleeting
