Man City's Vivianne Miedema 'would love to play in Australia' in future

WSL all-time goalscorer Vivianne Miedema 'would love to play in Australia' and make a move to the A-League Women in future.

The 28-year-old is competing in the Perth International Football Cup with her new outfit Manchester City this week, having delivered the match-winner in their penalty shootout victory over Leicester.

It marks the Dutch star's second visit to the country after flying to see her close friend Maruschka Waldus, who played for Adelaide United at the time, in late 2022.

Miedema spent two weeks in South Australia to "switch off" and "get away from everything", with the pair crossing paths with some snakes during their hiking expeditions.

The Cityzen, who made her debut for her new club at HBF Park on Wednesday, also trained with her friend's ALW side during her last visit.

"I was training there," Miedema told Optus Sport.

"They actually didn't have a game at that moment, so I missed all the games but I have been watching a fair few online to see my friend play.

"It's obviously hard to compare it to any other league, I think having had the World Cup here in 2023 I hope that you can see a massive growth in women's football.

"Circumstances and culture, I think Australia has got something really different to give than a lot of other leagues. So, for me, I would love to maybe play one year in Australia and to do it here, see the culture, see how it is.

"But I hope that the league can keep on developing and eventually become top, top."

Ahead of the 2024/25 season in England, Miedema penned a deal with Gareth Taylor's side following seven years at Arsenal.

She ended her time in North London with 177 direct goal involvements in 173 appearances as a Gunner.

Of those 177 involvements, she scored 126 goals and assisted 51 others since she made the move to Jonas Eidevall's side back in 2017 from Bayern Munich.

It seems unlikely that the Netherlands international will be seen in an ALW jersey anytime soon, but she has considered it an option later in her career.

"I've been to Australia before, I did love it. It's on the other side of the world for us, it's a different lifestyle, a different culture," Miedema told Optus Sport.

"I've been fortunate enough to play in Germany and in England so far. I wouldn't come to Australia right now, but potentially later on in my career, I would definitely be open to that.

"Because it's not just about football, it's about people that you meet along the way and you can grow as a person, I think, when you get different cultures all the time."

The former Bayern Munich striker is only a few weeks into her time at her new club, but she is already adapting to City's style of play.

The pre-season tour in Western Australia has helped her get to know her new teammates like Matildas stars Mary Fowler and Alanna Kennedy.

It has laid the groundwork for Taylor's side's return to Champions League football and chase for silverware in the WSL, FA Cup and Continental Cup next campaign.

"One of the reasons I joined City is because I really believe in the philosophy they have when it comes to football and so far I've been enjoying that," Miedema told Optus Sport.

"Once I knew I was ready for a new adventure, I spoke to different coaches and different clubs and I got a really good feeling with Gareth.

"If you look at the quality we have, we're all very different and I hope at times we've seen it in training already, it can fit really, really well together.

"Hopefully we do qualify for Champions League. We're going to be playing a lot of games so I'm pretty sure that we need to try and keep everyone as fit as possible."

Off the pitch, the self-described "massive Swiftie" has also enjoyed connecting with the Aussie fans.

The WSL Golden Boot winner greeted some lucky fans, at an open training session this week, with friendship bracelets.

And fans of the ex-SC Heerenveen forward repaid her on Wednesday night, giving her a warm welcome when she stepped onto the pitch for her first minutes as a Cityzen.

Originally published for Optus Sport on August 29, 2024