Collette McCallum

Collette Gardiner (née McCallum; born 26 March 1986) is an Australian retired footballer who played as a midfielder, earning over 80 caps for the Australian national team. She last played for Perth Glory in the Australian W-League.

Collette McCallum
McCallum playing for the Matildas in 2012
Personal information
Full nameCollette Gardiner
Birth nameCollette McCallum[1]
Date of birth (1986-03-26) 26 March 1986 (age 38)
Place of birthRutherglen, Scotland
Height5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Position(s)Midfielder
Youth career
NSW Institute of Sport
Australian Institute of Sport
WA Institute of Sport
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
Manly Warringah
NSW Academy of Sport
Western Waves FC
2008Pali Blues8(5)
2008–2009Perth Glory10(2)
2009Sky Blue FC23(0)
2009–2011Perth Glory14(3)
2012Lincoln Ladies8(1)
2012–2015Perth Glory16(4)
International career
2002–2006Australia U-2019(13)
2005–2015Australia81(11)
Managerial career
2015–Perth Glory (Assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 7 July 2015
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 7 July 2015

Playing career

Born in Scotland, McCallum emigrated to Australia with her family at the age of four.[2][3] She played for Pali Blues in the American USL W-League in 2008.[4] Following her debut game for the Blues, she was selected for the W-League team of the week as a result of scoring two goals against Ventura County Fusion. Pali Blues went on to win the W-League championship in that season.

In 2009, McCallum played for Sky Blue FC in the new Women's Professional Soccer in the United States. The club went on to win the 2009 Women's Professional Soccer Playoffs in their debut year & in doing so McCallum became the first Australian woman to win a club title overseas.

International

McCallum in action for the Matildas.

McCallum amassed 81 caps for the Matildas. Following the retirements of Cheryl Salisbury and Joanne Peters in February 2010, she was named the Matildas vice captain.[5]

As a youth representative McCallum represented the Young Matildas on 19 occasions, & was named in the FIFA All-Star Team at the 2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship.

McCallum is arguably one of the best produced at her age group and was considered one of the best young talents in the world.

Such is her legacy at youth level that in 2019 Professional Footballers Australia named the Australian Young Player of the Year award the Collette McCallum Medal in her honour.

The 132nd capped Matilda played every Australian fixture at the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup (China 2007) & 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup (Germany 2011) helping the team reach the quarter finals in each tournament.

Coaching career

In 2015, she was employed as the Assistant Coach of the Perth Glory's Women's team, working with Head Coach Bobby Despotovski.[6]

Career statistics

International goals

Scores and results list Australia's goal tally first.

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
123 February 2007Zhongshan Soccer Stadium, Taipei, Taiwan  Uzbekistan8–010–02008 Olympics qualifying
210–0
37 April 2007BCU International Stadium, Coffs Harbour, Australia  Hong Kong3–015–02008 Olympics qualifying
46–0
58–0
619 August 2007Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium, Tianjin, China  China3–03–1Friendly
720 September 2007Chengdu Sports Centre, Chengdu, China  Canada1–12–22007 FIFA Women's World Cup
85 March 2008Stockland Park, Sunshine Coast, Australia  New Zealand1–04–2Friendly
97 February 2009Canberra Stadium, Canberra, Australia  Italy1–41–5Friendly
1017 October 2010Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon, South Korea  Mexico1–03–12010 Peace Queen Cup
1115 May 2011Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford, Australia  New Zealand2–12–1Friendly
1223 June 2011Borussia-Park, Mönchengladbach, Germany  England1–02–0Friendly
132–0

Honours

Club

Pali Blues
Sky Blue FC
Perth Glory

Country

Australia

See also

References

External links