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 name Collette Gardiner
Birth name Collette McCallum[1]
Date of birth (1986-03-26) 26 March 1986 (age 38)
Place of birth Rutherglen, Scotland
Height 5 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*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Manly Warringah
NSW Academy of Sport
Western Waves FC
2008 Pali Blues 8 (5)
2008–2009 Perth Glory 10 (2)
2009 Sky Blue FC 23 (0)
2009–2011 Perth Glory 14 (3)
2012 Lincoln Ladies 8 (1)
2012–2015 Perth Glory 16 (4)
International career
2002–2006 Australia U-20 19 (13)
2005–2015 Australia 81 (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 edit

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 edit

 
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 edit

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 edit

International goals edit

Scores and results list Australia's goal tally first.

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 23 February 2007 Zhongshan Soccer Stadium, Taipei, Taiwan   Uzbekistan 8–0 10–0 2008 Olympics qualifying
2 10–0
3 7 April 2007 BCU International Stadium, Coffs Harbour, Australia   Hong Kong 3–0 15–0 2008 Olympics qualifying
4 6–0
5 8–0
6 19 August 2007 Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium, Tianjin, China   China 3–0 3–1 Friendly
7 20 September 2007 Chengdu Sports Centre, Chengdu, China   Canada 1–1 2–2 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup
8 5 March 2008 Stockland Park, Sunshine Coast, Australia   New Zealand 1–0 4–2 Friendly
9 7 February 2009 Canberra Stadium, Canberra, Australia   Italy 1–4 1–5 Friendly
10 17 October 2010 Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon, South Korea   Mexico 1–0 3–1 2010 Peace Queen Cup
11 15 May 2011 Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford, Australia   New Zealand 2–1 2–1 Friendly
12 23 June 2011 Borussia-Park, Mönchengladbach, Germany   England 1–0 2–0 Friendly
13 2–0

Honours edit

Club edit

Pali Blues
Sky Blue FC
Perth Glory

Country edit

Australia

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup Germany 2011 – List of Players: Australia" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 17 June 2011. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 November 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  2. ^ "Collette McCallum plays final game as Australia draw with Scotland". Daily Record. 16 April 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  3. ^ From her early days in Rutherglen to becoming an Aussie football legend, Daily Record, 27 September 2019
  4. ^ Ormond, A (11 March 2008). "Aussie Trio Sign For California Club". FourFourTwo Australia. Archived from the original on 14 March 2008. Retrieved 12 March 2008.
  5. ^ "Matildas to face DPR Korea". The World Game. 19 February 2010. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  6. ^ "Club legend to lead Women's Team to Glory". perthglory.com.au. 23 July 2015. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2015.

External links edit