When Anisa Guajardo flew out to Melbourne in late May to join Heidelberg United, her World Cup dream seemed shattered.
Despite being involved in the Mexican national team from youth levels to regular senior selection since 2011, the 24-year-old was omitted from the squad to play in Canada, leaving her to seek out her own adventure via overseas club football.
One game into her Women’s Premier League career, the last thing the attacker would have expected was getting back on a plane to return to North America.
But after just a week in Australia, Heidelberg United received a letter from the Mexican Football Federation, notifying the club that Guajardo was a required player in the squad again following an injury to a teammate.
“When I initially was told that I didn’t make the first roster I was pretty heartbroken,” Guajardo admits.
“I would go to bed and dream about getting that call up and I’d wake up and it’d be like, “oh no, it’s not real life.”
“So when I got the call it was unreal. Getting on the airplane it was like “I’m actually doing this,” I think finally being on the airplane going to Canada it really sunk in.
“Before that I was thinking they can still take it back, but they didn’t, and it was awesome.”
While she didn’t see any game time in the competition, Guajardo maintains she’s just grateful for the opportunity to experience the pinnacle of international football.
“It’s the World Cup right, so it’s different, the feeling of it, the atmosphere, it was different compared to any other tournament I’ve been with the team,” she says.
“I’ve been with Mexico for years in numerous tournaments, but never the World Cup, so there was a different feel in the team, there was a lot more concentration going on, a lot more focus.
“There was still good times and humour, we were still messing around, but at the same time, at the end of the day everyone has the same goal in mind, and that’s the next game and the next practice.
“Just the stadiums and the way were treated because its such a high calibre tournament, it was unbelievable.”
Following the conclusion of Mexico’s World Cup campaign, Guajardo was back in the air, travelling another 15,000+ kilometres to Australia to rejoin her club teammates at Olympic Village.
With all eyes on the World Cup participant in her return game at Knox Regional Football Centre on Sunday evening, Guajardo was a key player in Bill Mihaloudis’ side, scoring a goal and providing as assist as Heidelberg United ended Boroondara Eagles’ 12 game winning streak under new coach Shaun Ontong.
However, despite being just minutes away from victory, the Bergers had to settle for a 2-2 draw.
“Im just so happy to be back. I was already here a week before I left for Canada – I already felt like all the girls brought me in and made me feel at home, really welcomed me,” she says.
“While it was bittersweet [to conclude World Cup duties], I knew I’d be back and I’m happy to be here.
“You go from a competition like the World Cup – it’s mentally and physically tiring. It’s all you think about. You go for five meetings a day, having video analysis, game plans, training sessions. It was getting tiring after two weeks.
“Here, it’s still a focus on soccer, but at the same time I can enjoy myself more and these girls are awesome and I wouldn’t have wanted to play for any other team.
“I just want to show they brought me here for a reason and I have a lot to prove. It’s a bummer we didnt win, it feels like a loss, but we played our hearts out and it’s all you can ask for.”
Guajardo has already enjoyed a whirlwind career to date, starting at Pepperdine University before playing with the Pali Blues in the W-League, while also having brushes with the WNSL at Boston Breakers and Houston Dash.
Internationally, she’s been part of Mexico’s Olympic qualifiers and Algarve Cup campaigns.
But she says Australian leagues have reputations overseas for providing quality competition and did not hesitate when presented with the opportunity to ply her trade in Victoria.
“Believe it or not, in the States a lot of players talk about Australia, it’s pretty popular,” she says.
“Not a lot of girls do it, because of how far it is and you’ve got to be committed to the adventure.
“I just felt like it was a time of my life where I was ready to do that, and I’m glad I did.”
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