Powerhouse clubs all have a star player, that one player that carries the club to the highest honours on offer. Well most do anyway. Globally, there is your Paul Pogbas at Juventus, the Eden Hazards of Chelsea and the one and only Lionel Messi for Barcelona. Closer to home, and you have A-League stars like Fahid Ben Khalfallah leading the Melbourne Victory charge.
But zoom in even closer to that, and you’ll find a club with no discernable ‘star player’ but one that still looks likely to scale the lofty heights of the above – Bundoora United.
The Bundy girls’ success in 2015 has come from the genuine even spread of talent across the park. Beth Mason-Jones has come on leaps and bounds under the tutelage of former Melbourne Victory W-League goalkeeper coach Mark Torcaso, the defence have played inventive, creative football from behind the play, and their front three have helped contribute to an average goals per match just shy of three.
Their midfield as a unit has arguably been their greatest strength, boasting the knowledge and goal threat of Louisa Bisby, the vivacious energy of starlet Jess Pitts and the attacking flair of Rachel Alonso.
But there’s been one mainstay that has provided the glue to keep the entire squad of ‘stars’ together, and that’s their captain Enza Barilla. Her football in the middle of the park in the month of May was nothing short of sublime, despite only making three out of four appearances.
“It’s good that we have that balance [in midfield]. All those people [Jess Pitts, Louisa Bisby and Rachel Alonso add something different] and can fit or slot in,” Barilla, the WPL player of the month for Round 7-10 said.
“Jess Pitts has come to us this year and she’s been great. Very easy to play with and she has a similar mindset [to me]. We understand each other on the pitch which has been great.”
So how do you manage to stand out in a team of standouts? As Barilla has shown, it’s the ability to tie together the star players around her and lead them towards the common goal of victory. It tells a tale of its own when the one game she’s missed was Bundoora’s only league loss to date, a 2-0 defeat to Boroondara Eagles in Round 9.
Her leadership qualities are understated as the softly spoken captain puts not just team performance ahead of her own, but believes that it’s key in dictating her individual game.
“The important thing is that I’m not worrying about my performances, rather [I’m] focusing on the team.
“If we’re all on the same wavelength, then we’ll go out there, play our football and try to win games.”
Coach of two years Paul Kilpatrick credits this team first mentality which has culminated in the even spread of contribution, whilst praising the hard work that Barilla puts in to allow the team to succeed on the pitch.
“Enza is Enza. Her work rate is always high. She has been a consistent performer for a long time,” Kilpatrick said.
“We are sharing the workload more as a team this year all over the park. Enza is still one of the top players in the WPL and has been for a long time.”
Barilla acknowledges the efforts of both Kilpatrick and Torcaso in both her development as a player, and the success of Bundoora this season.
“I’ve been with Mark during my whole time at Bundoora. He’s a fantastic coach and with Paul coming along it’s been great because he adds something different,” Barilla said.
“We have two coaches to work with that have different ideas and they’ve been really great with the girls. We’re really lucky to have them both.”
If they continue their current trajectory, especially with the creative and energetic Barilla keeping the squad’s talent capital in check, there’s little doubt that the WPL title is firmly in the sites of the family club.
“Winning the championship obviously is further into the future, but it is a goal of ours. We’re taking each game as it comes.
“We want to win games but more importantly, we want to play good football, in a unique style and just play our game.”