From Fawkner Park to Western United, Alana Cerne has proven there is a viable pathway for juniors to make it to the professional level.
The 20-year-old first plied her trade with NPLW side Calder United before making history as Western United’s inaugural Liberty A-League signing before the 2022-23 season.
Speaking to KEEP-UP, Cerne recalled being in shock when she found out about the expansion side's interest in signing her.
“When I got the phone call from the club, I was actually at work and when I heard that they wanted to sign me as a first-ever player my first thought was 'are you sure?'" she said.
“You know, there are so many other players out there that you could have signed and they said 'yes we are sure that we want to sign you'.
“When that phone call came through I was lost for words, I was saying things that didn’t even make sense, but I was like yeah, for sure, I’ll take it!”
The talented defender was not the only Calder player to make the jump to Western United, joined by Adriana and Melissa Taranto, Emma Robers, Julia Sardo, Aleks Sinclair, Natasha Dakic, Alyssa Dall’Oste, Stacey Papadopoulos, Raquel Deralas and Harriet Withers along with head coach Mark Torcasco.
“It helped so much having players come with you through your journey at the start as a new club, as a new female team,” Cerne said.
“It makes it so much easier when you have people that feel like family that we see actually more than our family. I see them more than my mum and dad, and brother. They’re all my sisters. I see them every morning and night. On our days off, we spend time together.
“It just proves we’re more than just a team. It definitely makes it so much easier to play alongside these girls.
Cerne said it “felt surreal” to be living the dream of playing for Western in the Liberty A-League.
“I was eight years old and I was thinking to myself; I want to be a professional footballer one day,” she said.
“Setting those goals for myself. Now being able to say I play for Western United and represent not only the west but this club as a junior footballer… I just don’t have words.
“I owe everything back to this club, my family, and everyone that helped me throughout the journey. All my coaches, all my teammates. All the young girls who I used to play with, we used to just kick the ball around for fun.”
Her journey started at Fawkner SC at age seven when she was invited to training with her friends.
“So, my best friend when we were in primary school, and we’re still best friends, we used to kick the ball all the time together at lunchtime and recess,” Cerne recalled.
“Just one day, he said to me ‘why don’t you come down, my dad is the coach and why don’t you just come down and kick the ball with the boys?'
“I think from then on I didn’t look back. I just knew that soccer was my passion. I just wanted to play with my friends. Now I still want to do the exact same thing.”
Before she was finding her feet in Australia’s national competition, Cerne was a football-loving junior – being played in every position in the park.
“I used to be thrown into positions that I didn’t even know I could play,” she said.
“I think there are photos of me in the goalkeeper kit when I was eight years old in Under-11s and I could barely touch the crossbar.”
“I think I just enjoyed the game so much that I just loved playing and didn’t really care what position I played or how many minutes or things like that. I just wanted to be here, and I just wanted to play.”
Having made her start at the grassroots level only a handful of years ago, Cerne believed the Women’s FIFA World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023™ would have an everlasting effect on female participation rates.
“I don’t think we see how big this is going to be. It’s going to be awesome at home and it will bring so much more to the female community of football,” Cerne said.
“It just gives us and younger girls a bit of a kick up the backside, like this is here. This is actually real. We can see it with our own eyes. We have games we can go to.”
Cerne's journey to the A-Leagues started at Fawkner Park SC - whether you're looking to follow her footsteps and play competitively, or just trying to enjoy some social football head to www.playfootball.com.au to find a program that suits you!