It’s a special homecoming for Ellie Carpenter as she gets to represent the Blues in her home country of Australia during Chelsea Women's pre-season tour – and it's fair to say she's excited!
A proud Aussie, Carpenter has made more than a century of appearances for the Matildas, representing them at the Olympics, the World Cup, and, most recently, reaching the final of the Asian Cup.
While taking Chelsea to Australia will be a special moment, the Blues first begin their tour in New Zealand, where they'll face Auckland in their opening pre-season fixture. And Carpenter believes the trip as a whole will provide a valuable opportunity to see how the squad has progressed over the summer.
‘We have had some new signings, but then also some old faces back as well, and it's been nice to get the team together,’ Ellie opened.
‘It's only been a few weeks now, so I think we're bonding really well and coming together, and I know this trip away will also be really nice for the team.’
After taking on Auckland, the Blues will head to the Allianz Stadium in Sydney to face the A-League Women All-Stars, and it’s a challenge that Ellie can’t wait to get stuck into.
‘I'm really excited to head to Australia with Chelsea,’ Ellie explained. ‘I never thought I'd be going to Australia with Chelsea, so I'm really excited, and to also wear this jersey in my home country.
‘There are a couple of girls from the national team in the All-Stars team, which will be cool to meet and to play against, and I think also some young and up-and-coming girls. It will also be cool for them to showcase their talent against us.’
With her family based in and around Sydney, Carpenter is looking forward to having them in the stands when Chelsea arrive for the Australian leg of the tour.
She continued: ‘I don’t head home often, just for national team games and sometimes over Christmas, but not really often. So it's nice to get home and to also play in front of my friends and family, which I rarely get to do. They’ll all be at the games, which is nice.
‘Hopefully all the supporters come out, we have a nice crowd for the game against the All-Stars. That'd be nice. But I'm just really looking forward to getting out there and playing in front of Australia.’