IT WAS ALWAYS in Stephanie Roche’s itinerary to return home to Dublin this week but not making the return journey across the Atlantic certainly wasn’t part of it.
Three weeks have passed since her abrupt departure from Houston Dash but Roche is beginning to come to terms with the recent developments that have thrown her blossoming career off course.
The Irish international touched down from the States on Monday and barely had two hours sleep before she was back in-front of the cameras and embarking on a whistle-stop media tour.
There’s been plenty to catch-up on but similarly a lot has changed since she was last home.
Out of the blue, Roche was told by the club’s manager and chief executive that she was no longer required. The reasons why have been made clear by Houston but that didn’t make it any easier to digest.
By her own admission, there were a few tears. You can hardly blame her, either.
Thousands of miles from family and friends, this new life she and boyfriend Dean Zambra were creating for themselves in Texas was suddenly turned upside down.
Roche was unveiled as a health and wellbeing ambassador for Sodexo Ireland yesterday Peter Houlihan
Peter Houlihan
“We were enjoying it and having a really good time,” Roche said yesterday. “We were loving the heat and getting away from the Irish weather. It was a shock the way it ended and it’s not a nice thing to happen to any footballer.
“It was an experience and it will stand to me.”
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Roche’s positivity is palpable. At the time, she used the ‘one door closes, another one opens’ expression to put an optimistic spin on the what happened and certainly the striker is determined to learn from the experience.
“I tried to get over it as quickly as I could. Everyone’s been so nice about but I have to admit, these six months have felt like six years – it’s been the longest six months of my life.
“But the thought of going to America really appealed to me and it was something that I wanted to try out,” she continued.
“And it was always going to be a big risk going to a different country with different rules in the league but it was a great life experience and good for my football.”
Those rules were ultimately what decided Roche’s fate at Houston. An injury crisis meant they needed to bring in reinforcements and the Dubliner was the one to make way with little notice.
Roche will begin talks with two English clubs this week Cathal Noonan / INPHO
Cathal Noonan / INPHO / INPHO
She holds no grudges towards manager Randy Waldrum – despite seeing only 24 minutes of game time – because it’s just the way clubs operate in America. In fact, Roche didn’t even get the opportunity to say goodbye to her team-mates, instead offered a change of flights home by the club. To be fair, it was very considerate of them.
That offer was politely declined as Roche was determined to make it work across the Atlantic. To keep up her fitness levels, the 25-year-old trained with a local men’s team alongside her boyfriend before spending a week with the Boston Beakers.
“I wanted to stay as long as I could to try and get something but it’s not about trying to prove a point but doing what’s best for me as a footballer now.”
It’s clear Roche’s drive and enthusiasm remains steadfast despite the setbacks of the previous three weeks. But, when you’ve been shown the exit door it’s perhaps only natural to question what the future holds.
“I haven’t really thought about it [life after football],” she says. “I’ve been very busy recently with writing [newspaper column] and obviously it’s something I need to think about because football is all I’ve known since I was young.
“I don’t really have anything else to fall back on so with everything that’s happened over the last few months, it’s something I’ve had to consider. I love coaching kids and used to do school visits when I was with the FAI.
The Irish striker finished runner-up in the Fifa Puskas Award Peter Houlihan
Peter Houlihan
“There isn’t a lot for women in football and that’s just the way it is. When something bad happens you do think ‘what am I going to do now?’ but I had so much support.”
Indeed, the level of support Roche has been shown by the public since arriving on the scene on the back of that superlative strike for Peamount United has been revealing.
It’s not quite a rags to riches story but Roche is forging a career for herself and at the same time dragging women’s football, and sport, to the forefront of the agenda.
Yesterday, she was unveiled as a health and well-being ambassador for Sonexo Ireland, the latest in a host of partnerships she’s now involved in.
Yet, the support hasn’t all been positive. The cynics will use the recent developments as fuel for their argument that Roche is ‘a one goal wonder’, as she labels it.
“It’s something that’s going to happen with the hype I got for the goal,” Roche explains.
“Even when it was all happening I was getting ‘one goal wonder’ and all that but you just have to take that.
“Everybody who knows me as a player or person knows that’s not the case and I’ve scored loads of goals. I don’t think I have to prove myself to anyone.
“For now, I’m fully focused on playing football and that’s what I have to sort out over the next couple of days.”
'America really appealed to me but it was a risk and it's been the longest six months of my life'
IT WAS ALWAYS in Stephanie Roche’s itinerary to return home to Dublin this week but not making the return journey across the Atlantic certainly wasn’t part of it.
Three weeks have passed since her abrupt departure from Houston Dash but Roche is beginning to come to terms with the recent developments that have thrown her blossoming career off course.
The Irish international touched down from the States on Monday and barely had two hours sleep before she was back in-front of the cameras and embarking on a whistle-stop media tour.
There’s been plenty to catch-up on but similarly a lot has changed since she was last home.
Out of the blue, Roche was told by the club’s manager and chief executive that she was no longer required. The reasons why have been made clear by Houston but that didn’t make it any easier to digest.
By her own admission, there were a few tears. You can hardly blame her, either.
Thousands of miles from family and friends, this new life she and boyfriend Dean Zambra were creating for themselves in Texas was suddenly turned upside down.
“We were enjoying it and having a really good time,” Roche said yesterday. “We were loving the heat and getting away from the Irish weather. It was a shock the way it ended and it’s not a nice thing to happen to any footballer.
Roche’s positivity is palpable. At the time, she used the ‘one door closes, another one opens’ expression to put an optimistic spin on the what happened and certainly the striker is determined to learn from the experience.
“I tried to get over it as quickly as I could. Everyone’s been so nice about but I have to admit, these six months have felt like six years – it’s been the longest six months of my life.
“But the thought of going to America really appealed to me and it was something that I wanted to try out,” she continued.
“And it was always going to be a big risk going to a different country with different rules in the league but it was a great life experience and good for my football.”
Those rules were ultimately what decided Roche’s fate at Houston. An injury crisis meant they needed to bring in reinforcements and the Dubliner was the one to make way with little notice.
She holds no grudges towards manager Randy Waldrum – despite seeing only 24 minutes of game time – because it’s just the way clubs operate in America. In fact, Roche didn’t even get the opportunity to say goodbye to her team-mates, instead offered a change of flights home by the club. To be fair, it was very considerate of them.
That offer was politely declined as Roche was determined to make it work across the Atlantic. To keep up her fitness levels, the 25-year-old trained with a local men’s team alongside her boyfriend before spending a week with the Boston Beakers.
It remains to be seen if anything materialises from that ‘trial’ but with talks with two English clubs set to take place this week, it seems Roche has her heart set on a move closer to home – and you can’t really blame her.
It’s clear Roche’s drive and enthusiasm remains steadfast despite the setbacks of the previous three weeks. But, when you’ve been shown the exit door it’s perhaps only natural to question what the future holds.
“I haven’t really thought about it [life after football],” she says. “I’ve been very busy recently with writing [newspaper column] and obviously it’s something I need to think about because football is all I’ve known since I was young.
“I don’t really have anything else to fall back on so with everything that’s happened over the last few months, it’s something I’ve had to consider. I love coaching kids and used to do school visits when I was with the FAI.
“There isn’t a lot for women in football and that’s just the way it is. When something bad happens you do think ‘what am I going to do now?’ but I had so much support.”
Indeed, the level of support Roche has been shown by the public since arriving on the scene on the back of that superlative strike for Peamount United has been revealing.
It’s not quite a rags to riches story but Roche is forging a career for herself and at the same time dragging women’s football, and sport, to the forefront of the agenda.
Yesterday, she was unveiled as a health and well-being ambassador for Sonexo Ireland, the latest in a host of partnerships she’s now involved in.
Yet, the support hasn’t all been positive. The cynics will use the recent developments as fuel for their argument that Roche is ‘a one goal wonder’, as she labels it.
“It’s something that’s going to happen with the hype I got for the goal,” Roche explains.
“Everybody who knows me as a player or person knows that’s not the case and I’ve scored loads of goals. I don’t think I have to prove myself to anyone.
“For now, I’m fully focused on playing football and that’s what I have to sort out over the next couple of days.”
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dreams dashed harsh realities Houston Dash Stephanie Roche The Mighty Steph