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Melissa Barbieri

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Melissa Barbieri
Born
Melissa Anne Barbieri

(1980-02-20) February 20, 1980 (age 46)
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Occupation(s)Soccer player, coach
Years active1994–present
Known forGoalkeeper for Australia women's national soccer team (Matildas), captain 2010–2013

Melissa Hudson Melissa Anne Barbieri (born 20 February 1980) is an Australian soccer goalkeeper who has featured for Melbourne City in the A-League Women. Beginning her international career in 2002, she represented the Australia women's national soccer team (Matildas) and captained the squad from 2010 until 2013. Barbieri participated in four FIFA Women's World Cup tournaments (2003, 2007, 2011, and 2015). She retired from international play in June 2015 after earning 86 caps, holding the Matildas record for the highest number of clean sheets at 34.

She received the A-League Women's Goalkeeper of the Year (Golden Glove) distinction during the 2008–09 and 2013–14 seasons. By June 2025, Barbieri was active with Melbourne City and acknowledged as Australia's longest-serving professional soccer athlete, boasting 28 years of participation in league competitions.

Early years

Born in Melbourne on 20 February 1980 to parents of Italian descent, including her mother Nory Barbieri, she began playing soccer at eight years old. Initially competing alongside her brothers in boys' teams, she was forced to stop at age ten. At fourteen, she resumed playing after her mother located a women's team for her, eventually securing a scholarship with the Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS).

Club and state career

Starting as a midfielder, Barbieri played in Victorian Premier League youth squads such as South Melbourne (1994), Doncaster, Brunswick (1996–97), Moorabbin, Ringwood (2000), and Box Hill (2001). She made her senior debut with VIS-backed ITC Victoria during the 1996–98 Women's National Soccer League seasons, appearing first in February 1997 and netting her inaugural goal in 1998. A hamstring tendinitis injury in 1999 prompted her transition to goalkeeping. Jane Oakley coached her at VIS through to 2003. Between 1994 and 1999, she represented Victoria at Junior, Youth, and Senior state levels.

In a pioneering move in 2008, Barbieri joined Richmond SC's men's team competing in Australia's semi-professional league, becoming the first female player in that context. Although approached by the Boston Renegades from the United States, she chose to remain dedicated to Australia's national squad.

Barbieri signed with Melbourne Victory for the W-League's inaugural season in 2008–09 and secured the Goalkeeper of the Year award that year. After two seasons there, she moved to Newcastle Jets for the 2011–12 campaign and later went on loan to Adelaide United during the 2013–14 season, where she earned her second Golden Glove honor.

In July 2016, she appeared as a guest player for Tasmania’s Taroona FC. That same year, after sustaining an ACL injury while playing with Heidelberg United in the National Premier Leagues Victoria Women, she announced her retirement. However, in November 2017 Barbieri came out of retirement to join Melbourne City as an injury replacement. By June 2025, she had accumulated 110 A-League Women appearances over nine seasons with Melbourne City. At age 44 in 2024, she set the record as Australia's oldest professional soccer player across both genders, marking a career spanning 27 years with multiple clubs.

International career

Barbieri earned a spot on the Australian Schoolgirls Team in 1996 and was invited to join the training squad of the Australia women's national soccer team (Matildas) as a midfielder in 1997. She made her debut as a goalkeeper in September 2002 during a friendly match against Canada, which Australia won 1–0 in Victoria, British Columbia. That October, she played a key role in the Matildas securing second place at the US Cup, maintaining clean sheets in matches against both Russia and Italy.

In early 2003, Barbieri served as the backup goalkeeper for the Matildas at the fifth Australia Cup held in Canberra but did not see game time. During the 2003 OFC Women's Championship, also hosted in Canberra, Australia triumphed in all four games without conceding a goal, earning qualification for the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup. At that World Cup, the Matildas finished last in their group with one draw and two defeats. The following year, they won the 2004 OFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Fiji and advanced to the quarter-finals of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.

Following Australia's entry into the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in 2006, Barbieri participated in the 2006 AFC Women's Asian Cup hosted on home soil. The Matildas ended as runners-up after losing to China in a penalty shootout, thereby qualifying for the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup. At that tournament in China, they progressed to the quarter-finals but were narrowly defeated 3–2 by Brazil. On 19 February 2010, Barbieri was appointed captain of the Matildas succeeding Cheryl Salisbury upon her retirement. Under her leadership, Australia won the 2010 AFC Women's Asian Cup in China by prevailing on penalties against North Korea.

Barbieri captained Australia at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany, where the team reached the quarter-finals before being eliminated by Sweden. Later that year, Australia failed to qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympics. Prior to starting her family, Barbieri was omitted from the squad and replaced as captain by Kate Gill and Clare Polkinghorne by May 2013.

In a controversial decision in May 2015, coach Alen Stajcic recalled Barbieri for her fourth World Cup appearance after excluding first-choice goalkeeper Brianna Davey. During that tournament in Canada, Barbieri started Australia's opening match defeat against the United States before being substituted by Lydia Williams. The Matildas advanced to their first-ever World Cup quarter-finals. Following this event, Barbieri retired from international football with a total of 86 caps and an Australian record of 34 clean sheets, underscoring her vital impact on women's soccer nationally. She expressed pride in breaking cultural barriers as a female athlete raised in an Italian family where women traditionally did not engage in male-dominated sports.

Coaching career

In October 2016, Barbieri took on the role of head coach for the women's team at Heidelberg United. By July 2018, under her married name Hudson, she became an assistant coach with A-League Women side Melbourne City.

In popular culture

Barbieri is affectionately referred to as Bubs by her family, teammates, and the media alike. She was featured on the cover of the June 2011 issue of Australian FourFourTwo, appearing alongside fellow Matildas players Thea Slatyer, Sam Kerr, Kyah Simon, and Sarah Walsh. On 30 May 2025, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) published a documentary titled History Makers: The Story of the 2010 AFC Women's Asian Cup on Football Australia's YouTube channel, where Barbieri and coach Sermanni revisited their triumph in the Asian Cup from fifteen years earlier.

Personal life

In 2007, Barbieri wed Geoff Hudson, and the couple welcomed their first child in 2013. Following her pregnancy announcement in late 2012, she was removed from the Matildas roster and lost her funding support. Facing minimal maternity provisions and being released by Melbourne Victory, she took a year-long break from league soccer. To continue her career after transferring to Adelaide, Barbieri had to sell personal keepsakes for financial support. By 2016, the couple had their second child.

She earned a Diploma in Recreation with a focus on Sports Administration and was employed by VIS in Sports Administration during 2004. In 2012, Barbieri was in the process of obtaining her Coaching A Licence.

Country

Australia

Individual

External links

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