By Jon Willemsen
A familiar face returned to the national women’s soccer team for a June 18 friendly against Germany in Vancouver, as former Ottawa Fury youth player Christina Julien was back in Canadian colours a year outside of the FIFA 2015 Women’s World Cup on home soil.
The striker from Cornwall was a mainstay alongside Christine Sinclair during qualifying for the London 2012 Olympics – where Canada went on to win its historic bronze medal – but wound up serving as an alternate for the Games, and saw very limited action with the national team in the following years.
Although she didn’t see any game action, Julien says being on the national team roster again made her feel happy knowing that her hard work in recent years is paying off.
“It was great to see all the girls again and train with them,” Julien adds. “It was really nice to get the call.”
Reflecting on the path leading up to London 2012, the 2011 World Cup veteran points to an unfortunate timing of events as a reason for why she fell off the national team’s radar.
“I just accepted a professional contract right before the girls went to residency, and I just think that disconnect from the environment didn’t help my chances,” Julien recalls. “Then I had a partially-torn hamstring when they were making the final selections, so it was just a bunch of little things that added up.”
But now she feels positive about where her game is at and hopes it is enough for another chance to play for her country.
“It wasn’t my time then, but hopefully it is now,” Julien signals. “I was young and didn’t have as much experience and confidence as I do now.”
Joining USV Jena in the Frauen-Bundesliga – an elite German soccer league regarded as one of the world’s best – has proven beneficial on many fronts.
“I definitely wanted a challenge, so I moved, and got to play almost every minute,” Julien details. “I knew if I wanted to help us win gold (at the World Cup) that I had to play against the best players in the world.”
Team Canada coach John Herdman was also eager to see Julien test herself against a higher level of competition. Herdman asked Julien for game film from her matches in Europe so he could see how she was handling the challenging German league – and now says he’s observed big signs of improvement in her game.
“Being a consistent starter in one of the toughest leagues in the world, and scoring and setting up big goals is almost a prerequisite in what we look for now,” Herdman indicates. “I think Christina did really well in what was definitely a huge change for her, and you can see that she’s more confident out there now.”
It’s still a fairly long time before decisions have to be made regarding the final World Cup roster for the June 6-July 5 event that will be played in six Canadian cities, including Ottawa.
But after watching her progress this past season in Germany, Herdman says Julien will certainly have a shot at reclaiming her national team spot in time to perform on the world’s biggest stage.
“Watching her game develop says a lot about her resilience,” adds the Canadian coach of four years. “This consistent improvement shows that she’s still motivated, and that says a lot about how much she wants this.”
Getting on the roster for a friendly is far from the end goal Julien desires, but she’s hoping that first step will translate into the chance to live her dream of wearing the maple leaf – this time on home soil.
“I’m going to give it everything I’ve got because it would be the pinnacle of my career to play at home, and I’ll know I did as much as I can to get that opportunity,” Julien underlines. “Hopefully I’m a part of that group. I want to win a World Cup.”