MARY FOWLER
Manchester Derby Spotlight
The Manchester derby is fast approaching, and it’s promising to be an exciting occasion.
Over 40,000 tickets have already been snapped up for the clash at the Etihad Stadium for Sunday 11 December’s 12:30pm (UK) kick-off, as the next chapter in this historic fixture is written.
And for several in Gareth Taylor’s squad it’ll be their first taste of a Manchester United meeting.
One of those is summer signing Mary Fowler, who arrived from Montpellier in June 2022.
From beach football to facing her idol via the Netherlands, the teenager’s journey to the derby has been an interesting one to say the least…
Born in Cairns Australia, the first arena to witness Fowler with a ball at her feet is perhaps a surprising, yet an understandable one.
Alongside her four siblings, mum and dad, she lived right by the beach - which is why her first participation in a variety a sport was on sand.
“I come from a family of five kids, and we live really close to the beach so we used to go there like everyday,” she explained.
“We’d just eat dinner, do our homework and play football.
“Lots of other sports as well, but that’s where I remember playing a lot.”
Football and laughs on the beach clearly ignited a love for the game within the Fowler family, so much so they uprooted from Australia and moved across the world to Holland so her brother could pursue his dream of playing professionally.
As a result, Fowler couldn’t help but be influenced by the country’s passion for football.
The Netherlands is, of course, famed for founding the ‘total football’ style and producing some of the best players in both the men’s and women’s game.
Within our ranks we have Netherlands international Kerstin Casparij, another summer recruit, but the list is endless in terms of world class players originating from the birthplace of Johan Cruyff.
And growing up within the Dutch football culture impacted Fowler’s style of play and how she views the game.
“We moved over [to Holland because] my dad was working and my older brother was playing professionally at this time as well.
“He was playing for clubs over there when he was 16, so everyone moved over.
“I think for sure [it influenced my style of football].
“In Holland, football is embedded in the culture so being someone who is more technical and on the ball, it definitely came from [Holland].
“That’s how my family likes to play as well, but I learned a lot from being around that Dutch culture at a young age, being there.”
Upon returning to Australia after featuring for BVV Barendrecht’s and ESA’s academy, it wasn’t long until she was making an impression on and for the Matildas.
It was at Bankstown City where she signed her first professional contract in 2018 before she was fast-tracked into the Australia Women senior side, after impressing with under-20s.
Fowler then made her debut for her country at the age of just 15 against a trailblazing Brazil side at the Tournament of Nations – making her the fifth youngest to represent her nation.
“When I got back to Australia after living in Europe, I played in the second division there and I got called up to my first under-20s camp,” she reflected.
“So, I went away to my first tournament with them and straight after that, that’s when they called me up [to the senior side].
“I got the golden boot in that tournament, and I went straightaway so I didn’t have much time between, but I was really excited to play with the national team.”
There were three reasons for Fowler to celebrate at the full-time whistle.
Firstly, the immense achievement of representing Australia for the first time. Second was the fact that they recorded an impressive 3-1 victory.
But the third, is probably the one that meant the most to the now 19-year-old, lining up for Brazil that day was Marta, a pioneer for women’s football and Fowler’s footballing idol.
The opportunity to compete against her before picking the six-time FIFA World Player of the Year’s brains after the match was something she’ll never forget.
“I was really excited to see her,” Fowler said of the Brazil legend.
“I was really proud and honoured to be able to be with the senior national team, but I was so excited to see Marta! It was like top of my mind.
“In that game I was on the bench, but I ended up making my debut. I remember being a sub and I was like obviously preparing myself to come on and support my team.
“But I was just in awe as well of what Marta was doing. She just dribbled past two of our players and I was just thinking ‘wow’. I had to keep it in though because it was my team she was playing against!
“It was cool. Just to see her up close when I’d only ever seen her on YouTube. I did get to meet her after the game as well, which was pretty cool.
“We just chatted and she asked me how old I was. I told her I was 15 and she just said ‘you have a long career ahead of you’ and she was pretty old as well. But she seemed nice and then she went off.
“It was just short and sweet.”
Trading Montpellier for City this summer, Fowler has had to adapt quickly to her new surroundings, both in terms of Manchester and Taylor’s style of football.
Her success in the game to this date belies her tender years, making her acclimatisation to the Barclays Women’s Super League all the more impressive.
For the 19-year-old, competing for a regular starting berth is a challenge she isn’t used to.
However, it’s one she is thoroughly enjoying, and an environment which has seen her push the boundaries.
“It’s different to where I was. Different from France, but I like it,” she said of life at the City Football Academy.
“We have a really good group of girls and staff. It’s just a really nice environment to be part of.
“Being in this place, it’s the first time I’ve been in an environment where everybody is challenging me.
“Players are better than me and I can see my flaws in every training session, so it’s very different but in a good way.”
Having already grabbed three goals and two assists in her debut campaign in England, Fowler is perhaps being a little harsh in her assessment of how she’s adapted to life at City.
The Australian has played an important part in our nine-match winning run in all competitions, offering an important versatility and intelligence in a number of attacking roles.
Win number ten – in front of a bumper Etihad crowd – would surely top the lot, sitting among some of her greatest memories in the professional game.
But what is so exciting about Fowler is that – still a teenager – the best is surely yet to come for both herself on an individual basis, and City with her among the ranks.
CITY V UNITED: ETIHAD DERBY
City welcome Manchester United to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday 11 December.
Kick-off is scheduled for 12:30 (UK), with tickets selling fast for our third-ever women's match at the Etihad.
We hosted Everton there back in May 2014, before welcoming our local rivals in September 2019, when Caroline Weir’s wonder strike saw us run out 1-0 winners in front of what was then a WSL record crowd, and what remains a club record of 31, 213 fans.
With over 40,000 tickets already sold, it promises to be another historic occasion.
You can secure your tickets online by visiting: www.mancity.com/tickets/womens or by calling: +44 (0)161 444 1894.
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