Matildas coach Joe Montemurro has praised Mary Fowler for speaking up about her mental health challenges, after the Manchester City forward revealed the extent of her depression when she first moved to Europe.
The 22-year-old attacker is currently recovering from a serious knee injury and is expected back on the field in January ahead of the Asian Cup, but released a memoir this week detailing the extent of her experience with depression and self-harm.
Fowler wrote she began having suicidal thoughts when she moved to France to play for Montpellier at age 17. After instances of self harm as a teenager, she said she came close to going further one night at age 20, in a period she was playing in England. “In that moment, I didn’t follow through,” she wrote. “But I did sit there for most of the night pleading for anyone up above who would listen to please just take me.”
Montemurro said being able to overcome and discuss these challenges showed courage. “It’s a little bit of a sign of the pressures that professional athletes and professional sports people are under these days,” he said.
“The more we talk about it, the more it’s out in the open, the more that we’re honest about it I think is amazing, and this is a perfect example of someone that’s been really courageous and been able to come out with her issues, deal with it and know that there are people behind her, backing her and want to do what’s best for her.”
Fowler is recovering from a serious knee injury. Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA
Fowler wrote in her book that she struggled with financial pressures and the expectations that came with her increasing profile that were exacerbated when she arrived in France without having French language skills and family support. Her response was to self harm.
“The motivation was to divert my emotional pain. Looking back on it now, it’s bizarre that I thought physically harming myself would feel better than dealing with my emotions, but I was young and didn’t know how to cope with the situation in front of me,” she wrote.
“I was having a bit of an identity crisis, trying to deal with the expectation to perform and struggling to navigate a difficult work environment.”
Montemurro said as Matildas coach he has been trying to stay more closely connected to the squad and he visited the players at their clubs in Europe last month, “just see where they’re at, and you get some realities on situations,” the former Arsenal, Juventus and Lyon coach said.
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“The biggest thing that we can do as FA [Football Australia] and the people supporting these players is to just be there if they need to talk to them, if they need something, if they need even to understand where a good place to live in a city is, we’re there to help them.”
Fowler will remain in the UK for the Matildas’ coming matches against New Zealand, in Gosford on 28 November and Adelaide on 2 December, although Montemurro said she would return to play in January.
