Soccer: All pros, few cons for Ferns

Professional footballers (from left) Hayley Moorwood (Chelsea), Kirsty Yallop (Kristianstads), Ali Riley (FC Gold Pride) and Rebecca Smith (Wolfsburg) are in Auckland for World Cup qualifiers. Photo / Doug Sherring

Rebecca has been compared to Ryan Nelsen. Ali rubs shoulders with a Brazilian superstar. Hayley hangs out at Stamford Bridge. Kirsty is a regular on Swedish television. Meet New Zealand football's awesome foursome.

While the focus has centred on the All Whites for the past 12 months, these are heady times for the women's game in this country. The four full-time professionals are playing starring roles at some of the biggest clubs on the planet.

Rebecca Smith (Wolfsburg, Germany), Ali Riley (FC Gold Pride, US), Hayley Moorwood (Chelsea, England) and Kirsty Yallop (Kristianstads, Sweden) are home briefly as the Football Ferns contest Oceania's World Cup qualifiers, set to conclude with the final this Friday.

Having grown up in the US, it is no surprise Riley is the loudest of the four; She was jetlagged but still buzzing after a stellar season. Her team had just won the US Women's Professional Soccer league and the 22-year-old fullback was named rookie of the year. Born in Los Angeles but with Christchurch connections through her father, Riley made her debut in 2007 and, after 35 caps, has a growing sense of what it means to be a New Zealander.

"I think it increases every time I come back and am with the team," she says. "I feel way more connected and more like a Kiwi now. I owe a lot of my success and recognition to playing with New Zealand."

While still at Stanford University (also the alma mater of Ryan Nelsen and Simon Elliott) Riley was representing her adopted country at World Cups and Olympics.

"I got to play against the best players in the world then more than anyone else. That brought my game up so much."

Riley's most famous teammate in San Francisco is the Brazilian Marta, often seen as the Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi of the women's game. The 24-year-old has been world player of the year for the past four years and rakes in an estimated $700,000 annually. Riley is in awe of the South American.

"She is above and beyond any other female player," says Riley. "She is unstoppable, even against three defenders; far above everyone else. I'll try to tackle her at training and she will say, 'oh Ali, you make me a better player'. And I am like, 'no, you make me a better player'."

Stateside, her dressing room nickname is Books. "Since I went to Stanford, I must be a huge nerd," she laughs. Marta has recently started calling her Little Blue, a reference both to her 1.63m stature and the small blue watch she always wears.

Smith was a trailblazer. One of our first female professionals, the 29-year-old defender started her career in the US and has since played in Germany, Sweden and England - epicentres of the women's game. Smith's Wolfsburg side recently knocked over Champions League holders Potsdam and their men's team were Bundesliga champions in 2009. Women's football is huge in Germany - especially as the European powerhouse will host the 2011 World Cup - but life there is not all plain sailing.

"The culture shock is huge," says Smith, currently learning her fifth language (Norwegian). "I love German people but there are so many moments that make me and the other foreigners [in the team] sit there with our mouths open. Especially with time - if you are a minute late for anything, it is the end of the world."

On the field she is known as Becks - after the beer - which her German team-mates find "hilarious". Smith aspires to be like John Terry - for his presence on the field, she quickly emphasises - while national coach John Herdman recently called her "the Ryan Nelsen of our team".

Ferns captain Moorwood, who has represented her country on 54 occasions, signed for Chelsea in August and will play in the new eight-team English Super League, set to kick off in March 2011. Life in London has been "pretty overwhelming", especially as they share the same training ground as the millionaire men, with the likes of Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and Michael Essien being put through their paces.

"I am adjusting and I think I have fitted in well - it is great to be part of something new. The other girls always mock my accent but I am trying to pick on them as well."

There are 24 New Zealand women playing overseas (the majority at American universities) and Moorwood feels the 'fab four' are just the beginning of a new wave.

"We are going to get more players out into the football world," she says. "As a country, we have done quite well in the last few years and are probably becoming more marketable."

Yallop has been based at Kristianstad, a coastal town just north of Malmo, since March. The dynamic midfielder, who has 36 caps and nine goals for her country, is something of a local celebrity.

"Football is really big there and the town I live in is quite small, so everyone knows us," she says.

Media coverage is plentiful and matches are televised live every week. Apart from learning to cope with the imposingly tall Scandinavians, she has also been adjusting to some local delicacies.

"They love their meatballs but I can't eat them all the time," she laughs, "and people always want me to try herring."

You can win a Nike football signed by the fab four. Email sports@hos.co.nz with your name and address by 5pm Monday to go into a lucky draw.