YouUnder the scorching sun, among 90,185 spectators at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on July 10, 1999, an 11-year-old girl stood behind the goal where Brandi Chastain took the penalty that won the world championship for the USAimmersed in pure inspiration. Ali Riley, now 37, captain of New Zealand and a veteran of five World Cups, recalls witnessing that moment firsthand and says: “It made me want to be a strong woman who could show off her abs in front of the world and be on the front page of the newspaper. I think about how uncool it was back then to be successful in sport and that moment was crucial for me to see how these women do what they did and be celebrated for it.”
Riley will be celebrated Sunday at a farewell match for her hometown club Angel City, which named her its first captain for 2022. She retires at the end of this season after a remarkable career that included 163 caps, four Olympics and stints with Rosengård, Bayern Munich and Chelsea, with Sunday likely to be Angel City's final home game of what looks to be a playoff-bound season. be outside of them. Her decision to retire came after a year during which she went through IVF and saw her childhood. House in Los Angeles burned down and got married while trying to rehabilitate from a chronic nerve injury, so being able to hang up her boots on her own terms by returning to the City of Angels team may be her greatest achievement.
“I did a 50-50, landed awkwardly, and just felt my whole left leg burning,” Riley says of initially injuring her gluteus obturator internus in 2023, complications that led to nerve damage. “I had never felt anything like this before, and for months I couldn't walk. You feel these lightning strikes burning your leg. I called them 'zingers.'
“Medical professionals told me, 'It's in your head, so if you meditate, you won't feel it.' This is not correct, it did not help me. We tried medications, injections, but the pain takes your breath away, as if someone was stabbing you. I went to the gym every day for seven months and didn't see any progress. And then we found a doctor in Salt Lake City who – thanks to him – tried another injection, and in the end I got where I am now. I can use my leg to play football. I can be on the field for two hours and feel great. The rest of the day is still pretty rough. I can perform, I can train and be with my team. But physically and emotionally I won't be able to do this for more than maybe a couple more games, so I can't continue to live like this. I'm retiring because I need to take care of myself.”
Riley returned to the City of Angels playing XI in August, crying tears of joy alongside her teammates and medical staff, but she never made it beyond being an unused substitute, although it is hoped she will feature on Sunday. She wants more education for people needing treatment for nerve injuries, as well as more discussions about football relating to motherhood and supporting first-time parents. “I did two rounds of IVF during my injury – we should talk more about that,” she says. “There is a very short window and egg retrieval can be very inconvenient. [so] I really hope we get even more support.
“It's not something anyone told me about, but having IVF at 37 is a lot harder than if you froze your eggs early in your career. We're seeing more players having kids and getting back into the game, which is so important for that visibility. It's not possible for everyone right now. But women can do anything if we're given the support and resources.”
Just after IVF, Riley's heart was broken when her parents' home where she grew up in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles burned down in the devastating January fires.
Riley seems to feel great sadness as she remembers her neighborhood burning, but she also has a strong sense of perspective, grateful that her loved ones are safe and close to her, as well as her memories. “I was so lucky to grow up in a place like Palisades, where I was so safe and could be a kid and play outside until it got dark – that’s where I learned to play football.” She says her parents plan to rebuild the house. “I really try to turn everything into a positive,” she says, “and I don’t think so much about ourselves or our own suffering as much as I want to give back and still spread joy.”
Three days later she was getting married, she is starting to get better and she talks about her gratitude to her husband for his contribution to her recovery from injury.
“I don't know what I would have done without Lucas because there were many, many days when I was depressed and he really took over everything I had more energy for and brought me so much joy. He was really the one who helped me get out of the house and go grocery shopping and cook us dinner. I lost a lot of myself and definitely became a shell of myself and I don't want that to ever happen again.”
But those failures are not what she will remember most when she reflects on her nearly two-decade career. Her international career in New Zealand, where her father is from gives her the greatest pride: all the tedious travel in economy class is worth it when she helped her country earn their first World Cup victory.
It happened on home soil on the opening night of the 2023 World Cup against Norway and Riley says it was “the best day and night of my life” as her teammates paid tribute to their predecessors.
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He had previously had to scale mountains, not least to win national cups and league titles in Sweden, and his career began in the most innocent of ways: sitting on the ground and nibbling grass.
“In my early years, my dad was my coach, and I would just sit on the field, cut the grass, and I loved it. I remember just sitting on the field while everyone else was fussing around the ball. My mom wouldn't even come to my games because she was like, “What am I watching?” And my father really believed in me even then.”
Riley originally wanted to be a goalkeeper, but after a successful career at Stanford University, she established herself as a top defender. Her heart is still in California. “Being part of the City of Angels has been the best part of my career. Coming back home, I think that's what a lot of athletes dream about.” [My mantra was:] “I’m going to give it everything I have every day.”
Riley has a lot of experience in the media – not to mention a cookbook – and notes that this will be part of her next chapter, although she also says: “I'd love to start a fund one day. I'd love to invest in or own a club one day. I want to be part of this crazy growth of women's sport, especially women's football.”
“It feels like the culture is changing, the society is changing. We're in a different era and we can say, 'We've arrived.' Yes, we need to fight for more investment. Yes, there are still trolls and a lot of men who maybe don't see the power and how lucrative women's sport is. But the platforms are there and it's more accessible, so I want to cover the game, celebrate how far we've come, and be able to do it through a lens media.”
