Katrina Gorry's uncertain football future amid 'new adventure' for Matildas star
The Aussie veteran is without a club after playing her last game for Swedish team Vittsjo GIK.
Katrina Gorry's club football future is up in the air after the Matildas veteran played her final game for Swedish team Vittsjo GIK over the weekend. Gorry paid a lovely tribute to the club where she met her fiancee and fellow player Clara Markstedt.
Markstedt retired after the final game of Vittsjo's season - a 2-0 win over KIF Orebro DFF. And Gorry is also departing the club to start a "new adventure" with Markstedt and her young daughter Harper.
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“To my Vittsjo GIK family, THANK YOU," Gorry wrote on Instagram. “Thank you for giving me this opportunity, for welcoming us with open arms and for taking care of our little girl.
“Thank you to our incredible supporters, to my team, to our coaching staff and most of all our incredible Nannies. This has become our home for the last 2 years but it’s time to say goodbye and set off on a new adventure. I came here with a 6-month-old and I’m leaving with a bilingual 2-year-old, a beautiful fianceé and people that will hold a place in our hearts forever.”
Gorry's immediate future remains unclear, and she hasn't yet signed with another team for next season. Some have tipped her for a move to one of the big European clubs after an impressive showing at the recent Women's World Cup for the Matildas.
The international windows are currently closed until early 2024, and retirement could also be an option for the 31-year-old. She recently revealed her plans to tie the knot with Markstedt in 2025 on Hamilton Island.
“We’re going to try to keep it as traditional and beautiful as we can,” she told Women’s Day. “A lot of the Matildas have been my family for a long time so they were so excited for me. I’d love to have them there.”
Katrina Gorry likely to have played last World Cup for Matildas
Gorry was playing with a heavy heart at the World Cup after the death of Markstedt's father. Matildas players were all wearing black armbands during Australia's win over France, and Gorry revealed the heartbreaking reason after the game.
"My fiancee's dad passed away a couple of nights ago," she said. "It has been a tough 48 hours for me but it was a nice night for me to be with him.
"My head has been everywhere tonight but I know I have full support, not just here, but the family in Sweden too. Tonight, I just wanted to make him proud. Football is my happy place. Everything just leaves when you get on the field and when you have the girls backing you up every step of the way you have so much belief.
"Clara is over in Sweden. She went back when it all happened. I'm glad she is there with her family but definitely wish I could be there for her."
The World Cup appears to have been Gorry's last, with the veteran player set to be 35 by the time the next one rolls around. "Everyone's going be hurting," she said after the Matildas' loss to England in the semi-final. "I think the veterans probably more - we don't really have another World Cup in us. So it's a tough one to swallow at the moment. But, we'll all get around each other, we'll make sure that we're ready to go for the next game."
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