Former Ireland star Stephanie Zambra revisits Puskas Award 'madness' as she calls time on her playing career
Stephanie Roche was a trailblazer and wanted to promote women's football in Ireland after her famous 2013 FIFA nomination, but the hype meant she was treated differently
No regrets for Stephanie Zambra as the Puskas Award nominee's final act as a footballer approaches.
Zambra played a starring role in the first ever Women's National League season back in 2011-12. At the start of this one, told her family that it would probably be her last.
She has now confirmed that it is - she scheduled a social media post to go out during training on Wednesday night, when she told her team-mates the news.
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Shamrock Rovers have announced that there will be free admission into Tallaght Stadium on Saturday for their final WPD game of the campaign against Shels.
It's a chance for football fans to pay tribute to the Dubliner, who became known on the world stage for her nomination for the 2013 Puskas award for her spectacular goal for Peamount - she finished second to James Rodriguez on 33% of the vote - and rubbed shoulders with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi on a star-studded night.
Rovers, however, are hoping it won't be a final farewell but merely the start of a new chapter.
"Hopefully she'll join the dark side on the coaching side with us," said Hoops manager Collie O'Brien. "There's an offer gone out to her to join our coaching set-up and hopefully this isn't the last time that we'll see her around the place."
The 35-year-old is already coaching in schools and is working on a girls in sport programme for transition year girls, while she already has Halloween coaching camps set up with her husband, former LOI midfielder Dean.
"There's loads happening, there always is with me," she grinned. "I never stop, there's always something going on. Obviously I want to stay involved in football for as long as I can. We'll see what happens. But at the moment, I just want to play my last game, hopefully see it out well, enjoy the moment and look to see what's next."
Zambra goes back to October 2008 and her Ireland debut against Iceland in a Euro 2009 qualifier as the proudest moment of her life. But every one of her 58 caps felt like putting the green jersey on for the first time.
"Playing for Ireland was 100% the biggest highlight," she said. "I'll be honest, I don't think I have any regrets. I took chances, I took risks. I think without taking risks you don't see where you can go, you don't see your limits.
"Obviously a lot has happened in my career, a lot was highlighted because of the whole hype of the Puskas and everything else.
"That all blew up out of nowhere, it was mental. I never expected to hit those heights that I did hit and the support that I got was unbelievable. After that, you're trying to keep on those heights."
She laughed: "If I had a good game, it was brilliant and it was the greatest thing ever, if I had a bad game, I was a terrible footballer. Everything was always heightened. I had to put up with that. That's something that I had to get used to.
"At the start I probably took offence to things but you have to grow a thick skin. When you're in the public eye, everyone's going to have an opinion on you. Even people that had never seen me play or never met me would have an opinion on me, that's just the way it is.
"It was something that you just had to brush off - the people closest to me, my coaches and my team-mates, will know the work I put in and who I am as a person and as a player, and that's all that matters really.
"I took on challenges, some worked out, some didn't, but everything kind of gave me a learning experience - not just in football, but in life. It built character, it built mental resilience, and that's important in football."
She played club football in England, Italy, France and the US and was a central figure in the Ireland squad's fight for equality in Liberty Hall in 2017.
Zambra, née Roche, has been a genuine trailblazer in the women's game. "I don't want to put any title on it or anything like that," she said.
"The best thing I can say is that I've been there and seen the change. I've seen women's football now at a stage where it's appreciated - that's something I've always tried to do.
"There's a negative perception around women in football. It's slowly changing, which is great to see. I'm just happy to see I've played a part in trying to make people more aware of how good women's football can be.
"Obviously the madness around the Puskas was crazy, and all I ever tried to do throughout the whole thing was do my best to try and promote the league, to promote women's football, try change people's perception of women's football - something that we're probably going to be doing for a long time to come.
"We're not there yet, there's still a lot of changes to happen, but women's football has come a long, long way since I started playing. I'm just happy to have played a part in some way."
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