Having already had to overcome so much to get to that point, Chloe Logarzo found herself in "quite a dark place" last month when, in one moment, her dreams of representing the Matildas at a once-in-a-lifetime Women's World Cup on home soil were thrown into peril.
Unexpectedly released by NWSL side Kansas City Current after a loan spell at A-League Women outfit Western United, the Australia midfielder suddenly found herself without a club and without a clear path to demonstrating that she was ready and able to contribute to a tournament that has become the prism through which every Matildas has examined their past four years.
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Eventually a move back home, this time on a permanent deal with Western until the end of the 2023-24 ALW season, was secured. It was a new plan and a new pathway; one that Logarzo hopes will provide her with a narrow, but still navigable, road back into the Matildas setup in time for July's big kick-off.
A month on from that sudden exit from Children's Mercy Park, now perched on a seat in the bistro that overlooks Western's ALW training ground at City Vista Reserve, the 28-year-old admits that the reasoning behind the Current's move was understandable, if ruthless. Coming back from an ACL injury suffered in a friendly against the Republic of Ireland in 2021, she had developed a persistent plantar fasciitis problem in her opposite leg as it attempted to compensate for the other's weakness, a malady that had restricted her to just 212 minutes -- all as a substitute -- in six appearances for Western during her loan move.
"The saying goes when one door closes another one opens," Logarzo told ESPN. "I was really fortunate that Western opened the door with open arms. Unfortunately, my contract at KC was terminated. It's football. If you go back injured, it's a bit cutthroat and especially over in the U.S., any person is expendable. So, understandable from their business point of view.
"It didn't leave me in the most ideal situation, leading into the World Cup, but I'm very fortunate that I'm back at this club and that they're here to help me and support me in whatever way that I need to be ready. They want me to nourish and flourish and I'm very grateful for that."
As appreciative as Logarzo is for Western's support, the club wasn't her first port of call following her exit from Kansas City -- a move to another NWSL side was the first avenue that she and her team explored. However, her efforts to find fitness, combined with a looming World Cup and potential training camps that she knew presented her strongest opportunities to impress a Matildas' staff that have barely had a chance to see her in action, meant her immediate availability to contribute was questionable, at best.
"I'm not going to lie, I did have a little dabble around," Logarzo said. "But I was in quite a dark place. [The release] didn't leave me in the best situation and unfortunately, the situation that I was in was that I wasn't playing and I wasn't running. And then trying to find a club and ask them to have these terms met, [that] if we have a camp in June can I be let go for this camp? I'm not playing yet and the season was already started
"It just wasn't the most ideal situation for them, especially if they look at if I get the opportunity to head over the World Cup, I'll be missing from July to August, so that's another couple of months in their season. It just wouldn't be the most ideal situation to sign a player like myself.
"Unfortunately, all roads [in the United States] led to nothing. But I'm grateful that I can come home and I have something here that's going to help me and support me in whatever role that I play while I'm here."
For Western, who have already surpassed nearly all external expectations this season by finishing second in their first-ever ALW campaign, the sudden availability of Logarzo must have felt like a gift from the footballing gods on the eve of the playoffs. Despite being hampered by that plantar fasciitis in her left foot, the midfielder had twice come off the bench to win matches for the expansion side during her loan stint: scoring a brace against title rivals Melbourne City and netting a 67th-minute equaliser in a 3-2 win over Perth Glory.
"These are the opportunities I get to thrive in, I love this type of pressure," Logarzo said. "This is exactly why you play football, you want to be there at the end. Leading into these games I'm excited to give everything that I can. It's been a while since I've been in a final, so it will be nice to be able to showcase what I have and give everything I can."
However, coach Mark Torcaso's side have, at most, three games remaining in their season -- just two if they win their major semifinal against Sydney FC on Sunday and book their place in the grand final. A maximum of 270 minutes of competitive football between now and the World Cup is hardly the platform that Logarzo would have been hoping for.
She admits it's not ideal, but the midfielder confirmed to ESPN that she wouldn't be looking for another loan move in the coming months to try and cram in some late football. Instead, the plan is to remain in Melbourne, training with the Future Matildas program and Western's academy sides to maintain some level of sharpness, as well as use the elite facilities at The Hanger, the training base of AFL side Essendon that Western's men are using as a training base, to continue to build up her strength.
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In constant communication with the Matildas' coaching and S&C staff, she will work towards achieving a series of physical benchmarks set in concert with her physiotherapist, as well as continue to stay keyed in on the side's Hudl page to remain aware of the data being distributed and analysis being sent out. There was even some talk of her logging a few minutes with NPLW Victoria side Calder United during their ongoing season, the semi-professional outfit holding a partnership with Western, but instead, she will focus on training and gym work.
"I think the best thing for me is to be doing my own individual training and staying here," she said. "Instead of going over to another club, trying to get into a starting team, doing it for a couple of months just before the World Cup.
"If I can stay with a steady program and individually just work on myself that would be the most ideal thing for me. I think we might be having a camp in July, if we have another camp outside the FIFA window, it could potentially happen for players who have finished their seasons in England and stuff like that. That will give me the best option to make the team.
"I haven't been in the national team for a long time, it's been a bumpy year and a half, two years, and I've only played five games under [Matildas' coach] Tony [Gustavsson]. I think staying in Australia will give me the best opportunity to just be in front of him and show him what I can do and how far I've come in the last few months.
"Western's been really good. Whatever facilities I need, they've been able to provide for me. I couldn't think of any other place. Sydney is where my family is but everything I need is here in Melbourne.
"I think the pre-camp for the World Cup will [in Melbourne], with our game against France, so it's about staying local and being in one place and putting forward the next three months of absolute consistency. That's the most important thing for me."