Even though the doors of the whole world have opened to her, Gabrielle Carle is coming home, in a way. She does it by the front door, deciding to pursue her career in the American capital.
Carle had to touch up his curriculum vitae in the last year and a half in order to add a few lines to it.
She graduated from Florida State University, where she wore the colors of the Seminoles for five years, she won Olympic gold with the Canadian team in the summer of 2021, she began her professional career in the first Swedish division with the Kristianstads DFF club and now on Monday, she announced that she had agreed with the Washington Spirit, in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).
The Press joined her at home the day after the announcement. Never seeking attention, she was relieved that this day of announcements and media encounters was behind her. “I didn’t expect it to be such a big day, so I’m glad it happened. After all, Carle had known for about two months that she would be returning to America.
A thoughtful decision
Carle acknowledges that she had several offers on the table. What tipped him in favor of Washington was the presence of Mark Krikorian. The latter has been his coach in the university ranks and he now serves as president and general manager of the Spirit.
“I’m going to an environment that will be familiar and in which I know I can improve,” explains the 24-year-old. She believes that this avenue can help her develop her career.
If the dream of the majority of female soccer players is to shine on the other side of the Atlantic, Carle insists on the fact that she was not caught in a dilemma between choosing America or Europe. Ultimately, the place didn’t matter. She just wanted to find a destination that met her criteria.
It was really choosing what was best for me at this point in my career.
Gabrielle Carle
She also indicates that the caliber of play and the players against whom she will be measured have weighed in the balance. “For me, the best players are in the NWSL. There are incredible players of world renown and I will be able to compete with them in matches, but also in training. It may just be positive for me. »
Carle describes NWSL play as “more direct” and “a little bit more physical,” and the defender thinks she can mold herself well to that style of play.
The Swedish parenthesis
The Quebec native spent her first professional year in Sweden, in the city of Kristianstad, in the south of the country, not far from Malmö.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY ISSA SJOSTEDT
Gabrielle Carle with Kristianstads DFF, in the Swedish first division
Carle learned to live there differently. “The pace of life there is a bit calmer and I think it did me a lot of good to slow down a bit after spending five years in college playing soccer tirelessly. »
She claims to have had “a very good year”, especially in terms of soccer. She feels indebted to her trainer Elisabet Gunnarsdottir, who gave her “a lot of confidence” and who “guided her to different positions”. “It’s a great gift she gave me,” she adds.
Although she returned to North America after just one season, she has no regrets about her time in Scandinavia: “I’m grateful. I couldn’t have made a better decision to start my career than to go to Sweden. »
To the national team
The Women’s Soccer World Cup will take place next summer in Oceania, and of course Carle hopes to participate. She also got closer to Canada with the national team in mind.
She admits that nothing has changed since the Olympic triumph in Tokyo, other than being branded as an “Olympic gold medalist”. “It still feels a bit weird,” she admits with a laugh.
She was part of the team that marked the history of Canadian soccer and she wants to be part of the team that could mark it again.
She will officially begin the new chapter of her career at the end of January, when she joins her teammates to start the Spirit’s training camp. Until then, she will take advantage of a rare downtime to spend the holidays with her family.