Thea Kay Slatyer (born 2 February 1983) is an Olympian, and former member of the

Australia Women's National Football Team The Australia women's national soccer team is overseen by the governing body for soccer in Australia, Football Australia, which is currently a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the regional ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) ...

, The Matildas. She was an intimidating, no-nonsense defender similar to Manchester United's Vidic. Slatyer was a tough tackler and very strong in the air. Thea last played for

Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory ...

in the Australian W-League in 2016.

Playing career

Club career

Slatyer played for

Washington Freedom Washington Freedom may refer to: * Washington Freedom (cricket) * Washington Freedom (soccer) {{dab ...

(2006),

Canberra United Canberra United Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. Founded in 2008 by Capital Football, the club was an inaugural member of the W-League and the only club not affiliated with ...

(2009),

Newcastle Jets Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from the Australi ...

(2011) and

Sydney FC Sydney Football Club, commonly known as Sydney FC, is a professional association football, soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. They compete in the top-tier men's league in Australia, the A-League Men. Established in 2004, ...

(2012) in the Australian W-League before retiring in 2012. In 2015 Slatyer came out of retirement to join

, reuniting with former teammate and captain

Melissa Barbieri Melissa Hudson Melissa Anne Barbieri (born 20 February 1980) is an Australian soccer goalkeeper who has played for Melbourne City in the A-League Women. From 2002 she represented the Australia women's national soccer team (Matildas) and was ...

International career

After making her debut for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in 2002 in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, Canada, Slatyer earned a total of 51 caps playing for the ''

Matildas The Australia women's national soccer team is overseen by the governing body for soccer in Australia, Football Australia, which is currently a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the regional ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) s ...

'', scoring three times. Slatyer debuted as a young Matilda in 2002, and represented Australia in the inaugural FIFA U19 World cup in Canada. After making selection in the 2003 World Cup team, Slatyer tore her ACL in a pre World Cup tour in Sendai Japan, ending World Cup participation. Slatyer returned to the Matildas and was selected in the 20-player 2004 Australian Olympic Team, competing in Athens. In June 2011, Slatyer was on the cover of the Australian FourFourTwo magazine along with fellow Matildas

Sam Kerr Samantha May Kerr (born 10 September 1993) is an Australian professional Association football, soccer player who plays as a striker (association football), striker for Women's Super League club Chelsea F.C. Women, Chelsea, and the Australia ...

Kyah Simon Kyah Pam Simon (born 25 June 1991) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a striker. She has represented Australia from 2007 to 2023, making 111 caps and scoring 29 goals. In 2011, Simon became the first Indigenous Australian ...

and

Sarah Walsh Sarah Ann Walsh (born 11 January 1983) is an Australian former Association football, soccer player who is Head of Women's Football at Football Australia. A Forward (association football), forward, she played for the Australia women's national ...

Working life

Slatyer is a NSW volunteer fire fighter, and previously worked as a sound engineer and DJ around Sydney. She continued her career as a mounted security patrol for the ATC, a

bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects an very important person, important person or group of people, such as high-ranking public offic ...

and security detail for various celebrities/prominent figures, and is a black belt in

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

.Bodyguard to the stars a star to Matildas – www.theage.com.au
/ref> Slatyer currently works as an integrity inspection engineer in the marine, aerospace and energy sectors.

International goals

Honours

; With

* AFC Women's Asian Cup Winners:

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

* 2009 Inaugural W League Tournament finalist * 2007 FIFA World Cup Finalists, China * AFC Women's Asian Cup runner up:

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

* 2004 Australian Olympic Team, Athens, Greece * 2003 FIFA World Cup Team Selection * 2002 Inaugural U19 FIFA World Cup Tournament finalist * Australian Institute of Sport * NSW Institute of Sport

References

External links

Interview with Four Four Two magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slatyer, Thea 1983 births Living people Australian women's soccer players Washington Freedom (soccer) players Canberra United FC players Newcastle Jets FC (women) players Sydney FC (women) players Melbourne Victory FC (women) players Olympic soccer players for Australia Footballers at the 2004 Summer Olympics 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup players Australia women's international soccer players Women's association football defenders Soccer players from Sydney Sportswomen from New South Wales Australian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States Australian expatriate women's soccer players 21st-century Australian sportswomen