2023 is shaping up to be the best year of Diane Caldwell’s life.
And that’s saying something, considering what she experienced in 2022.
She achieved two lifelong ambitions last year - playing for her childhood heroes Manchester United and qualifying for a World Cup.
Not bad for someone who, as a child, saw no easy path to those goals.
“I just love football. Football has been my life since I was a little girl. It’s all I ever wanted to do,” said the Ireland defender.
“I have wanted to play professionally since I was maybe seven. At the time I probably didn’t realise how I could do that, I probably thought I’d have to play with the boys.
“As a young girl you don’t think about the obstacles, you just think of your dream.
“But that was at a time when women’s football was basically non-existent.
“So I’ve been lucky in terms of how the game has progressed while I have been a player, because I’ve seen it from both ends.
“I’ve seen it when it was non-existent and I’ve seen it now. And that is amazing to see, and amazing to be a part of.”
The game has been good to Balbriggan native Caldwell.
She has travelled the world as a footballer, pitching up in New York, Iceland, Norway, Germany, North Carolina, Manchester and now Reading.
It was through football that she met her wife Mona Lohmann, now retired but with a CV that includes Werder Bremen and Borussia Monchengladbach.
Their marriage took place on the sunny Greek island of Skiathos, just days before the Ireland squad met up for their pre-World Cup training camp.
“I’m completely blessed and grateful,” said Caldwell (34), reflecting on her time so far in football.
“Last year was probably the best year of my life in terms of ticking off two of my biggest goals - playing for Man United and qualifying for a major tournament with Ireland.
“Those were the two things. Those were the two things I said from a very early age that I wanted to do.
“To have achieved them both in the same year was a bit strange and a bit surreal, and it was a kind of a pinch yourself moment.
“But it came after a long time of playing the game, loving the game, working hard in the game and believing in myself.
“Now there is a moment where we can enjoy and reflect on what we have done, but you are also looking for the next thing.
“In football you are never really satisfied, you are always thinking, what else can I get? So now it’s, what can we do over there?
“We don’t want to just go and make up the numbers. What can we do? We’ve qualified, so what after that?”
For much of her career, World Cup qualification looked to be beyond Caldwell. Yet she never lost faith.
“We always believed we could do it. We knew we had the capability to qualify for a major tournament. It just took a long time,” she said.
“It took getting that support and fighting for better resources. Now we are here and we are reaping the rewards of a long time of hard work and dedication.
“It was obviously a goal and an aim for us to get here. Did we really think we could make it? I’m not so sure. In order to make it, we definitely needed help.”
Did she ever think that help would come?
“Obviously 2017 was a pivotal moment,” she said, bringing up the courageous move by Ireland’s senior internationals to threaten strike action if conditions didn’t improve.
“We stood up and demanded it. Since then, to be fair to the FAI, they’ve been phenomenal.
“The support they have given us, from the professionalisation of the team to the sponsors that have come on board, it’s just projected us to new heights on and off the pitch.”
Contrast that to the rows that have taken place in recent times - some still simmering - between English, Canadian and Nigerian players, and their respective associations.
“Luckily for the girls,” Caldwell continued, “we were able to rise to the challenge and the pressures involved in that.
“We asked and we demanded for more and we were able to put in those performances on the pitch to guarantee success, and now we have qualified for a major tournament.”
As well as the past, Caldwell is also thinking about the future.
“I think the legacy that we want to leave at this World Cup is that it doesn’t become a one-off or a surprise event, that it happens consistently,” she said.
“I think the biggest and hardest challenge is to break that first initial barrier of qualification.
“Now that we have done that, I hope it leads to future generations qualifying consistently to every tournament. Then our ranking should make it easier to stay at that level.
“Obviously the system is very hard to break into as an outsider, but now that we are there we can gather momentum and gather belief and confidence that we are good enough to compete at the highest level.
“The job now is to do it in every campaign.”
