Chidiac played in the A-League Women last seasons for crosstown rivals Melbourne City. She had returned to Australia after two and a half seasons playing in Spain with Primera Division side Atlético Madrid. The midfielder started her professional career with Adelaide United in 2014.
The 22 year old last signed Japanese WE League side JEF United Chiba ahead of their inaugural professional season. Chiba have now loaned Chidiac to Melbourne Victory for the 2021-22 A-League Women’s season.
Speaking of her loan during the club’s announcement, Chidiac stated:
“I’m thrilled to be heading back to Victoria with Melbourne Victory and joining a team that is committed to achieving success this season.
“Talking to Jeff, the team’s intentions are to take out the Championship for the second successive season and I want to be a part of that journey.
“The focus for me is to consistently perform, week in and week out for the team and help the Club achieve their goals.”
Her new head coach Jeff Hopkins echoed her statements and expressed his excitement of such an experienced yet youthful player to his side:
“We’re incredibly excited to welcome Alex to the squad for the upcoming season as we make the final touches to our Championship defence,” Hopkins said.
“At 22, Alex has experience beyond her years, making her A-League Women’s debut at 15, representing her country at 16 and becoming an A-League Women’s Champion at 17.
“Alex has the ability to control the midfield but also move forward and find the back of the net in her attacking role and we can’t wait to see how she will complement our squad this season.”
Chidiac will be hoping that her performances lead to a return to the Matildas’ fold. While the player did get 17 caps after her debut aged 16 in 2017, injuries she picked up during her time in Spain led to her missing out on the 2019 Women’s World Cup.
She has been called in during the Gustavsson era, but only featured once on the bench against Sweden last June.
Chidiac will be able to hit the ground running with Melbourne Victory. The club have confirmed she is available for their Round 2 match against her former team Melbourne City this Sunday. It kicks off at 16:05 PM AEDT at AAMI Park.
The full A-League Women’s schedule can be found using this link.
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