DCU Voices

2021 EDITION 59 Barrett’s blazing a trail with FC Köln Professional Master of Education graduate, Amber Barrett’s goals have helped fire FC Köln into the top flight of German women’s football, writes Barry Lenihan. One place is a small village in Donegal. The other is the fourth most populous city in Germany. But events inColognewere celebrated inMilford inMay 2020 after Amber Barrett (Masters in Education 2019), helpedfire theGerman city’s women soccer teamto title success. A run of five goals in seven games fromthe 25-year-oldprovedpivotal in lifting one FCKöln to the top of the two. Frauen- Bundesligaand into the topflight. The challenge of testing herself against the best abroad was always on the Donegal woman’s radar. “It was the burning ambition to play abroad,” she says. “It wasn’t specifically my dream to play in Germany, but German teams have always had the big names of the game over the last 15 years and to be able to compete against them is something I’m very lucky to be able to do.” However, Amber’s German dream hasn’t been all goals and titles. Her first season with Köln was interrupted by a lengthy hiatus due to the pandemic. “The first lockdown was very tough,” she says. “I spent 10 weeks in Germany as I wasn’t able to get home at all. It was extremely difficult. Nobody knew what was going on. I think getting through those weeks was probably the toughest thing I’ll ever do. In a way I’m very grateful for it, but it’s not something I’d like to do again.” 2020 also brought heartbreak for the Irish sharpshooter as the Irish women’s international team fell agonisingly short of qualifying for its first ever major tournament. A 1-0 defeat to Ukraine ultimately torpedoed their chances, but Amber dismisses any notion the near miss represented a significant achievement. “German teams have always had the big names of the game over the last 15 years and to be able to compete against them is something I’m very lucky to be able to do.” “It was a huge opportunity missed. No disrespect to Ukraine, but I think we are a better team,” she says. “We’ve never been in such a good position, we just needed to avoid defeat. Yes, there was pressure, but you must learn from those moments and hope they don’t happen again.” Amber credits Professor Anne Looney, Executive Dean of DCU’s Institute of Education, for helping her juggle sport and studies during her two years at DCU St Patrick’s. “She was the main figure in making sure I could do both. There were periods when it didn’t seem likely due to the commitments to the course.” Hailing from a family steeped in Donegal GAA, Amber has played for the county and she’s not ruling out a return one day to the green and gold. “The Germans are very impressed with my ability to kick the ball out of my hands,” she laughs. “It’s something I’d love to do because I loved every moment of it. I have to put it on the back burner for now, but I wouldn’t rule it out down the line.” Barry Lenihan (BA Journalism, 2013 Reporter at RTÉ @BarryLenihan Amber Barrett (Professional Master of Education, 2019), Irish International Footballer