Lisa De Vanna

Early life De Vanna was born in Perth, Western Australia to a Portuguese mother and an Italian father. She was born and raised in the small port city of Fremantle, located about 30 minutes southwest of Perth. De Vanna developed her love for the game of football at a young age and has said that she slept with her soccer ball and spent much of her time as a youth playing soccer in the street with her brother.

De Vanna is a Portuguese speaker.

Club career

Doncaster Rovers Belles L.F.C., 2006–07 In October 2006 De Vanna signed for Doncaster Rovers Belles, departing the English Premier League club in March 2007.

AIK Fotboll Dam, 2008 De Vanna played for Swedish club AIK for the 2008 Damallsvenskan season. De Vanna had a very successful season, being the 5th highest goalscorer with 15 goals, helping AIK to their most successful season.

Perth Glory, 2008–09 In November 2008, De Vanna was signed to Perth Glory in the Australian W-League and made her first appearance for the club on 8 November 2008 against the Melbourne Victory.

Washington Freedom / magicJack, 2009–11 In September 2008, De Vanna was selected by Washington Freedom in Women's Professional Soccer. She was the 18th overall selection in the 2008 WPS International Draft. She officially signed for the Freedom in late March 2009. Through the next three years, she played for Washington Freedom and its successor magicJack in the WPS as well as Perth Glory, Brisbane Roar and Newcastle Jets in the W-League in Australia.

Linköping FC, 2012

After the WPS suspended operations, De Vanna signed for Damallsvenskan club Linköpings FC. She scored five goals in her first eight games including a hat trick against Piteå IF on 3 June 2012. During a match against Kopparberg/Göteborg FC on 14 October 2012, she scored the game-winning goal in the 82nd minute helping her team win 3–2. Linköping finished third during the regular season with an 11–6–5 record. De Vanna finished the 2012 season having started in 18 of the 22 matches in which she played and scored seven goals. In June 2013, De Vanna scored a bicycle kick goal and was named the league's Player of the Week. Her goal garnered international attention and went viral on websites like YouTube and soccer-related websites. She was also voted NWSL Fans' Choice MVP for Week 8. During a game against the Western New York Flash on 21 July 2013, De Vanna was sidelined with a hamstring injury. De Vanna started in 16 of the 17 games in which she played and scored five goals. Sky Blue finished in fourth during the regular season with a 10–6–6 record.

Melbourne Victory, 2013–14 In October 2013, it was confirmed that De Vanna had signed for Melbourne Victory for the 2013–14 W League season.

Boston Breakers, 2014 On 3 March 2014, Sky Blue FC traded De Vanna to the Boston Breakers in exchange for a 2014 international roster spot and the Breakers' first-round 2015 college draft pick, which became Sarah Killion.

Washington Spirit, 2014 On 18 June 2014, the Boston Breakers traded De Vanna to Washington Spirit in exchange for defender and Mexican international Bianca Sierra and the Spirit's fourth and fifth round 2015 college draft picks. De Vanna in action for Melbourne City against Brisbane Roar, 2015.

Melbourne Victory, 2014–15 In September 2014 it was confirmed that De Vanna signed to play with Melbourne Victory again.

Melbourne City, 2015–16 Having played a season with the Victory, De Vanna was lured across the city to Victory's A-League rivals, Melbourne City, becoming the brand new W-League side's very first signing.

Orlando Pride, 2016 On 29 August 2016, De Vanna joined Orlando Pride. After playing three matches in the 2016 National Women's Soccer League season, she was waived by Orlando Pride before the 2017 National Women's Soccer League season.

Canberra United, 2016–17 In December 2016, De Vanna joined Canberra United as a guest player for the remainder of the 2016–17 W-League season.

South Melbourne, 2017 On 7 April 2017, De Vanna joined South Melbourne to play in the Women's National Premier League. She finished the season with 18 goals in 16 matches, including a 4-goal haul on 28 August 2017 in a 7–0 rout of Bulleen Lions.

Sydney FC, 2017–2019 On 2 October 2017, De Vanna joined Sydney FC.

Fiorentina, 2019–2020 In August 2019, De Vanna joined Italian club Fiorentina.

Melbourne Victory, 2020–2021 In December 2020, De Vanna returned to the W-League, signing with Melbourne Victory once more. At the end of the season, she was named in the PFA's W-League Team of the Season together with five team-mates.

Perth Glory, 2021–2022 A couple of months after announcing her international retirement, De Vanna decided to return to the game, re-joining her former club Perth Glory. The decision was in part related to the efforts of coach Alex Epakis and chairman Tony Sage to foster a safe, supportive, and respectful environment at the club.

International career De Vanna played four games at the 2004 Olympic Football Tournament.

She scored four goals for Australia in the 2007 World Cup — one in a 1–1 draw against Norway, two in a 4–1 victory against Ghana, and one against Brazil in her team's 2–3 loss in the quarterfinals. Each goal she scored at the World Cup was dedicated to her father, who died three months before the tournament began.

On 1 October 2007 Lisa was named in the FIFA's Women's World Cup All Star Team and she was also nominated for the 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year award. She was named Western Australian Sportswoman of the Year in 2007. After returning home after the World Cup De Vanna returned to a job at a petrol station.

In May 2011 De Vanna was sent home from a training camp held to prepare the national team for the World Cup. Australian coach Tom Sermanni stated that the expulsion was for an unacceptable standard of behaviour. The previous September, De Vanna had been subject to a complaint after photographs involving a large inflatable penis were posted to her Facebook page. She was censured by Football Federation Australia and instructed to remove the offending pictures. De Vanna moved to Sweden for the 2012–13 season, but discussed that her desire to play for the Matildas was then stronger than ever.

On 8 June 2015 De Vanna captained the Matildas in her 100th game, scoring their only goal in a 3–1 defeat to the United States in the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. During a match against Brazil in the 2016 Olympics, a moment of De Vanna and teammate Elise Kellond-Knight went viral when during a short break, De Vanna absentmindedly tried to drink from the wrong end of a water bottle, prompting Kellond-Knight to quickly flip it in her hand.

Lisa De Vanna competed in four FIFA Women's World Cup tournaments: China 2007, Germany 2011, Canada 2015, and France 2019 and two Olympics: Athens 2004 and Rio 2016; altogether played 23 matches and scored 8 goals at those six global tournaments. At France 2019, in their group stage win (4–1) against Jamaica, she played her last international game to become the second Australian soccer player (male or female) to reach 150 appearances. As from June 2026, De Vanna is the second highest goal scorer in Matildas history after Sam Kerr, with 47.

Managerial De Vanna was appointed as a Technical Assistant for the FFV National Training Centre in September 2018.

In popular culture

Television and film

Leading up to the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, De Vanna was the focus of an ESPN documentary, Unstoppable, directed by award-winning filmmaker, Safina Uberoi. In 2013, she was featured in an hour-long episode of ESPN's Aussies Abroad entitled, The Matildas, which profiled four Australian national team players (De Vanna, Samantha Kerr, Kyah Simon, and Caitlin Foord) and their experience playing internationally.

Career statistics International goals

GoalDateLocationOpponentScoreResultCompetition 1.4 March 2004 Govind Park, Ba, Fiji 2004 Olympics qualifying 2. 3. 2 July 2004 Chinese Football Association National Training Centre, Beijing, China Friendly 4. 20 August 2004 Panthessaliko Stadium, Volos, Greece 2004 Olympics 5. 28 January 2005 Quanzhou Sports Center, Quanzhou, China 2005 Four Nations Tournament 6. 1 February 2005 Quanzhou Sports Center, Quanzhou, China 2005 Four Nations Tournament 7. 23 July 2005 Tokyo, Japan Friendly 8. 28 May 2006 Bob Jane Stadium, Melbourne, Australia Friendly 9. 16 July 2006 Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide, Australia 2006 AFC Women's Asian Cup 10. 18 July 2006 Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide, Australia 2006 AFC Women's Asian Cup 11. 24 July 2006 Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide, Australia 2006 AFC Women's Asian Cup 12. 22 July 2007 BCU International Stadium, Coffs Harbour, Australia Friendly 13. 16 August 2007 Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium, Tianjin, China Friendly 14.12 September 2007 Yellow Dragon Stadium, Hangzhou, China 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup 15. 16. 15 September 2007 Yellow Dragon Stadium, Hangzhou, China 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup 17. 23 September 2007 Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium, Tianjin, China 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup 18. 29 May 2008 Thống Nhất Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 2008 AFC Women's Asian Cup 19. 31 May 2008 Thống Nhất Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 2008 AFC Women's Asian Cup 20. 31 January 2009 Parramatta Stadium, Sydney, Australia Friendly 21. 17 February 2010 North Harbour Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand Friendly 22. 20 February 2010 Bill McKinlay Park, Auckland, New Zealand Friendly 23. 3 March 2010 Spencer Park, Brisbane, Australia Friendly 24. 21 May 2010 Chengdu Sports Centre, Chengdu, China 2010 AFC Women's Asian Cup 25. 3 July 2011 Ruhrstadion, Bochum, Germany 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup 26. 11 September 2011 Shandong Provincial Stadium, Jinan, China 2012 Olympics qualifying 27. 16 September 2012 Home Depot Center, Los Angeles, United States Friendly 28. 19 September 2012 Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Denver, United States Friendly 29.20 November 2012 Bao'an Stadium, Shenzhen, China 2013 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup preliminary round 2 30. 31. 27 November 2013 Parramatta Stadium, Sydney, Australia Friendly 32. 14 May 2014 Thống Nhất Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup 33. 11 March 2015 Paralimni Stadium, Paralimni, Cyprus 2015 Cyprus Cup 34.21 May 2015 Jubilee Oval, Sydney, Australia Friendly 35. 36. 8 June 2015 Winnipeg Stadium, Winnipeg, Canada 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup 37. 16 June 2015 Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, Canada 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup 38. 29 February 2016 Kincho Stadium, Osaka, Japan 2016 Olympics qualifying 39. 7 June 2016 Docklands Stadium, Melbourne, Australia Friendly 40. 9 August 2016 Itaipava Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador, Brazil 2016 Summer Olympics 41.3 August 2017 StubHub Center, Carson, United States 2017 Tournament of Nations 42. 43. 16 September 2017 Penrith Stadium, Sydney, Australia Friendly 44.26 March 2018 nib Stadium, Perth, Western Australia Friendly 45. 46. 3 March 2019 Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Australia 2019 Cup of Nations 47. 4 April 2019 Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, United States Friendly

Honours Brisbane Roar W-League Championship: 2010–11

Melbourne Victory W-League Championship: 2013–14, 2020–21

Melbourne City W-League Championship: 2015–16 W-League Premiership: 2015–16

Sydney FC W-League Championship: 2018–19

Australia U20 OFC U-20 Women's Championship: 2002

Australia AFC Women's Asian Cup: 2010 AFC Olympic Qualifying Tournament: 2016

Individual Julie Dolan Medal: 2002–03 Women's National Soccer League Golden Boot: 2002–03 FIFA Women's World Cup All-Star Team: 2007, 2015 FIFA Puskás Award nominee: 2013 FFA Female Footballer of the Year: 2013