Melissa Barbieri

Early years Barbieri was born in Melbourne on 20 January 1980 to Italian-born parents, her mother is Nory Barbieri. The goalie later recalled, "I would always go to their trainings and be a nuisance for all the coaches" until they let her play. She achieved a scholarship with the Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS).

Playing career Club and state career Barbieri began playing youth soccer as a midfielder in 1994 for Victorian Premier League teams: South Melbourne (1994), Doncaster, Brunswick (1996–97), Moorabbin, Ringwood (2000) and Box Hill (2001). She also played as a senior for VIS-sponsored ITC Victoria (Victoria Intensive Training Centre, later known as Victoria Vision) during the 1996–97 and 1997–98 seasons in the Women’s National Soccer League. Her first senior game was on 21 February 1997 for ITC Victoria in a 0–2 loss against SA Sports Institute. Barbieri scored her first goal for ITC Victoria in February 1998 in their 4–1 win against the same team. In 1999 she had a hamstring tendinitis injury, which restricted playing in the outfield, she switched to goalkeeping. Her coach at VIS, until 2003, was Jane Oakley. However, the Boston management eventually pursued this no further for the remainder of the season, due to Barbieri's commitments to the Australian national team.

Barbieri signed for Melbourne Victory for the inaugural season of the W-League (later A-League Women) in 2008–09. She won the Goalkeeper of the Year award (Golden Glove) in that season. After the 2010–11 season she transferred to Newcastle Jets for 2011–12.

In July 2016, Barbieri signed a deal to play one game as a guest for Taroona in the Tasmanian Women's Super League. In that year Barbieri announced her retirement from soccer after an anterior cruciate ligament injury (ACL), while playing for National Premier Leagues Victoria Women team, Heidelberg United. As of June 2025, Barbieri has played 110 A-League Women's games including her ninth season for Melbourne City in 2024–25. At 45 (in September 2025) she was the oldest Australian professional league's soccer player (male or female) ever, with 28 years in various teams.

International career Barbieri was selected for the Australian Schoolgirls Team in 1996. She was named for the Australia women's national soccer team (Matildas) training squad in 1997 as a midfielder, but made her debut in goals for them in September 2002 for a friendly away game against Canada, which Australia won 0-1 in Victoria, British Columbia. In October they competed in the US Cup, where Matildas finished second behind the hosts and Barbieri kept clean sheets in their victories against Russia and Italy. As a member of Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), the Matildas competed at the 2003 OFC Women's Championship, also in Canberra, in April. The team won all four of their games, without concding a goal and hence won the championship. The tournament was the Oceania qualifier for that year's FIFA Women's World Cup. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens in August, the Matildas reached the quarter-finals for the first time, but lost against Sweden.

Australia left the OFC for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in 2006. Barbieri played in the 2006 AFC Women's Asian Cup, which was held in Australia. The Matildas reached the final against China, which the visitors won after a penalty shoot-out. At the latter tournament in China, the Matildas reached the quarter-finals, where they lost against Brazil 3–2. On 19 February 2010, Barbieri was named captain of the Matildas following the 2009 retirement of Cheryl Salisbury. She led them to victory at the 2010 AFC Women's Asian Cup, held in China. In the final against North Korea Australia scored first, but the opposition equalised and, with a 1–1 draw after extra time, the game went to a penalty shoot-out, which the Matildas won 4–5.

Barbieri captained Australia for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, held in Germany in June–July, the Matildas reached the quarter-finals where they lost against Sweden (3–1). In September of that year the Australians competed in the final round of AFC qualifiers for 2012 Summer Olympics, which were held in China. and was eventually replaced as captain by Kate Gill and Clare Polkinghorne, in May 2013.

In May 2015, national coach Alen Stajcic controversially cut number one goalkeeper, Brianna Davey from Australia's 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup squad and recalled Barbieri for her fourth World Cup. At that tournament, held in Canada in June–July, Barbieeri was in goals for the first game, which Australia lost against United States. Thereafter she was replaced by Lydia Williams and the Matildas reached the quarter-finals for the first time at a World Cup. Barbieri explained her decision, "I'm very proud of what I've achieved over the years. I came into the sport as a child being told women don't play football and grew up in an Italian household where women predominantly stayed at home and looked after the kids and certainly didn't venture out into a male dominated sport, so I feel like I've broken down a lot of barriers becoming a footballer." In July 2018, Barbieri (as Hudson) was appointed as an assistant coach of A-League Women team, Melbourne City.

In popular culture Barbieri is popularly referred to as Bubs by family, players and in the media. She was on the cover of the Australian FourFourTwo magazine in June 2011, along with fellow Matildas Thea Slatyer, Sam Kerr, Kyah Simon and Sarah Walsh. On 30 May 2025 Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) posted a documentary, History Makers: The Story of the 2010 AFC Women's Asian Cup, on Football Australia's official YouTube channel. It features Barbieri and teammates with coach Sermanni from their Asian Cup victory 15 years earlier.

Barbieri joined the commentary team for Paramount+'s broadcast of Matildas' match against Malawi on 11 April for the 2026 FIFA Series Kenya. Australia won 5–0 at Nyayo National Stadium, Kenya, which included a goal each by Barbieri's current Melbourne City teammates Holly McNamara and Leticia McKenna. Upon announcing her pregnancy in late 2012, she was dropped from the Matildas' line-up and lost her funding. Due to lack of maternity support and also being dropped by Melbourne Victory, she had to give up league soccer for a year. Her transfer to Adelaide required Barbieri to sell off personal memorabilia to maintain her playing career. Football Federation of Victoria Hall of Fame: 2015. Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) Alex Tobin OAM Medal: 2023 Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) A-League Women Team of the Year: 2021–22