Melbourne City winger Lourdes Bosch speaks to aleagues.com.au to recount her 15-year journey to professional football, and the powerful family bond that motivated her to keep pursuing the dream.
As a kid growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada, Lourdes Bosch loved to run.
Fast enough for a PE teacher to ask her a question which, at the age of eight, set her on the path to becoming who she is today.
“I was always very athletic growing up,” Bosch recalled to aleagues.com.au.
“I’d never played soccer in my life but I asked my parents and they said: ‘Yep, let’s do it’.”
The question was merely the catalyst for what came next; it’s been nothing but hard work and grit ever since for the now-23-year-old who, 15 years on from her introduction to football, has made the game her life.
Two months ago, Bosch signed for Melbourne City in the Ninja A-League. One month later, she made her professional debut.
It’s been goals, assists and big impact ever since for a player who was overlooked in the NWSL draft, before a club halfway around the world gave her a chance she’s since seized with both hands.
Bosch’s motivation to succeed is derived from her desire to make her family proud, and there has been no bigger factor in her ascension to the professional game than her father.
“I am the daughter of Mexican and Cuban immigrant parents,” Bosch said.
“My mum is Mexican, and my dad is Cuban, he was born in Cienfuegos.
“They taught me character, they taught me grit and work ethic. And they’ve made so many sacrifices for me leading up to this moment, so I just want to make them proud, after all the work they’ve put in for me.”
Asked to think back to all the things her parents did to further her chances of making football her profession, Bosch meets the question with a long pause. And then, a teary-eyed response.
“Sorry, I’m a little emotional,” she said. “I’m just thinking about all of the countless hours my dad put in. It’s been a journey, man.
“My father, he’s the best coach I’ve ever had in soccer. I’d say he’s my number one supporter and number one critic at the same time. He’s very critical, but he pushed me to the top of my limits growing up.
“My dad basically set on a mission to make sure I stood out from everyone else, and played at my best. At a very young age, I understood that nothing was going to be given to me, I had to earn everything.
“I had to earn sponsorships from clubs just to play for the club team. I knew if I wanted to go to college I had to earn a full athletic scholarship. So every day in practice with my dad and brother, we worked hard to earn everything.
“I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for him and my mother, they made countless sacrifices.
“On their off days, my dad would be at the park training me, more than two hours every single day just to get me to where I am today.
Although football has been the dream for Bosch since the age of eight, the game has allowed her to achieve what she never thought was possible in academia, too.
Earning scholarships at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and California Baptist University (CBU), Bosch completed a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and a master’s in business administration, as the first of her family to have graduated from college.
All the while, Bosch swept honours left, right and centre for her performances playing college football in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, earning several First Team All-Conference accolades throughout a decorated college career.
But her collegiate football experience was not without setbacks.
“In my very first college game, I fractured my right tibia,” Bosch said.
“The doctor told me I’d have to be out for more than a year, but I felt otherwise. I actually came back in seven months. I played the season, and managed to earn a few accolades throughout my college career.”
Bosch moved from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas to CBU in 2022 to complete her master’s degree and it was in the final year of college that injury struck again, impacting her chances of being drafted by a club in the National Women’s Soccer League.
“When you’re born and raised in the US you definitely have that (the draft) in the back of your mind, but I was injured throughout most of my senior season so I didn’t really have that opportunity to showcase my potential and my talent,” she said.
“I didn’t have a great season in my senior year being out for most of it because of an injury, my coach at CBU told me to put my name in the draft just to see what happened.
“I wasn’t selected for the draft which is okay, it is what it is. I’ve moved on from that, I just kept working hard and looked for other options – that’s when my agent presented me with Melbourne City, and it wasn’t a hard choice to make.”
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City’s recent history with players overlooked in the NWSL draft will fill Bosch with plenty of confidence as her first season in the professional game continues.
In late 2022, the club signed American winger Julia Grosso – a player overlooked by all clubs in the NWSL draft – who also elected to launch her senior career in the Ninja A-League.
Grosso ended her first season in the professional game as City’s Player of the Season, became one of the stars of the competition and has since returned to the US with the Utah Royals.
“I received a phone call from my agent saying Melbourne City were very interested in me,” Bosch explained.
“Within a week-and-a-half, I caught a flight to Australia, a 17-hour flight. With my excitement and my emotions, I don’t think it was too bad. It was worth it.
“It’s been my dream since I was eight years old so it wasn’t a hard decision to make. I’ve been working so hard for this, for the last 15 years so when my agent called about Melbourne City, it wasn’t a hard decision to make. I had to go out there and make my dream a reality.
“I want to do everything I can to help Melbourne City win championships. We have an opportunity to win a treble so that’s what’s on my mind: to help my teammates and the coaching staff to win championships. As of right now, that’s what my goal is.”
Living with City’s fellow international recruits Malena Mieres, Mariana Speckmaier and Kathryn Harvey, Bosch has taken easily to life in Melbourne – even if an Australian stereotype did cause a scare within days of her arrival Down Under.
“The biggest spider I’ve seen in Vegas is the size of a coin maybe,” Bosch said. “And in my first week (in Australia), there was a spider half the size of my hand right beside me when I was sleeping. So that freaked me out!
“But other than that, everything has been amazing. The weather, the people, my teammates, they’ve been so welcoming. It’s worth flying across the world for this.”
On the pitch, things couldn’t be going any better for a player who, more than 13,000 kilometres from home, has sidestepped the adapting period most overseas signings need to adjust to the league, and jumped directly to her best form, making a significant impact in City blue.
In City’s three AFC Women’s Champions League group stage games in October, Bosch made her professional debut against Bam Khatoon, scored her first professional goal in her second appearance, and on her third scored two more to earn Player of the Match honours.
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She’s started both of City’s opening games of the 2024-25 Ninja A-League season, and recorded a goal and an assist in her new side’s 3-2 derby win over Melbourne Victory in Round 2.
After starring for City in the Melbourne Derby, Bosch was greeting the fans at AAMI Park when she spotted a banner in the crowd featuring her name printed in bold, block letters.
Just months into her stay at the club, it was the last thing Bosch was expecting to see.
But it’s unlikely to be the first and last time the American winger gets such attention. On current form, Bosch will not be short of admirers by the end of her first full season as a professional footballer.
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There was a girl named Sophie, she made a banner for me the other day,” Bosch said. “I think it’s absolutely amazing. Being able to be a role model for the younger generation is quite rewarding.
“I actually didn’t see it until after (the game)… I was actually so surprised when I saw that, but I’m glad there are fans coming out to watch us play and at the end of the day, I want to entertain everyone with the ball at my feet, that’s my goal at the end of the day.
“Soccer is an entertainment sport so I want to do everything I can to make sure the fans are happy, whether that’s in the game or after the game.”
“I’m just grateful,” Bosch added. “Grateful to god, grateful to my teammates and also the coaching staff for giving me an opportunity to represent the badge, and grateful to my family.
“I’m grateful to be representing, in my opinion, the best team in Australia and I look forward to winning championships with Melbourne City.”
