Like most young girls in New Zealand, Kiara Bercelli grew up playing in the boys teams.
But that never stopped her from chasing her dreams to one day play overseas and wear the fern.
"Ever since I was 5 I wanted to play professionally," Bercelli said.
Bercelli, 19, grew up in Lake Hawea and her family later moved to Wānakawhere she attended Mount Aspiring College.
She started playing for the Queenstown Rovers women when she was just 14. During year 11, Bercelli was awarded a football scholarship to St Andrew’s College.
That is where the wheels really started turning for Bercelli, who at 16, was scouted to play for Alamein in Melbourne in the national premier league.
She jumped at the chance and moved to Melbourne. She finished school online while playing football and working.
"That’s when I realised ... people are looking at me from outside of New Zealand.
"Getting called to play overseas, and NPL, which is semi-professional, was huge at the time."
While it was a difficult transition, Bercelli learned plenty about herself and felt the move was much needed to set her up for what came next in Europe.
Bercelli is half Italian through her father, Pietro, which allowed her to trial for several Italian domestic teams.
She signed with Sampdoria, who play in Serie A, in December 2022, and played there until June 2023 when she was loaned to second division Chievo.
While Bercelli, who has re-signed with Sampdoria for the upcoming season, understood Italian — her father spoke the language when she was growing up — it was still a big adjustment for the then 17-year-old.
Her grandparents and cousins live in Verona, about an hour away from Chievo, which allowed her to connect to her culture.
"It’s been so nice," Bercelli said.
"Obviously living in New Zealand, I never really got to see them.
"Even though now I don’t get to see my dad and my siblings ... it helps with the homesickness, that’s for sure."
Playing professionally in Italy had been amazing and she already noticed changes in her game.
"It’s honestly grown me so much as a player.
"Now I’m back to the international team and I’m just ready, excited to perform and can do so much more than I was able to previously."
Representing the Football Ferns has always been at the top of Bercelli’s list.
She made her international debut at the under-17 world cup in India in 2022, which was an "amazing experience".
Looking back now, she recognised the shift in her mindset as she prepared for the under-20 world cup in Colombia, starting tomorrow.
"The under-17 world cup brought a lot more nerves, and excitement, and worry — just everything was a lot more intense, I think."
Reflecting on her growth, Bercelli was proud of how far she had come.
"Recently I’ve just been noticing it so, so much. Both mentally and as a player.
"At the time everything was so difficult, and I was so close to going back to New Zealand and going back to see my family. But I’m so glad that I didn’t because it has all worked out so far."
New Zealand opens their world cup against Japan on Tuesday, followed by Austria on Friday and Ghana on September 9.
"The team’s looking really strong because we have international players and a lot of different experience.
"Our goal is to get out of the group stage and just do the best we can really."
Bercelli, who is studying fulltime a bachelor of sport coaching online at the University of Canterbury, harboured the dream of making a Ferns camp in the next year and would love to aim higher domestically in the future as well.
Those dreams kept her driven when things got tough — and so did her love of football and the support behind her.
"When I think back to all the people who have sacrificed things along my journey for me, not only myself, but ... especially my dad, it’s just so easy to keep going, and keep working, and keep performing well when I can think of them."
Bercelli returned to Wānakain July and ran a session with two girls teams. It was a contrast from when she was growing up and she loved being able to share her knowledge with the young ones.
"I honestly love it so much.
"Just trying to inspire the next generation because when I was growing up in Wanaka, no-one had really gone professional from Wanaka.
"Being able to go back to Wanaka, and showing these girls that it is possible ... I think can be so important and hopefully help them aspire to be more."
