Gilly Flaherty retires as "pioneer" of women's game with astonishing WSL legacy
As the world of women's football continues on its rapid upward trajectory and assimilates into the realm of public consciousness, there are are a handful of its stars who are firmly establishing themselves as household names.
Leah Williamson. Beth Mead. Vivianne Miedema: all of them brilliant and entirely deserving of the plethora of plaudits directed their way.
However, it is only fair that Gilly Flaherty - who announced her retirement from professional football earlier this week - is regarded in the same high esteem as some of her Women's Super League colleagues.
The defender, who signed for Liverpool in last summer's transfer window, revealed she had taken the decision to call time on her 16-year playing career following the death of her father, John, in December.
"I’ve taken the decision to retire from professional football," Flaherty wrote in a statement on Thursday. "It isn’t a decision I’ve taken lightly but one I’ve reached after speaking with those closest to me.
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"Losing my dad just before Christmas has left me heartbroken – for 22 years we shared our love of football and playing wise I don’t want to carry on without him by my side."
Flaherty's emotional statement is, in many ways, emblematic of the sort of player she was. She is a footballer who wore her heart on her sleeve; a player whose contribution to the women's game can perhaps not be distilled simply into matches played and trophies won - although the 31-year-old boasts a glittering CV that would rival even the most venerated of football stars.
Gilly Flaherty made her Arsenal debut in October 2006 (Clint Hughes - The FA)The centre-back came through the youth ranks at Milwall before making her senior debut for Arsenal in October 2006, aged just 15. With the Gunners, Flaherty was part of a quadruple-winning squad which made history by being the first team outside Germany or Scandinavia to win the UEFA Women's Cup.
But while the record books speak of success on the pitch, Flaherty has been very open about her struggles off it. At 17, while adapting to life at Arsenal and battling to come to terms with her sexuality, she attempted to take her own life.
"I just wanted to play football and I was also struggling with accepting I was gay," she told the Liverpool ECHO in December. "Now, obviously, there’s Pride and the Rainbow Laces campaign and things like that, but back then, there wasn’t really anything so it was sort of unknown.
"I had friends that had come out and been kicked out of their homes, which was obviously the biggest fear behind it, but I really struggled and I didn’t cope with it. So, for me, my answer was trying to take my own life and thankfully it failed."
That moment became something of a turning point for Flaherty, who turned to counselling as a means of combatting her mental health struggles. On the pitch, the defender's football career started to flourish.
Gilly Flaherty represented West Ham between 2018 and 2022 (Getty Images)With Arsenal, Flaherty bagged plenty more accolades, helping the Gunners to back-to-back league titles and a trio of FA Cup triumphs. She wrote her name into the annals of women's football history by scoring the WSL's first-ever goal - the winner away to Chelsea in April 2011.
Though it was likely Flaherty's defensive nous, as opposed to her goal-scoring prowess, that prompted Emma Hayes to bring her to Wheatsheaf Park in 2014. After signing for Chelsea, Flaherty was branded by Hayes as the "best uncapped player in the country"; an assertion that did not prove true for very long as the centre-back won her first senior cap for the Lionesses in October 2015.
In her time at the club, the 31-year-old helped to yield Chelsea's first major trophy - the 2015 FA Cup - as well as a brace of WSL titles. It was that wealth of experience that led to Flaherty being named club captain after making the switch to West Ham in 2018, before former Hammers boss Matt Beard enlisted the defender's services at Liverpool last summer.
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Though her stay on Merseyside was brief, it was eventful. In October, she spoke out about the criticism she had encountered from a section of Reds fans on social media, describing the abuse as "heartbreaking" and urging supporters to think twice before posting hurtful messages online.
Gilly Flaherty has called time on her playing career and leaves behind an astonishing legacy (Nick Taylor/Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC)The following month, the defender racked up her 176th WSL appearance in a 3-3 draw with Brighton, breaking Lioness Jill Scott's record for most appearances in the women's top-flight in the process. Flaherty notched her 177th - and final - league appearance in December, keeping a clean sheet as Liverpool picked up a vital 2-0 win on West Ham.
It was a fitting end to a stellar career. And while manager Matt Beard has described Flaherty's premature Liverpool exit as a "blow" from a footballing perspective, he said on Friday that everyone at the club is fully supportive of her decision.
"I know how close she was to her dad," he said ahead of the Reds' trip to Manchester United. "I’ve known Gilly for a long time and when she rang me to tell me that her dad had passed away, it was probably one of the toughest phone calls I’ve ever had. I went straight round her house after I found out the news. Their relationship - especially with the football- they were so close."
He added on Flaherty: "I think in years to come, everyone will appreciate what she’s done for the game. She’s going to leave an unbelievable legacy for herself and she’s one of the pioneers of women’s football and one of the ones who have helped create the opportunity that these young girls have now."
So while Flaherty may not be the conventional WSL poster girl and while her name may not regularly grab the headlines, the manner of her retirement speaks volumes about the player, and person, she is. Brave, honest, and a true legend of the women's game.
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