Born and raised a Melbournian until the age of seven, Gielnik moved to Brisbane, where she lived in a big suburban area described as the place where her sporting talent "blossomed." She played from dusk till dawn alongside her two brothers and sisters.
As a child, her mother's strictness instilled good morals and values in her from a very young age. Additionally, she recalls how her siblings helped foster her competitive nature, constantly seeking competition. "Movement is destined for me," she described. "I've moved actively since I was a kid. I lived and breathed sports through primary and high school.”

PATH TO PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

Initially, Gielnik did not gravitate towards football. She wasn't skilful but was more determined than everyone else around her to win. "Some would say that I just had it from the start," she recalls. "As time went on, I was obsessed with getting better and improving.”

When asked if there was a moment when she knew football was her sport, she recalls being asked to join a basketball team, which would have taken over football. Gielnik loved basketball, at one point playing five games on a weekend and playing up in every age group. However, basketball kept clashing with football, and she had to decide whether to accept the offer to play for an academy or pursue football. Between this, Gielnik was asked to travel to New Zealand to pursue a career as a referee, to which she responded, "there's no way!" 

This was the turning point for her to leave basketball behind, and she eventually got recognised on a school trip, leading to her signing her first professional contract a year later. 

As Gielnik said, "It goes for a good story... to never give up no matter how old you get."

GLOBETROTTER AND PROFESSIONAL CAREER

Gielnik could also be described as quite the globetrotter. Living in at least six countries (and counting), she was determined to play football around the globe as she believed there was "more football out there."

Her first professional contract was signed at 18-19 years old for the English giants, Liverpool. Gielnik described her time at Liverpool as being homesick, freezing, long, and wet. Her move was sparked by her goal to "play in as many countries as possible, to experience all types of cultures, all types of football, and never want to feel comfortable." Corresponding to this was her golden rule: "to always sign a one-year contract in a new country and move on." Even if she had the season of her life, which she most definitely did on multiple occasions, it was important for her not to plateau. "I love the struggle, I'm striving for competition, and I want to be pushed.”

From her stint in England, Gielnik then migrated higher, playing in Canada, followed by her time with the German giants Bayern Munich. In addition to these clubs, there weren't enough stamps in her passport, so Gielnik continued her journey, playing in Norway, Sweden, Japan, and moving back to England between 2021-2023. As she described her journey, she's definitely been "around the block."

OVERCOMING CHALLENGES AND SETBACKS

As an elite athlete, having a resilient, ‘no half jobs’ mentality is only natural. “I feel like I can almost handle anything,” she explains. Gielnik is, unfortunately, too familiar with facing career setbacks, especially leading up to major tournaments. “I’ve had my fair share of setbacks — four calf tears, almost back to back,” she recalls. “Everyone always looks at me, like, how are you going to get through this again? And my response always is, I can’t wait to get back out there.”

Her setbacks have reminded her of just how much she appreciates the national team. Described as both emotionally and physically draining, she emphasised the need to work twice as hard, training more than those who are already fit to play.

Gielnik has traveled to and from the other side of the world at least fifty to sixty times throughout her career, whether it’s for club or country. “It’s not an easy process,” she described. “But what I have learned is that I am resilient as hell.”

When asked how she’s built her resilient mindset, her response was, “It’s the fear of failure and setbacks.” Gielnik has been in the position of missing out on an Olympic campaign and not being able to participate in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup due to injury. These moments of narrowly missing her goals have determined her to build her resilience.

MOVING ABROAD

Moving abroad was a huge challenge for Gielnik. "It’s a beautiful and a miserable experience all at once,” she says about moving abroad, which often leads to sitting in one’s own thoughts. Elaborating on this, we were reminded of the loneliness one can feel when taking the risk of moving abroad. Gielnik was traveling alone, sleeping alone, and coming back home to empty apartments, which felt extremely heavy at times. In saying this, she recalled how the relationships she built with her teammates helped fill the void of her family and friends.

Having to learn how to navigate being alone, mixed with traveling so often and knowing that home is over 24 hours away, is hard, she said.

NATIONAL TEAM AND FUTURE GOALS

Looking ahead at the future, Gielnik knew that being a national team player and wearing the green and gold was a long-term goal for her. To be taken seriously and, most importantly, to put women's football on the map, Gielnik, along with her national team teammates, started migrating abroad.

As players, they didn’t ask for much aside from wanting to be full-time professional footballers and couldn't afford to stay in Australia on a minimum salary. Moving abroad was the only opportunity they had to get to the present.

Gielnik was playing in the league for a couple of years where things were going well, soon being called up to the national team, making her debut, and, in the Emily Gielnik way, scoring a hat-trick. It was her partner at the time who inspired her to open her own commercial space: a personal training and conditioning gym. "I feel successful when I get to change someone's life, and that's something the outside world probably doesn't know about me - being able to turn someone's life around makes me feel my best." It was during this period that Gielnik found her "sweet spot." She described this period as being "completely obsessed with the gym side of things," leading her to play her best football as she was happiest beyond the field. As soon as she took the pressure off, that's when she started getting the callbacks into camp.

THE EVOLUTION OF THE MATILDAS

Through this conversation, we also had the opportunity to touch on how the Australian National team, also known as the Matildas, was set up. When asked how the setup was back then, her response was, "It was good because it's all that we knew." "We were scrambling to get three to five thousand to a game. We got ten thousand, and we were almost crying.”

It was during an Olympic campaign where it started snowballing. You could feel something changing, but did they ever expect this to reach new heights? No, she believed. "Where it was to where it is now, it's totally different.”

FIGHTING FOR EQUALITY

Of course, we dived into this topic, asking Gielnik if she and her teammates believed they could build the Matildas up to be what they are now – Australia’s most iconic team – even through the misconceptions they face as 'female' footballers. She elaborated, "Five-plus years ago we did think to ourselves; are we ever going to get anywhere with this? Is there just too far of a gap? It's not about us vs them, we just wanted equality," she describes after being asked about her thoughts on the misconceptions that come with being a footballer.

As a team, it's not that they never believed in the opportunity yet questioned whether they were going to get their moment, their opportunity. "Football is about moments, and this World Cup was the biggest moment that changed women's football forever.”

VISION FOR THE FUTURE

Speaking about the next generation and what’s to come, Gielnik explains, "It's crazy to think where the ceiling is now because it feels like we've reached it."

She also explains how she, along with her fellow teammates, would love to come home and play – not moving and living abroad to be recognised and acknowledged as a professional footballer. Gielnik expressed her desire to build a strong league in Australia and get world-class players to play within the Australian league, making it one of the strongest.

Emily Gielnik may describe herself as a risk-taker who is fast and powerful on the pitch, but to us, she embodies exactly what an individual with a 'no half jobs' mentality is—someone who is willing to sink or swim to get to the position they see themselves being in.