November 1, 2025 • 9 mins
Excitement's brewing ahead of another A-League season for the Wellington Phoenix women's side.
Some new names have been signed on, including current Football Ferns goalkeeper Victoria Esson - as well as some new overseas talent.
Tessel Middag is one of these new overseas players, and she joined Piney to discuss further.
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from Newstalk ZB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
The doubleheader is the first game of the season for
the Wellington Phoenix women and there is a high degree
of excitement around about the women's side. This season, the
Phoenix havessigned some exciting new players, including current Football Ferns
goalkeeper Vick Essen, also CJ Bott and Macy Fraser who's
returned to the club. They also have five new overseas
(00:34):
import players. One of those is former Dutch international Tessel Meddach,
who has spent the last four seasons at Rangers in Scotland,
where she won six trophies, after also lifting silverware in
England and in the Netherlands. She's been capped forty four
times by her country at senior level and played in
(00:55):
the twenty fifteen FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada. Had
the opportunity to catch up with Tessaw Midhaka recently to
ask how she was settling into Wellington and how the
move to the Phoenix had come up.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
First of all, thank you for the welcome. It's it's
been great to be here in Wellington and New Zealand.
Five weeks now and I'm really enjoying it. So how
this whole move came about? So after four years at
Rangers and in Glasgow in Scotland, I think I was
ready for something, something new, And when you're at my
age thirty two years old, it's like okay, what, yeah,
(01:28):
what are what are we going to do? What am
I going to do? I'm from the Netherlands, so part
of me was like, should I sort of maybe try
and finish the last years of my career back home
in a Dutch league that is improved improving every year
played there for the first five years of my yeah,
my professional career before I moved abroad. Or am I
(01:50):
going to continue this this wonderful adventure that an international
football career is. And I opted yeah for the last Yeah,
that lasts a second option. It helps that my my
partner is a New Zealander, so that, yeah, made it
a bit easier to make this decision to to come
to New Zealand when the option arose when Wellington Phoenix
(02:13):
was was interested. So yeah, an opportunity for me to
to get to know this country a little bit better
and to explore yet another league.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
So you've been here about five weeks now was it
what you expected? I know the games haven't started yet,
but is the the country and the club what what
you expected it to be?
Speaker 3 (02:32):
Well, I wasn't really sure what I had expected. I've
I've had a a qi wei partner for almost three years,
so I feel like I'm not completely new to to yeah,
to to Kiwi culture or to you know, the bicultural
part sort of former British and part Maudi culture that
that we have here in this in this beautiful country.
(02:54):
So but but still to experience the first hakka life
myself and to learn a few wayata, a few songs
that we sang together with the local EI here in
Wellington was those moments have been very special. In those
first yeah, four to five weeks here, we had a
dance ceremony at six am upon mind fig. So I
(03:15):
feel like those have been experiences that have surpassed my expectations,
I think, and I think makes it all the more worthwhile.
I'm not just here to play football, but I'm here
to learn a bit about this country and the culture
as well. So I think my first experiences have surpassed
my expectations. And I've also really been enjoying my football
(03:36):
on the bitch.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Let's talk a bit about that. I know you've played
previously in midfield, but a lot of your football at
Ranges was at center back. Is that the role that
bit of priestmans most likely to use you in here
on Wellington and as part of the back fall.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Well, it's not always a back four that we play,
so back three at times, So it depends a little
bit on the yeah, I think availability of players and
on the opposition that we play, and also a little
bit on the yeah, the style that a manager prefers.
Speaker 4 (04:04):
So I've been in midfielder my whole life.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
When Joe Potter, our previous manager at Rangers, came in
two years into my time at Rangers, she sort of
transferred me into a into a center back and we
went from a.
Speaker 4 (04:15):
Four three three to a three five two.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
So it was one of the this is maybe very
technical for the for the listeners by the way, but
I transformed into being one of the three center backs.
So I'm not your classical center back, but one that
was allowed to, you know, step into midfield and still
do what I can do best, which is, you know,
passes passes forwards. So yeah, it depends a little bit
(04:39):
on what what the coaches want, and I think Beth
has seen any coaching staff have seen me now for
a few weeks in training and in three friendly games
that we've played, so I think you'll see a little
bit of a mix of me this season. Maybe I'll
play more to the midfielder than I have done in
the last two years at Rangers anyway, which which I'm
enjoying when I play there in games or in training sessions.
(05:02):
It just allows me to be a little bit higher
up the bitch and be a bit more involved in
the action in the opposition books. But I'll still be
able to do a job at send it back as well.
So I think it depends a little bit on numbers
as well and availability.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
How do you assist the squad that has been as
symboled here. You're obviously a big part of it and
the other important players, but a lot of young kiwis
as well. How do you evaluate the strength of the squad?
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Yeah, I think there's a lot of talent in the room,
which is exciting. We have a few older experienced players
like myself, but there's a very big group of very.
Speaker 4 (05:38):
Talented young girls.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
A lot of them have been away actually or are
going away with the under seventeens on the nineteens under twenties.
So that's been great to see good experience for them,
which hopefully they'll yeah, learn from and bring back to
the Phoenix environment. Yeah, I think I'm very excited about, yeah,
what we can do this season. I think it's important
to try and get everyone fit so that we can
(06:01):
utilize the strength that this squad has. We are I
think we can still sign one more visa players, so
I'm excited.
Speaker 4 (06:10):
I have no idea who that might be.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
I don't know if the coaches know, but that would be, yeah,
even better to add another another number to the to
the squad that we have.
Speaker 4 (06:22):
So I'm excited about what we can do.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
And you bring a vast amount of experience to the squad.
You've mentioned your age a couple of times. You shouldn't
do that. You still got plenty of time left, I'm sure,
but you are coming into an environment where you are
you know, able to bring experience, international experience some of
the biggest clubs in Europe. Do you feel a desire
to pass that experience onto some of the younger members
(06:44):
of the team.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
Yeah, I do, and It's not something that that I've
always had, but it sort of comes naturally when you, yeah,
when you get a bit more experienced, shall we say, so,
it is something that comes natural to me.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
I really like seeing players, younger players developed. For example,
we have in PFL, we have a seventeen year old
and it's just so exciting what you know she can
achieve in the next well in this season to come
and then in the next years. And I do, of
course want to play my part. I've done my coaching
batches last year in Scotland, so I've got my uif
(07:23):
I C and uif I BE coaching license. Probably there's
probably an equivalent here of the Oceania versions of those
coaching batches. But yeah, I've done a bit of coaching
with the Rangers Skills Academy last year to get some
experience in coaching and it's something that I'm currently still assessing.
Speaker 4 (07:40):
It's been pretty full on.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
But if I could potentially do something similar here at
the Phoenix Girls or Boys or both, but in the
academy working with younger players, because that is something that
excites me, all right.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
And to finish, you've been part of teams that have
been successful that have won trophies. What are the hallmarks,
the royal building blocks of successful teams.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Well, we are obviously still building. So the one of
the blog would be getting absolute technical clarity on what
what the coach coaches want in and out of possession.
But that's yeah, that's a bit dry and a bit basic.
But then, you know, we need to understand our roles,
and especially me as someone who likes to you know,
who has been tasked to communicate as much as I can,
(08:24):
I need to fully understand when and where do we
want to press how do we keep.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
Possession of the ball.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
But then if we want to take it to the
next level, which we want to do, we want to
do something that's never been done before. I think in
the tough moments, that's when we when when you can
see the character of a team, the yeah, the strength
of a team.
Speaker 4 (08:43):
When we're one nailed down, are we.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
Able to to to score us two goals to win
us the game? So that's when I think we need
to be comfortable, yeah, communicating because at times we've we've
done a whole workshop on communication last week. We can
you know, all get into our own shelves like that's
when you see, like do you have players in the team,
(09:05):
whether you're young or old, who can you know, take
the game by the scruff of the neck, whether it's
with a tackle, with a with a brilliant past, with
an individual brilliance, like an action going past two players
and scoring a goal. That's sort of what we need
to see if we want to if we want to
be successful this season. And I'm very excited about the
other possibilities here.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
That is the very impressive new acquisition, or one of
the new acquisitions for the Wellington Phoenix women's side, former
Dutch international tessol Midach, who will be a big part
of this team this season. Their first game is a
home game next Saturday Sky Stadium against Canberra, followed by
the first derby in the A League means Wellington Phoenix
and Auckland FC. So a big day of football coming
(09:47):
next Saturday at Sky Stadium in the Capitol.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine, listen live
to news Talks b weekends from midday or follow the
podcast on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from Newstalk ZB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
The doubleheader is the first game of the season for
the Wellington Phoenix women and there is a high degree
of excitement around about the women's side. This season, the
Phoenix havessigned some exciting new players, including current Football Ferns
goalkeeper Vick Essen, also CJ Bott and Macy Fraser who's
returned to the club. They also have five new overseas
(00:34):
import players. One of those is former Dutch international Tessel Meddach,
who has spent the last four seasons at Rangers in Scotland,
where she won six trophies, after also lifting silverware in
England and in the Netherlands. She's been capped forty four
times by her country at senior level and played in
(00:55):
the twenty fifteen FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada. Had
the opportunity to catch up with Tessaw Midhaka recently to
ask how she was settling into Wellington and how the
move to the Phoenix had come up.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
First of all, thank you for the welcome. It's it's
been great to be here in Wellington and New Zealand.
Five weeks now and I'm really enjoying it. So how
this whole move came about? So after four years at
Rangers and in Glasgow in Scotland, I think I was
ready for something, something new, And when you're at my
age thirty two years old, it's like okay, what, yeah,
(01:28):
what are what are we going to do? What am
I going to do? I'm from the Netherlands, so part
of me was like, should I sort of maybe try
and finish the last years of my career back home
in a Dutch league that is improved improving every year
played there for the first five years of my yeah,
my professional career before I moved abroad. Or am I
(01:50):
going to continue this this wonderful adventure that an international
football career is. And I opted yeah for the last Yeah,
that lasts a second option. It helps that my my
partner is a New Zealander, so that, yeah, made it
a bit easier to make this decision to to come
to New Zealand when the option arose when Wellington Phoenix
(02:13):
was was interested. So yeah, an opportunity for me to
to get to know this country a little bit better
and to explore yet another league.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
So you've been here about five weeks now was it
what you expected? I know the games haven't started yet,
but is the the country and the club what what
you expected it to be?
Speaker 3 (02:32):
Well, I wasn't really sure what I had expected. I've
I've had a a qi wei partner for almost three years,
so I feel like I'm not completely new to to yeah,
to to Kiwi culture or to you know, the bicultural
part sort of former British and part Maudi culture that
that we have here in this in this beautiful country.
(02:54):
So but but still to experience the first hakka life
myself and to learn a few wayata, a few songs
that we sang together with the local EI here in
Wellington was those moments have been very special. In those
first yeah, four to five weeks here, we had a
dance ceremony at six am upon mind fig. So I
(03:15):
feel like those have been experiences that have surpassed my expectations,
I think, and I think makes it all the more worthwhile.
I'm not just here to play football, but I'm here
to learn a bit about this country and the culture
as well. So I think my first experiences have surpassed
my expectations. And I've also really been enjoying my football
(03:36):
on the bitch.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Let's talk a bit about that. I know you've played
previously in midfield, but a lot of your football at
Ranges was at center back. Is that the role that
bit of priestmans most likely to use you in here
on Wellington and as part of the back fall.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Well, it's not always a back four that we play,
so back three at times, So it depends a little
bit on the yeah, I think availability of players and
on the opposition that we play, and also a little
bit on the yeah, the style that a manager prefers.
Speaker 4 (04:04):
So I've been in midfielder my whole life.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
When Joe Potter, our previous manager at Rangers, came in
two years into my time at Rangers, she sort of
transferred me into a into a center back and we
went from a.
Speaker 4 (04:15):
Four three three to a three five two.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
So it was one of the this is maybe very
technical for the for the listeners by the way, but
I transformed into being one of the three center backs.
So I'm not your classical center back, but one that
was allowed to, you know, step into midfield and still
do what I can do best, which is, you know,
passes passes forwards. So yeah, it depends a little bit
(04:39):
on what what the coaches want, and I think Beth
has seen any coaching staff have seen me now for
a few weeks in training and in three friendly games
that we've played, so I think you'll see a little
bit of a mix of me this season. Maybe I'll
play more to the midfielder than I have done in
the last two years at Rangers anyway, which which I'm
enjoying when I play there in games or in training sessions.
(05:02):
It just allows me to be a little bit higher
up the bitch and be a bit more involved in
the action in the opposition books. But I'll still be
able to do a job at send it back as well.
So I think it depends a little bit on numbers
as well and availability.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
How do you assist the squad that has been as
symboled here. You're obviously a big part of it and
the other important players, but a lot of young kiwis
as well. How do you evaluate the strength of the squad?
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Yeah, I think there's a lot of talent in the room,
which is exciting. We have a few older experienced players
like myself, but there's a very big group of very.
Speaker 4 (05:38):
Talented young girls.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
A lot of them have been away actually or are
going away with the under seventeens on the nineteens under twenties.
So that's been great to see good experience for them,
which hopefully they'll yeah, learn from and bring back to
the Phoenix environment. Yeah, I think I'm very excited about, yeah,
what we can do this season. I think it's important
to try and get everyone fit so that we can
(06:01):
utilize the strength that this squad has. We are I
think we can still sign one more visa players, so
I'm excited.
Speaker 4 (06:10):
I have no idea who that might be.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
I don't know if the coaches know, but that would be, yeah,
even better to add another another number to the to
the squad that we have.
Speaker 4 (06:22):
So I'm excited about what we can do.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
And you bring a vast amount of experience to the squad.
You've mentioned your age a couple of times. You shouldn't
do that. You still got plenty of time left, I'm sure,
but you are coming into an environment where you are
you know, able to bring experience, international experience some of
the biggest clubs in Europe. Do you feel a desire
to pass that experience onto some of the younger members
(06:44):
of the team.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
Yeah, I do, and It's not something that that I've
always had, but it sort of comes naturally when you, yeah,
when you get a bit more experienced, shall we say, so,
it is something that comes natural to me.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
I really like seeing players, younger players developed. For example,
we have in PFL, we have a seventeen year old
and it's just so exciting what you know she can
achieve in the next well in this season to come
and then in the next years. And I do, of
course want to play my part. I've done my coaching
batches last year in Scotland, so I've got my uif
(07:23):
I C and uif I BE coaching license. Probably there's
probably an equivalent here of the Oceania versions of those
coaching batches. But yeah, I've done a bit of coaching
with the Rangers Skills Academy last year to get some
experience in coaching and it's something that I'm currently still assessing.
Speaker 4 (07:40):
It's been pretty full on.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
But if I could potentially do something similar here at
the Phoenix Girls or Boys or both, but in the
academy working with younger players, because that is something that
excites me, all right.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
And to finish, you've been part of teams that have
been successful that have won trophies. What are the hallmarks,
the royal building blocks of successful teams.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Well, we are obviously still building. So the one of
the blog would be getting absolute technical clarity on what
what the coach coaches want in and out of possession.
But that's yeah, that's a bit dry and a bit basic.
But then, you know, we need to understand our roles,
and especially me as someone who likes to you know,
who has been tasked to communicate as much as I can,
(08:24):
I need to fully understand when and where do we
want to press how do we keep.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
Possession of the ball.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
But then if we want to take it to the
next level, which we want to do, we want to
do something that's never been done before. I think in
the tough moments, that's when we when when you can
see the character of a team, the yeah, the strength
of a team.
Speaker 4 (08:43):
When we're one nailed down, are we.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
Able to to to score us two goals to win
us the game? So that's when I think we need
to be comfortable, yeah, communicating because at times we've we've
done a whole workshop on communication last week. We can
you know, all get into our own shelves like that's
when you see, like do you have players in the team,
(09:05):
whether you're young or old, who can you know, take
the game by the scruff of the neck, whether it's
with a tackle, with a with a brilliant past, with
an individual brilliance, like an action going past two players
and scoring a goal. That's sort of what we need
to see if we want to if we want to
be successful this season. And I'm very excited about the
other possibilities here.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
That is the very impressive new acquisition, or one of
the new acquisitions for the Wellington Phoenix women's side, former
Dutch international tessol Midach, who will be a big part
of this team this season. Their first game is a
home game next Saturday Sky Stadium against Canberra, followed by
the first derby in the A League means Wellington Phoenix
and Auckland FC. So a big day of football coming
(09:47):
next Saturday at Sky Stadium in the Capitol.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine, listen live
to news Talks b weekends from midday or follow the
podcast on iHeartRadio.
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