Fleeting thoughts of Olympics cast aside

ON THE eve of her biggest game of the season, and at the beginning of one of the most important phases of her career, Julie Fleeting could probably have done with thinking about the here and now, rather than something that might happen, or might not happen, in five years.

But more on this issue, and the white noise that surrounds it, in a moment.

Today, in the Gammliavallen Stadium, Fleeting will feature for Arsenal in the first leg of the women's UEFA Cup final. They play Swedish club Ume, the world's best women's team; but Arsenal's achievement is already written into the history books, as the first British club ever to make it to the final of Europe's biggest club competition. The return leg is at Meadow Park, home to Borehamwood FC and Arsenal Ladies, next Sunday.

Six days later, Fleeting will lead Scotland into the opening European championship qualifier against Portugal at McDiarmid Park - and with her 93 goals in 86 games 'lead' is certainly the word. The 26-year old captain of the national side believes that this campaign, for the finals in Finland in 2009, offers Scotland "probably the best chance we've had in my time to make it into a major championship". That would write another new chapter in the history books - it would be a first for Scotland's women.

And in five years? It will be 2012, which should offer a clue. But in a variation of Basil Fawlty's "don't mention the war" refrain, in the Fleeting family there is a strict "don't mention the Olympics" rule. The issue is this. For female footballers, the Olympic stage is the biggest of all, but the SFA will not countenance a united British team. Fleeting, the country's outstanding international footballer, male or female, will thus be denied a chance to appear on the biggest stage - she is destined to become the George Best of women's football. To complicate matters, her father, Jim, is the SFA's Director of Football Development.

There is another twist. England's women's team - among them many of Fleeting's Arsenal team-mates - travel to China in September to play in the World Cup. If they finish in the top four of the European teams then they will qualify for next year's Olympics in Beijing.

There appears to be nothing the SFA can do to stop an all-English team appearing as GB in Beijing - thus establishing the precedent that they fear will threaten the individual identities of the home nations - but they can prevent Fleeting from playing. Or her father, Jim, certainly can.

"Of course the Olympics is a huge thing, but for me, first and foremost, I'm Scottish," says Fleeting. "I love playing for the national team and I'm very proud to be Scottish. I've been told that if there's a Great Britain team then the national team will be scrapped, which is something I don't want; I'd love to make sure that every young Scottish girl gets the chance to play for their national team. If the prospect of a GB team threatens that then I don't want to be part of it.

"Anyway, my dad feels very strongly about it," she continues. "I've actually been told that I could be disowned if I ever play in the Olympics. So there's a risk of losing a family there ..."

Fleeting laughs at this notion - she belongs to a family that is closer than the Waltons - and as far as she is concerned that is the end of the matter. It won't be, though. It will continue to crop up, the white noise growing louder, especially if she maintains her astonishing scoring record. There appears to be no evidence of decline - four for Arsenal last Sunday took her tally to 28 for the season - but she confesses to having just endured the most difficult season of her career. She blames a knee injury, sustained two years ago, which continues to cause problems and hopes a good rest in the summer will cure it once and for all.

But rest, for the moment, can wait. Fleeting leads a peripatetic life, almost a Clark Kent-esque double life. During the week she is a PE teacher at St Michael's Academy in her home town of Kilwinning. But on Sundays she is transformed into Julie Fleeting, football star; in the morning she flies to London, where she is met by staff from one of the world's most glamorous clubs, and escorted to the ground. She pulls on the famous red-and-white jersey, usually scores a couple of goals, and flies home again. On Monday mornings she reports back for duty at St Michael's.

"I don't train at all with the team during the week," she explains. "All the other girls do; I'm the only one in the position of living that far away. But the travel doesn't get to me. I'm very fortunate that the people at Arsenal make it very easy for me to do what I do, looking after me and booking everything for me. Although Sundays are very chaotic the rest of it is fine. It's no problem."

In fact, as far as she is concerned, she has achieved the perfect balance. When she was younger, and emerging as a phenomenon, Fleeting was pained by the idea that a move abroad would be necessary to further her career. She did succumb to that pressure, or expectation, moving to the States to play a couple of seasons with San Diego Spirit in the WUSA League, winning Most Valuable Player, but she was forced to return when the women's professional league collapsed.

Her arrangement with Arsenal, for whom she signed in January 2004, suits her down to the ground. "I don't think there's another club I could go to where I could live the lifestyle I do, staying in Scotland with my family, friends, husband [Livingston goalkeeper Colin Stewart], and two nephews I couldn't live without. And although we don't have much to do with the men, you definitely feel that you're part of Arsenal FC."

Today's UEFA Cup final will be her biggest game in an Arsenal shirt. "We are the underdogs, which kind of suits us," she says. "We're new to the final, and if you'd told us at the start of the season we'd get there we'd have been thrilled." You sense with Fleeting, though, that an even greater thrill would be to lead Scotland to a major championship. "Aw yeah, I'd love to have that opportunity. We've got the strongest squad in my time, a great mixture of experience and youth. But we're in a very tough group and we'll have to play exceptionally well. Apart from Portugal, Ukraine [who Scotland play on 30 May] and Denmark are strong teams - Denmark are the top side."

Fleeting suggests that, at 26, time might be running out for her to break that major championship duck.

"I'm not getting any younger," she says. "This is the first difficult season I've had, but retirement isn't something I'm thinking about. I want a family, so whether that means I stop enjoying it because I want to start a family, I don't know. I've got these qualifiers to get through before I think of anything. That's buying me some time."

Fleeting insists that appearing for her country in a major championship would be the pinnacle of her career. Bigger even than playing in an Olympics? "Oh I know it's a big deal for women players, and in my time in America I knew people who'd won the Olympics and had great memories," she says, a little irritated that the subject has cropped up again. "But it appears to be impossible for a Scottish woman. Playing for Scotland has always been my priority. I love leading the team out, there's not a better feeling in football than hearing the national anthem."

For the record, that's Flower of Scotland, not God Save the Queen.