{"id":322848,"date":"2024-09-19T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-19T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/?p=322848"},"modified":"2024-09-19T12:39:04","modified_gmt":"2024-09-19T00:39:04","slug":"nix-skipper-re-signs-for-2024-25-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/news\/nix-skipper-re-signs-for-2024-25-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Nix skipper re-signs for 2024-25 season"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A major coup for the Wellington Phoenix women ahead of the start of pre-season training with captain Annalie Longo recommitting to the club for the upcoming Ninja A-League.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decorated Football Ferns midfielder led the Phoenix during the 2023-24 campaign, helping the women to their highest finish in the team\u2019s fledgling history.

Longo, 33, marked her long-awaited Nix debut by scoring the match-winning goal against the Brisbane Roar last November and featured in the team\u2019s next 12 matches before an Achilles injury prematurely ended her season.

\u201cThat was one of the big reasons why I wanted to return to the Phoenix because there have obviously been some great foundations laid over the last three seasons and unfortunately last season I was a little bit hampered with a niggly injury,\u201d Longo said.

\u201cI\u2019m really excited to be part of the group again. We learnt a lot last season and I think everybody is really looking forward to getting back together and having a really good pre-season and trying to create a bit of history for the club.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND – NOVEMBER 12: Annalie Longo of the Phoenix poses for a photo with fans after the A-League Women round four match between Wellington Phoenix and Western United at Jerry Collins Stadium, on November 12, 2023, in Wellington, New Zealand. (Photo by Masanori Udagawa\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The 136-cap Fern will again captain the Phoenix women and believes the squad head coach Paul Temple has assembled should be playing in the finals.

\u201cPaul has done a really good job and now the key is to evolve our environment so people can continue to thrive.

\u201cMy job as captain and one of the leaders in the team is to ensure we create that good environment so players are continuing to enjoy their football and want to represent the club well.

\u201cThat\u2019s the first priority and hopefully on the back of that you\u2019ll see some good performances and some players really stand-up and get national team call-ups.\u201d

Annalie Longo overcame injury to play at her fourth Olympic Games in France this year and feels like she still has \u201ca lot more to give\u201d.

\u201cThe Olympic campaign was a bit of a whirlwind of emotions but once I returned home I felt my body was in a really good position and physically and mentally I felt really good, so it made the decision very easy to come back and return to the Phoenix.

\u201cI want to continue to try and help the younger players and drive the team forward, and hopefully we can do something special this season.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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LYON, FRANCE – JULY 28: Annalie Longo #20 of New Zealand runs with the ball during the Women’s group A match between New Zealand and Colombia during the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de Lyon on July 28, 2024 in Lyon, France. (Photo by Claudio Villa\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Longo is a serial winner, having won seven national league titles and two A-League championships. And she is fresh off winning three trophies with Cashmere Technical this season.

\u201cCashmere Tech did a really good job in helping me make that Olympic squad by providing the right environment to get back into training, and the right competition.

\u201cIt\u2019s always been one of my priorities is to try and give back to the game, and I just enjoy playing.

\u201cTo come back and play for a club that did so well this season, winning the qualifying league, the South Island league and the Reta Fitzpatrick Cup, which was a pretty significant achievement for Cashmere Tech, was great to be part of.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND – NOVEMBER 25: Annalie Longo of Wellington leads the team out during the A-League Women round six match between Wellington Phoenix and Perth Glory at Go Media Stadium, on November 25, 2023, in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Fiona Goodall\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Phoenix head coach Paul Temple says it was essential he brought Annalie Longo back for the 2024-25 campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLast season Annalie really stood up as a leader within the group despite having to battle with a few frustrating injuries that restricted her gametime,\u201d Temple said.

\u201cShe is a greatly appreciated, respected and valuable member of the team, and she\u2019s such a smart footballer, good person and great role model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think there is an element of unfinished business for Annalie. Her mentality is still strong and she\u2019s passionate about the style of football we play. 

\u201cAnd on top of her leadership Annalie is a great player in her own right.  In my opinion she is one of the very best New Zealand has ever produced in the women\u2019s game.\u201d

Annalie Longo is the 18th player confirmed in Paul Temple\u2019s first team squad, with pre-season training starting next week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":254,"featured_media":322873,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[329,330,343,355],"tags":[],"competition":[],"acf":{"match_card_embed_league":null,"match_card_embed_club":null,"match_card_embed_match":false,"match_card_embed_disable":false,"auto_publish_updates":true,"reference_article":null,"article_featured_video":"","article_featured_video_tagline":"","article_byline":"","article_media_type":"news","article_video":"","gallery":"","shared_ffa_source":"keepup","shared_hide_in_app":false,"article_player":"","article_team":"","article_competition":"","article_match":"","credit":"","related_articles":"","push_to_social":false,"priority":1,"sport":false,"language":"en","private_content":false,"access_level":"","article_id":"","app_featured_image":null,"article_content_group":"news"},"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/news\/nix-skipper-re-signs-for-2024-25-season\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Nix skipper re-signs for 2024-25 season","url":"http:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/news\/nix-skipper-re-signs-for-2024-25-season\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/news\/nix-skipper-re-signs-for-2024-25-season\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2024\/09\/Flea-Re-Signing-Black-Web-1920x1080-1.png?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2024\/09\/Flea-Re-Signing-Black-Web-1920x1080-1.png"},"articleSection":"Breaking News","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"brenton"}],"creator":["brenton"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Wellington Phoenix","logo":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2022\/04\/cropped-Wellington_Phoenix_FC_logo-2.png"},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2024-09-19T01:00:00Z","datePublished":"2024-09-19T01:00:00Z","dateModified":"2024-09-19T01:00:00Z"},"rendered":"