MARLIES OOSTDAM
Age / Birthdate	July 29, 1977
Nickname	Mar, The Dutch Destroyer
Individual Achievements	10 SWANZ appearances, 0 goals
	SWANZ debut v. Australia, March 24, 1996
	Auckland rep. 1996-98   -   11 appearances, 1 goal
Individual Honours	1996 Auckland Young Player of the Year
	1998 New Zealand Players' Player of the Year Auckland Sportswoman of the Year
Club Record	West Franklin United
	Ellerslie
	Eden / Three Kings United, 1995-99   -   85 appearances, 18 goals
Club Honours	Northern Premier Women's League champions 1998
	Auckland Premier Women's Knockout Shield winners 1997, 1998
	Auckland Premier Women's Champion-of-Champions winners 1998
	WSANZ Knockout Cup winners 1997, 1998
Representative Team Honours	National Women's Soccer Tournament champions 1998

Twenty-four-year-old Marlies Oostdam first came to prominence in 1995, her first season with the then Eden club in Auckland's Premier Women's League competition, after beginning her career at West Franklin United prior to transferring her talents to Ellerslie. Such was her form in 1995 that she forced her way into the New Zealand women's soccer squad for the following summer's tri-nation series with Australia and South Korea, during which she appeared as a substitute on three occasions. She maintained her good form throughout 1996 and went on to be selected for the full Auckland rep. side, before being named Auckland women's soccer's Young Player of the Year at the end of the season. Injury hampered her 1997 campaign, but she overcame this setback to win both the SWANZ Knockout Cup and the Auckland Premier Women's Knockout Shield, the national and regional knockout honours, with her club, Three Kings United. Her resurgence continued early in 1998, as she reclaimed her place in the national side for the six-match tour of Holland, Germany and the USA during May and June. Meanwhile, she continued to turn out any number of consistent performances for Three Kings United, and her repertoire of set-piece plays played a key role in the club winning its first league championship in seven seasons. With Three Kings successfully retaining the Auckland Premier Women’s Knockout Shield, they were automatically crowned Auckland Champion-of-Champions, and their retention of the SWANZ Knockout Cup in 1998 completed northern women’s soccer’s “Grand Slam” - in short, the perfect season. A naturally left-footed player, Marlies’ form secured her a place in the Auckland squad again in 1998, and such were her performances at that season’s National Women's Soccer Tournament that she was chosen by her peers as New Zealand's Players' Player of the Year. She was later named Auckland Sportswoman of the Year, but despite such individual recognition, she concluded her campaign with just two more international appearances to her name, including a mere twenty-five minutes in New Zealand’s ultimately unsuccessful bid to qualify for the 1999 Women’s World Cup Finals. Such a blossoming talent is deserving of much more game-time at international level. And in 2000, Marlies was given the chance to prove the fact. She grasped it with both hands, starting in four of New Zealand’s five Pacific Cup encounters in Australia in June, and appearing as a substitute in the other match, thus bringing to ten the number of times she has donned the silver fern for the SWANZ. By this time, fun-loving Marlies had made Australia her home. A business opportunity arose in her chosen field of horticulture, which prompted the talented defender to bid farewell to Three Kings half-way through the 1999 campaign. While the team went on to retain both the league championship and, for an unprecedented third time, the SWANZ Knockout Cup, the departure of their “Dutch Destroyer” meant an integral part of the champions’ armoury was no longer available to them. That Three Kings struggled to adequately fill the gap ever since is the ultimate testament to Marlies Oostdam, one of the best naturally left-footed players to have graced the women’s game in New Zealand, and a young lady in whose company it is always a pleasure to be.

Date	Opponents	Score	Tally	Comp.
14/7/96	Fencibles United	4-0	1	PWL
18/8/96	Oratia United	19-0	2	WKS
4/9/96	Fencibles United	5-0	1	WKS
8/9/96	West Auckland	9-0	1	WKS
13/4/97	West Auckland	10-0	1	PWL
20/4/97	Claudelands Rovers	4-2	1	PWL
13/5/97	Papakura City	11-0	1	PWL
5/8/97	Western Springs	9-2	1	WKS
26/4/98	West Auckland	12-0	1	PWL
12/7/98	West Auckland	19-0	1	PWL
19/7/98	Albany United	10-0	1	SKC
16/8/98	Waikato Unicol	7-1	1	SKC
19/9/98	Petone	4-2	1	SKC
2/5/99	Claudelands Rovers	8-0	2	PWL
9/5/99	Papatoetoe	11-0	1	PWL
16/5/99	Te Atatu	6-0	1	PWL
	TOTAL		18
	Premier Women's League		10
	Women's Knockout Shield		5
	SWANZ Knockout Cup		3

Date	Opponents	Score	Tally
11/9/98	Canterbury	3-0	1

Marlies Oostdam in nationaal elftal door Bastiaan Beentjes AUCKLAND  Vorig jaar berichtten wij over Caroline en Marlies Oostdam uit Auckland, de voetballende zusters die landskampioen waren geworden met hun elftal Three Kings United. Nu heeft de jongste van de twee, Marlies (21) er nog een schepje bovenop gedaan door een plaats in het nationale elftal te bemachtigen. Ze kreeg het goede nieuws nadat ze net was teruggekeerd van een drie maanden lange reis met haar vriend door de US en Europa. De selectie bestaat uit 18 spelers die oefeninterlands gaan spelen tegen Nederlandse clubs en ook tegen Olympisch kampioen Amerika en het sterke Duitsland. “Dat worden moeilijke wedstrijden.” zegt de linkshalf. Nieuw Zeeland doet het overigens ook niet slecht en staan “ergens in de top 20.” Marlies is linksvoetig en in een voornamelijk rechtsvoetige voetbalwereld betekent dat een groot voordeel, aldus coach Maurice Tillotson. “She has a very good left foot and can strike the ball extremely well,” zegt Tillotson die ook verantwoordelijk was voor het selecteren van de eerste achttien. Het was echter niet alleen Marlies haar linkervoet die de doorslag gaf. “No, the fact she’s leftfooted is a major advantage but, just as important, she also knows how to open up the play really well.” De lofzang van haar coach betekent niet dat ze op haar lauren kan rusten. Behalve haar fulltime werkzaamheden in het bloemenbedrijf van de familie, traint ze twee keer per week met haar club, Three Kings United, en speelt tenminste een wedstrijd per week. Ook heeft de selectie “huiswerk” meegekregen, van hardlopen tot gewichtheffen. Thuis, na werktijd, werkt Marlies op eigen initiatief hard aan het sterken van haar rechtervoet. Vader Dirk en broer DirkJan hebben hiervoor een professioneel ogend doel gebouwd in de voortuin, waar overigens de gehele voetbalgekke familie gebruik van maakt. Terwijl ‘Keutel’, de hond, een gat begint te graven in de ‘grasmat’ jaagt Marlies op nonchalante wijze, en met haar rechtervoet, de bal in de ‘touwen’. “Nou alleen nog een keeper.” zegt ze lachend.