The stakes are high for the Matildas at their Coffs Harbour camp. Just two months ago their Beijing Olympic dreams were destroyed by successive defeats to North Korea, but now they’re less than 30 days away from a shot at redemption at the Women’s World Cup in China.

It is a chance at glory that rarely comes the way of female footballers in this country and one they are desperate to grab, but with just a few days left in Coffs and without the benefit of a national women’s competition to keep them in form and fitness, it’s a race against time to develop the teamwork and execution needed to conquer the world.

And so we find the team’s brainstrust hard at work on the bus ride back from the Matildas’ final training session before a “dead” Olympic qualifier against Chinese Taipei. Coaching supremo Tom Sermanni is deep thought as team manager Jo “the Colonel” Sanders quizzes him about player movements in the final 24 hours before kick-off.

In a lazy Scottish drawl, Sermanni mumbles a quick response to the Colonel’s concerns before getting down to the issue that’s really bothering him: "Archaic work for sulfur, nine letters?” Beefy trainer Tim Rogers risks his reputation and fires back in a flash with “brimstone”.

It’s no wonder really that Sermanni needed help with 12-Across – there is very little fire and brimstone in the 53-year-old’s coaching style.

Indeed the only mildly heated moments during training that morning had come in some quick verbal exchanges between Sermanni and the Matildas’ feisty left-back Heather Garriock – and it’s suggested by some in camp that stirring up Garriock is no more than an amusing pastime for the coaching staff between card games and “football-golf” challenges.

“I’ve never been an ‘in-your-face’ type of character. It’s just not me,” admits Sermanni later on his way to a spot of putting practice at the Matildas resort retreat. “When you go into coaching, at first there’s a perception that you’ve got to suddenly be this confrontational, ‘I’m the boss’ kind of person – they see how Alex Ferguson does things. It’s never really been me. I think this squad has got used to me by now, but you never know. Coaches tend to be delusional.

“But our players have other things to balance in their lives and they want football to be something that they enjoy coming to.

I don’t know if ‘fun’ is the right word, but you have to create an environment that people want to be in.”

The approach seems to work. Training starts with plenty of giggles and chatter with ball-juggling games as the players get themselves organised. But as soon as the drills begin a competitiveness and concentration falls over the group. Laughter is replaced with cries of encouragement and barked instructions. Interestingly the players themselves do most of the barking, constantly communicating to each other in intense mock game situations, with Sermanni interjecting only occasionally.

Sermanni’s players certainly appreciate the style of the dry Scot, who returned for a second stint in charge of the Matildas just two and a half years ago. Sermanni’s appointment followed the intense tenure of Adrian Santrac, who left with reports of favouritism and a player affair hanging over his head.

Goalkeeper Melissa “Bubs” Barbieri – a five year veteran of the Matildas squad – says the relaxed atmosphere “is very much something that Tommy’s brought into the team and developed”.

From the moment training begins on the Saturday morning, it’s obvious why Barbieri, 27, is considered one of the big personalities of the Matildas, as she bounces onto the pitch with plenty of volume and the planting of a massive kiss on the cheek of a team-mate.

“He can be very tactical when he wants to be,” Barbieri says of Sermanni’s style. “But he generally looks at our strengths more, playing to our prowess and making sure we do our jobs, because on our day we can beat anybody.”

Just as we get onto the Matildas’ invincibility and how they’re going to kick butt in China, Barbieri is interrupted by a team-mate wanting to check out what she’s wearing.

“It’s my new goalkeeping strip!” she says gleefully, far removed from the grumpy words about the fit of the new uniforms that she first greeted the garments with.

But just like at training Barbieri snaps straight back to focus on the task at hand: “Tommy likes to add some something different to our game – like man-marking one of their players out of the blue. He has very explosive ideas. He keeps us on our toes.”

While the Matildas seem like they’re enjoying a holiday during their free time, it is clear the team is hard at work on the pitch.

“We have a lot of fun, but we get down to business when it’s time to switch on. If you’re not capable of doing that you probably won’t get the time on the park,” Barbieri warns. “There’s a lot of self-responsibility being away from the team.”Self-responsibility is a phrase that is used frequently over the course of the weekend. Sermanni’s explanation of its application to the Matildas is simple: “When your football team walks out onto the field, you don’t have any control over them. And I think when you take control away from people away from the field, when you suddenly say ‘on the field, go and express yourself’, how can they?

“That may be a flawed philosophy, I don’t know, but it makes logical sense to me that you need to give people responsibility.”

“The men are constantly monitored by their club teams,” says Barbieri. “But no one’s calling us up or fining us $1000 for not turning up to training. So it’s really up to us.”

She adds that this responsibility extends to properly reporting any injuries players may want to conceal. “Physios in the Socceroos team will hear about it on the news. They’ve got more ways of finding out if you’ve been hurt.

“National Nine News – Lisa’s pulled a hammy!” interrupts midfielder Sally Shipard.

“Sally Shipard’s banged her toe!” fires back Barbieri.

At just 19, Shipard has already seen her fair share of injuries. After captaining the Young Matildas at the FIFA U20 Women’s World Championship in Russia last year, she spent 11 months on the sideline with stress fractures in her foot. Even now her legs are covered in icepacks as soon as she comes off the pitch.

While the Matildas boast experienced stars such as Cheryl Salisbury, Joanne Peters and Dianne Alagich, it is encouraging for women’s football that the next generation is already emerging. Along with the skilled Collette McCallum, fullback Clare Polkinghorne and back-up keeper Lydia Williams, Shipard represents a group of teenagers who are not just part of the squad but are either settled in or pushing for selection in the starting XI.

“This is the first camp since the squad has been announced, so it’s 21 players all vying for those 11 starting positions,” says Shipard, bringing the serious side of the camp back to the fore. “Every game until the World Cup will be important for everyone to prove they’re capable of being in the starting team.”

A physical presence in centre of the park despite her age, Shipard is a born competitor with superior ball skills. But it is her character – friendly and cheerful, articulate and thoughtful – that really sets her apart as a future Matilda captain.

Indeed, while most 19-year-olds are testing out their Proof of Age cards at their local drinking holes, Shipard is already more concerned about being a role model for budding footballers.

“We’re fairly responsible when it comes to alcohol, aren’t we Bubs?” Shipard asks Barbieri. “I suppose we wouldn’t get as much media attention as the men would anyway. We know when it’s time to let our hair down and we know when it’s time to act responsibly because we’re role models to younger girls.

“We like being in that situation – it’s nice to have younger boys and girls look up to you and be asking you questions about how you made it.”

Fast forward 24 hours and in the light of these comments it’s hardly surprising to see the Matildas sticking around for over an hour after the game against Chinese Taipei to sign autographs and pose for photos for hundreds of adoring kids. This, despite the exhausting 90 minutes on a unseasonably warm Coffs Harbour afternoon.

Sprinkled among the crowd are several younger brothers and sisters of the squad members, who have made the trip to Coffs to see the team before it heads overseas.

Indeed, while chatting with Sermanni before the game, left winger Jo Burgess’s mum comes over to introduce herself to the coach, having driven down from Caloundra with several family members. Soon after Kate McShea’s parents give Sermanni a wave.

Fortunately for the families – and perhaps for Sermanni too – both girls are in the starting XI on the day. He points out several more family members in the crowd, explaining that interacting with parents is an important part of his role.

“A lot of people go into coaching not quite knowing what their job is,” he says. “I think they go in there with the perception that it’s just about running a football team, and training a football team. But it’s not really. It’s much more of a management job.

“The coach is the person that actually interacts with ever aspect of the organisation, straight from the top with the chief executive, right down to the media, parents, partners and everybody else. I quite enjoy mixing and bringing things together and trying to build an organisation.”

Shipard is the recipient of a surprise visit from her family. “I spoke to Dad on Saturday morning and I asked him where he was and he said, ‘Just driving to Coffs Harbour.’ He’ll be driving up from Canberra with my little brother – it’s good to get that family support,” she beams. “Mum came over to Russia last year and Dad and my little brother came over to Thailand the year before.

“Bubs’s husband and her mother came up for the North Korean game. It’s nice when they do that – they could just be sitting at home watching it on TV but I don’t think they know just how much it means when they’re actually there live.”

Of course, China is a little more than a drive up the Pacific Highway and it will not be possible for many of the Matildas’ families to make the journey.

“My husband’s got a wedding in London,” jokes Barbieri. “His sister’s getting married so I’ll forgive him. His only sister...”

Fortunately the Matildas have an even bigger family to offer them support... each other.

“Off the pitch we’re like a big family, which was not the case before,” says Barbieri, a veteran of the pre-Sermanni days. “I didn’t feel that camaraderie. I’d just sit in my room and do my own thing.”

“She was very dark. She was a bitch,” jokes Shipard, prompting protests from Barbieri: “No! But I didn’t feel the friendship that I do now – that I can go and talk to anybody in the team. There is no-one in this team that

I can’t go to and have fun with.”

“No, people go to her to have fun with,” corrects Shipard, before adding, “It was always very strict and there was always something negative pulling the team down. That’s what I first noticed when I came into the team.”

That negativity is a thing of the past now, claims Barbieri. “We love each other to bits. A friend of mind went through something really bad in her life recently, and I just thought the one place I would want to be is here with these girls. And for me to think like that… I just love these girls to bits. I love my husband and all but…”

“He gets jealous because he knows how much fun I have with the girls,” she laughs. “For once he actually came and watched us against North Korea. He came and saw what we do, and spent the night here chatting away – he loved it as much as I did so I’m sure he understands it now.”

One thing her husband finds difficult to grasp though is the just how much it hurt to miss out on qualifying for next year’s Olympic Games – the biggest stage of all for women’s sport. “He’s got passion, but I just don’t think he knows that we feel it in our bodies. He said “Don’t worry, there’s 2012” but you can’t just sweep it under the carpet.”

It is fortunate that September’s World Cup has quickly given the Matildas something to focus on in the wake of such a disappointment, but there will be a big hole in the girls’ calendars come 2008.

“Next year’s going to suck,” says Shipard, “but at least we’ve got the World Cup to look forward to, so we can worry about next year when it comes around.

“I’ve chatted to some of the girls and I think a couple of them have the idea of travelling overseas and playing in Europe or America. I don’t know what Bubs has got in mind but that’s definitely what I’ve got in mind… and hopefully a full-time year of uni as well.

“A lot will come down to how we perform at the World Cup, both as a team and as individuals. I think if people know that we want to be heading overseas, it’s up to them to approach us. We’ve got a few connections through Tommy and some of the older girls have played overseas before. So there’s definitely avenues for us.

It’s a plan that Barbieri too is keen to follow: “I want to go overseas – I wouldn’t mind playing in Germany. I play for Richmond in the men’s league and they’re a German club. I’d play anywhere.”

Shipard agrees: “Anywhere overseas, semi-professionally, professionally… whichever.”One girl in the squad that has tasted playing overseas is striker Caitlin Munoz, who played in Boston last year. “It was the best thing I’ve done in football. I would love to go back overseas – it depends how well the team goes.”

However, it’s been a tough year for the 23-year-old who plays in a Viduka-style role up front. Munoz has been battling a knee injury for most of the year, only making it back into the team for the second North Korea game.

Being based, along with Shipard, at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, Munoz has been able to take advantage of its facilities including the gym, spas, physios and doctors, a vital lifeline to an injured player in the women’s game.

While Munoz, chocolate bar in hand, doesn’t sound overly enamoured with the gym, she looks at the positive side of her stint on the sideline. “I became a gym junkie because I couldn’t run. It was good to have a bit of a break, just to get the mind going again – because you pretty much train every day and then at the gym if you’re not on the field training...”

Now Munoz is fit, in form and raring to get on the plane. She has played in China before and enjoys it there despite being understandably wary of the hot conditions.

“I love to shop there in the markets – we all go on the bus together and then everyone splits into groups to find the best bargains – some people are better at it than others. Then we come back and have lunch and see what everyone’s got. Then go out again.

“We always have a good time when we’re away. You’ve got your lulls here and there but most of the time everyone’s laughing and giggling and playing jokes on each other.”

While laughter is sure to feature in China, this is Munoz’s first major tournament for Australia and she is unsure what to expect.

“For friendlies we’ll train once or twice a day and then maybe have a day off. But because this is my first World Cup I’m not sure how serious it will all be. All the training will definitely be very serious but I’m sure we’ll have a couple of shopping days...”

On the other end of the spectrum, no Australian footballer – male or female – has more experience at international level as Cheryl Salisbury, who boasts more than 130 caps.

Her reputation is immense, and she has the physical presence to match. Standing a tad under six foot, she comes striding out for a FourFourTwo photoshoot and plays the role of captain to perfection, making sure to inspect the other girls’ uniforms and tucking them in where necessary.

However once the posing and photo-hijinx begin, it becomes clear that she is just one of the girls, laughing as she watches Barbieri play up to the camera.

“I don’t really feel any different to the others. I’m probably even closer to some of the younger players,” claims Salisbury.

Despite the admission, at 33 she admits that Beijing was probably her last shot at Olympic Gold as a player. “From the waist up I feel great – my heart and my mind will go for another 20 years.”

Certainly watching her train for her fourth World Cup it seems like she could go on to play in a fifth, as she dominates from the back with occasional surges into midfield.

Salisbury adds that she won’t be dwelling on the disappointment of the Olympics. She prefers to be grateful for the amazing moments and opportunities that she has had during her stellar career.

We’ll all be hoping she has at least one more mark to make before she hangs up her playing boots – World Cup winner 2007.