Sam Kerr scored against England on Wednesday, but it was not enough to put Australia through in the World Cup they are co-hosting with New Zealand.
The Chelsea striker scored a stunner to help the Matildas’ cause, but it was not enough to help progress her homeland.
However, she will certainly be back which much more to play for with her club and country.
This is why Sam Kerr is so important to Australia and Chelsea.
Sam Kerr initially hated football
Like many Australians, Kerr grew up in a family that prioritised Aussie rules football, and soccer — as it is called Down Under — was not widely played.
In Western Australia, she began playing football at the age of 12 after Aussie rules restrictions forced her out of the game — which both her father Roger and brother Daniel played professionally. Daniel, now 40, retired in 2013.
But it was hate at first sight for Sam Kerr and soccer.
“I hated soccer when I was a kid,” she said in an interview. “I never had a ball around the house.”
But she was spotted and trialled by her local team Perth Glory in the Western Australia state, making her debut for the side when she was just 15.
It also didn’t take her long to break into the national side, scoring two goals — including one in the final — as the Matildas won the 2010 AFC Women’s Asian Cup.
Kerr’s father Roger is of Indian heritage, which makes her mixed race and not indigenous or from a Pacific Island, as she said she often gets mistaken for.
Kerr played between the US and Oz but needed to challenge herself in London
Kerr played for Western New York Flash, scoring nine goals in 12 games in her first season, and played between Perth Glory and Sky Blue FC in New Jersey, with the women’s schedule allowing her to double up. She went on to win just about everything going in Australia and went on to play for Chicago Red Stars in the US.
But having hit the ceiling of her potential within the North American and Australian leagues in 2019, Kerr still felt she had something to prove. Just about any club in the world would have wanted her signature but she decided on London and Chelsea.
“I could have stayed and sat comfortably in America and Australia, but I knew that to become what I wanted to become, I had to leave,” Kerr told the Standard.
“I do like being in my comfort zone, everyone does! But I just knew, if I wanted to take my game to the next level, I had to go somewhere else. I knew I had more. The investment that has gone into the women’s game in England has allowed female athletes to be the best they can be. The level of play in the last two years has exploded.”
With a trademark celebration, Kerr brings her personality onto the pitch
Kerr is inspired by some of the greats in sport and has looked to bring her personality onto the pitch. But her cartwheel into backflip celebration is more Julius Aghahowa than Alan Shearer.
“I want to be someone that is entertaining, that’s fun, that scores goals, does good celebrations,” Kerr told the Standard.
“I have always liked those players that have just been entertainers. I love the big-time players. I love LeBron James, Serena Williams, those players that are consistently at the top of their game.
“Even now, I like those kind of out-there players, even if it’s just their hair, their kit. But I understand being at the top level you have to do that dirty work.”
SAM KERR v PitCh iNvAdEr xX ʜᴇʀᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴇꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴏᴏᴍ Xx 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 ＲＥＭＩＸ — ULTRA HD __ 𝙂𝙄𝙂𝘼-𝙊𝙊𝙁 Edition!! pic.twitter.com/VB3IrZItKg
— Evan Morgan Grahame (@Evan_M_G) December 9, 2021
In 2021, she showed her no-nonsense attitude in body checking a pitch invader to the floor after the man interrupted Chelsea’s Champions League tie with Juventus. She received a yellow card but endeared her to fans even further.
“What a legend,” one wrote on YouTube.
Another added: “I think a yellow is a small price to pay for the joy she has brought the world.”
Off the pitch, Kerr is also a legend to her fans and friends
Kerr’s passion for her career comes across on her Instagram — as does her personality.
She said in a recent interview with Optus Sport: “Playing is the fun of it. Seeing a girl wearing your jersey. The fun is having the massive crowd behind you. We used to play for fun but now the fun is inspiring everybody.”
Chelsea teammate Guro Reiten describes her buddy as “crazy but fun”.
In the interview with Trivago for Chelsea’s YouTube, Kerr revealed she likes the rap music on the bus selected by Lauren James but also has an unusual favourite snack.
“You have the pasta sandwich,” Reiten said. “We always have it now. She puts pasta in sauce and then puts it in a sandwich. And she does that every day.”
Kerr added: “I thought that was normal!”
Kerr has been dating Kristie Mewis, a US player, and has previously been in a relationship with Nikki Stanton, another American midfielder.
But she hates sitting on the bench
Kerr’s recent calf injury has led her to sit out the Matildas’ first three World Cup matches — which will have been painful.
“I am the worst bench player ever,” Kerr told the BBC. “I get more nervous sitting on the bench than when walking out for a game.”
Her parents Roxanne and Roger have had lots of practice watching her, on the other hand.
Roger told the BBC: “Sam [as a girl] had her hair so short that everybody thought she was a boy. The boys started crying when they found out they were beaten by a girl.”
Kerr has brought glory to Chelsea
It is no coincidence that Chelsea have won the league title every year that Kerr has been in the side, with four back-to-back Super League trophies from 2019-20 to 2022-23.
After a relatively slow start, she has gone on to score 90 goals in 116 games for the Blues, forming a feared partnership with Fran Kirby and now Lauren James.
There have been heartaches along the way, though — losing 0-4 to Barcelona in the 2021 Champions League final was a particularly “painful” defeat for the Australian.
But she will not dwell on the loss. She told the Telegraph: “You can’t think about losing, ever. That’s the number one sin of a footballer. If you think about that, it’s going to happen.”
The European domestic tournament is still one of the major honours evading Kerr at club level and there is no doubt she will be hungry to try again in 2023-24.
Kerr thrives on big games — and on Royal occasions
Chelsea have won seven out of 10 domestic trophies on offer since Kerr arrived and the Australian feels her big-game mentality is behind her knack for scoring in finals.
“I love the pressure, I love the big games, I love being able to have a moment in the palm of your hands and be able to do something great.”
This mentality shone in its fullest glory when Kerr scored two volleys against Manchester United on the final day of the 2021-22 season to clinch the title for Chelsea.
Kerr’s international profile was reflected earlier this year when she was chosen to lead the Australian delegation into Westminster Abbey for the King’s coronation.
And Kerr is happy in London for the immediate future
Kerr has a contract for one more year at Chelsea but feels she can get better and better despite entering her 30s. Megan Rapinoe is, after all, still going strong at 38.
“I feel like I have a lot more to give,” she told the Telegraph.
“It’s about still getting better and you can’t look into the future, but I see myself going bigger and better than what I am now and hopefully continue winning trophies with this team and go from there.”
Having just won the WSL Player of the Year crown, there is no doubt she is happy in London — apart from a few things she might change.
“I love it, other than the weather,” she told the Standard. “If [only] the weather was good and the traffic and the one-way roads were gone…”
