There was no Champions League final (which Swedish star Fridolina Rolfö would later decide for FC Barcelona) for Chelsea this spring. But it was a domestic double, with the league title and the FA Cup title.
Australian striker Sam Kerr was heavily involved, deciding the FA Cup final against arch-rivals Manchester United and then offering a patented acrobatic goal-scoring gesture.
There were 29 goals in 38 games in the English big club during the past season, and Kerr is listed for 63 goals in 120 international games for Australia. She seems to be the closest definition of goal guarantee.
Sam Kerr – who has played for the English club since January 2020 – celebrates the match-deciding goal in this spring’s FA Cup final against Manchester United. Photo: Natalie Mincher/TT
Now the World Cup awaits, but that’s not all perhaps the biggest championship a footballer can play. It is a championship to be played at home, in front of a home crowd.
– I think the press is a privilege, in Kerr when the Australian squad was introduced.
“I love when one or two moments can change a career, and this World Cup is definitely one of those situations.
She is not one to try to ride on her star status.
Sam Kerr is the team captain – a standard bearer if you will – of the national team and has previously been praised by the Swedish national team captain Tony Gustavsson on several occasions. Assistant coach Jens Fjellström also uses big words when describing the 29-year-old.
– It is a super professional, he says.
– She leads, above all through her way of being. If we have extra runs after training, she runs the hardest of all. It’s that type. She is not one to try to ride on her star status. She is an example.
Sam Kerr together with Tony Gustavsson at the presentation of the WC squad. Photo: Chris Putnam/TT
There is no doubt about that that Kerr is the big star, and not just on Australian soil. Last summer, EA Sports announced that Kerr, together with Paris Saint-Germain’s French poster name Kylian Mbappé, shares the spot on the cover of the Fifa 23 video game.
Kerr thus became the first female player to date on the front page of the global edition of the game.
Is it something Australia previously received criticism for is that the team seemed to suffer from some kind of Kerr addiction. It is hardly news that skilled players become important – if not indispensable – to their teams. Kerr himself doesn’t seem to have a problem with that, and seems to appreciate tough coverage from opposing defensive lines.
– I think it’s a nice thing about being a striker. They can isolate me for ninety minutes, but I just need one chance, she says.
– If two opponents mark me, it means that someone else gets free. Maybe someone else gets to shine during the tournament, but that’s part of being on a team. Whatever it takes to win, honestly.
Jens Fjellström again:
– She is a world-class player through and through, and it is clear that she will be very important to us.
Fakta. Sam Kerr
Born: 10 September 1993 (aged 29), in East Fremantle.
Club: Chelsea FC (England).
Former clubs: Chicago Red Stars (USA), Sky Blue FC (USA), Perth Glory (Australia), Western New York Flash (USA), Sydney FC (Australia) och Western Knights SC (Australia).
Matches/goals in the Australian national team: 120/63.
Merits: Four English league titles, three FA Cup titles, two English league titles, two Australian league titles.
Current: Is the team captain of the Australian national team that will play the WC at home this summer.
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Facts. Australia’s World Cup squad
Goalkeepers: Lydia Williams (Brighton), Teagan Micah (FC Rosengård), Mackenzie Arnold (West Ham).
Defender: Clare Polkinghorne (Vittsjö GIK), Steph Catley (Arsenal), Alanna Kennedy (Manchester City), Ellie Carpenter (Olympique Lyon), Charlotte Grant (Vittsjö GIK), Clare Hunt (Western Sydney Wanderers), Courtney Nevin (Leicester City), Aivi Luik (BK Häcken).
Midfielder: Emily van Egmond (San Diego Wave), Tameka Yallop (SK Brann), Katrina Gorry (Vittsjö GIK), Alex Chidiac (Racing Louisville), Kyra Cooney-Cross (Hammarby IF), Clare Wheeler (Everton).
Attacker: Mary Fowler (Manchester City), Sam Kerr (Chelsea), Hayley Raso (–), Caitlin Foord (Arsenal), Kyah Simon (–), Cortnee Vine (Sydney FC).
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2023-07-20 05:30:27
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