Sam Kerr - The Magician
SOCCER - FORWARD - AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL TEAM - FA SUPER LEAGUE - CHELSEA
ARCHETYPE: THE MAGICIAN
Day 61/135
NOTE: Sam Kerr scored both goals in Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Tottenham in yesterday’s UEFA Women’s Champions League semifinal. To see Kerr in all her athletic, dynamic glory, tune in to Sunday’s Final at 3:00pm, as she and Chelsea take on Barcelona.
Athletic Accomplishments
Sam Kerr is one of one of the best and most exciting forwards in the world and, hands-down, the best Australian soccer player. She is the captain of the Australian women’s national soccer team, a starter for Chelsea FC in the English FA Super League.
To see Sam Kerr is to love Sam Kerr. She is extraordinary.
Kerr started playing Australian Football, following in the footsteps of her older brother, who is plays professionally. Kerr switched over to soccer at 12 years old, and by age 15, she had already begun playing in Australia’s professional league, where she dominated from 2008-2012.
In 2011, Kerr played in her first World Cup for the Australian side, at age 17. She also featured prominently for the Matildas in 2015 and again in 2019, when she was selected as team captain and scored 4 goals in a single game, becoming the first Aussie to score a hat trick at a World Cup.
In 2013, a 16 year-old Kerr came to the U.S. for the inaugural season of the NWSL, where she played alongside Abby Wambach for the Western New York Flash. Wambach mentored Kerr, who credits the American legend for developing her into a better player and person, and in that first year, the Flash won the NWSL shield, for best regular season record.
Kerr quickly solidified herself as a prolific scorer, winning the NWSL Golden Boot in 2017, 2018, and 2019. By age 23, Kerr had already become the NWSL’s leading scorer.
She was also named NWSL MVP in both 2017 and 2019 and the 2019 Player of the Year by NWSL Players Association, while racking up all these well-deserved accolades:
2x International Player of the Year by the Football Media Association (2013 and 2014)
2x Ballon d’Or nominee (2018 and 2019)
4x recipient of the PFA's Women's Footballer of the Year Award
2017 Julie Dolan Medal (given to best player in Australia)
2018 Young Australian of the Year
2018 ESPY Award for Best International Women's Soccer Player
Character Archetype: The Magician
Sam Kerr makes everything look easy. As a forward for Chelsea and the captain of the Australian Women’s National Team—affectionately called The Matildas—Kerr is one of the most exciting players in all of soccer, and an X-factor who can find the goal and change the game in a heartbeat.
Kerr is the kind of player who makes smart, tactical offensive runs and has the tenacity to keep trying until she can tuck the ball neatly into the corner pocket of the goal, and then do her signature back flip celebration.
Kerr’s story is unbelievable. She started playing soccer at age 12 and had already gone pro by age 15. By age 23, she was already the all-time leading scorer of the NWSL, a three-time league MVP, and the captain of the Australian Women’s National Team.
How did she do it? And more impressively, how did she do it so fast?
Sam Kerr is like lightning: extremely bright, explosively quick, and beyond dangerous.