Sam Kerr

Some Lesser Known Facts About Sam Kerr

• Sam Kerr is an Australian football (soccer) player who has played in different football leagues and international tournaments for Australia and other teams. She is regarded as one of the best female soccer players of all time. Her speed, power, celebration style, and athleticism are liked by her fans and football pundits.

• When she was a child, she played Australian Rules Football (similar to rugby) and often suffered cuts and bruises before her parents stopped her from playing when she turned twelve.
  

  

  

• When she was thirteen, Perth Glory striker Bobby Despotovski spotted her, liked her athleticism and speed and recommended her to Perth Glory management after which she became a member of the Perth Glory team.

  

• From 2006 to 2008, she played for the junior team at Western Knights and moved to Perth Glory in 2008.

  

• From 2008 to 2009, she played for Australia’s Under-17 and Under-20 teams in many international tournaments.

  

• She played as a winger at Perth Glory and made her debut on 5 December 2009 against Melbourne Victory in the 2009 W-League season. On 29 January 2011, she played against Canberra United during the 2011 W-League season which was her last match for the club.

  

• On 21 October 2012, Sam Kerr scored two goals in her debut match for Sydney FC against Newcastle Jets in the 2012 W-League season. During the match against Brisbane Roar on 22 December 2013, she was given two yellow cards (equivalent to a red card) for the first time in her club career. On 16 February 2014, she played her last match for Sydney FC against Melbourne Victory during the 2013 W-League season.

  

• She played her debut match for Western New York Flash on 15 April 2013 against Gotham FC in the 2013 NSWL (National Women’s Soccer League) season. She later changed her playing position from a winger to a striker. During the match against Gotham FC on 2 May 2023, she received her first yellow card of club career. On 17 August 2014, she played her last match for Western New York Flash against Chicago Red Stars in the 2014 NSWL season.

  

• Sam Kerr returned to Perth Glory in the 2014 W-League season, and on 14 September 2014, she played her first match against Brisbane Roar. On 16 December 2017, she scored a hattrick against Newcastle Jets, against Canberra United on 20 January 2018 and against Melbourne Victory on 10 February 2019. On 16 February 2019, she played her final match for Perth Glory against Sydney FC.

  

• On 7 February 2009, she played her debut match for Australia in a friendly match against Italy. In May 2010, she helped Australia to win the 2010 AFC Women’s Asian Cup by scoring her first goal for Australia against South Korea on 21 May 2010. She scored her first hattrick for Australia against Japan in a match on 31 July 2017 in the Tournament of Nations.
  

  

• On 12 July 2015, she made her debut for NJ/NY Gotham FC (formerly Sky Blue FC) in the 2015 NSWL season. On 9 July 2017, she scored the first hattrick of her club career against FC Kansas City. She scored 4 goals in a match against OL Reign on 20 August 2017. She played her last match for NJ/NY Gotham FC against the Boston Breakers on 1 October 2017.

  

• Sam Kerr played her debut match for the Chicago Red Stars on 29 April 2018 against the Washington Spirit. On 8 July 2018, she scored a hattrick against NJ/NY Gotham FC followed by a hattrick against Orlando Pride on 1 July 2019. On 28 October 2019, she played her last match for the Chicago Red Stars against North Carolina Courage.

  

• On 5 January 2020, she made her debut for Chelsea against Reading in the 2019-20 FA WSL (FA Women’s Super League). She scored a hattrick against West Ham United on 6 December 2020. She later scored many hattricks against many clubs including against Bristol City on 14 March 2021, against Birmingham City on 4 April 2021 and 21 November 2021 and against Liverpool on 29 January 2023. She scored 4 goals in a match against Vilaznia on 27 October 2022 and against West Ham United on 10 February 2023.

  

• On 21 September 2021, she became the 10th Australian player to play 100 matches for Australia. During the match against Indonesia in the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup on 21 January 2022, she scored 5 goals, becoming the highest Australian goalscorer (male or female) by breaking Tim Cahill’s record of 50 goals, in only 105 matches.
  

  

• On 29 June 2011, Sam Kerr played her debut World Cup match against Brazil in the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup held in Germany. She later played in the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup held in Canada. She was named as Captain for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup held in France. She scored her first World Cup goal against Italy on 9 June 2019. She scored 4 goals against Jamaica on 19 June 2019 and became the first Australian player to score a hattrick in the World Cup and the 10th player overall to score four goals in a match. She played in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand.

  

• Sam Kerr played her debut Olympic match on 21 July 2021 against New Zealand, in the 2020 Olympics, held in Tokyo in 2021 and scored her first Olympic goal in the match. She became the highest goalscorer for Australia in the bronze-medal match against the USA on 5 August 2021 which Australia lost.

  

• She is popular for doing backflips after scoring a goal, which has often been compared to Cristiano Ronaldo’s celebration style. She once said that she copied her celebration style from a rugby player. She said in October 2023 that she would not be doing backflips anymore as she had turned 30 and did not want to injure herself.

  

• Sam Kerr has been signed by various popular brands such as Nike (for 13 years), EA Sports, Powerade, and MasterCard.

  

• She revealed in an interview that during her childhood, she used to hide her gender when she played American Rules Football (rugby) with boys in the neighbourhood; however, they stopped playing with her when they came to know that she was a girl. ^[2]Daily Mirror

  

• She still watches American Rules Football (rugby) matches despite not playing after being 12 years old. In 2019 and 2020, she was the number one ticket holder of the West Coast Eagles team.

  

• She authored her debut book titled The Flip Out in 2021, which is part of her autobiographical children’s book series called Kicking Goals.

  

• During a match for Chelsea against Juventus on 8 December 2021, Sam Kerr knocked down a pitch invader in rugby style.

  

• She announced in August 2023 that she would launch her own football (soccer) academy for girls between 4 and 13 years of age.

  

• Sam Kerr is fond of animals and has a pet dog named Billie and a pet cat named Helen.

  

• She has been featured on the cover of many soccer video games and magazines including different editions of FIFA video games and Vogue Australia and Esquire Australia magazine.
  

  

  

• Sam Kerr’s idol is Australian runner Cathy Freeman, who won a gold medal in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

  

• Sam Kerr suffers from Aerophobia, the extreme fear of flying. ^[3]Chelsea FC

• She revealed in an interview that since her incisors never grew, she has two missing teeth due to which her canines are right next to her front teeth. ^[4]Chelsea FC

  

• Sam Kerr talked about her superstitions which include sitting on the same seat on the bus and the plane. She also prefers to eat a spaghetti sandwich every time before a match, which is plain bolognese pasta in a sandwich. She always keeps an eye on the socks as she does not like any thread to be out of socks and also wears the same pair of socks in the complete season. ^[5]7NEWS