W-League: Sam Kerr chose Perth Glory over Chelsea and Barcelona
JUST three months ago, the W-League had lost Sam Kerr. But a late offer from FFA creates history and could give her top form for 2019 World Cup.
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JUST three months ago, the W-League had lost Sam Kerr.
The Matildas megastar had not even thought about re-signing with her hometown side Perth Glory.
Instead, she was choosing between two of the biggest clubs in the world: Chelsea and Barcelona.
It was a two-horse race. That was until an article in the Daily Telegraph alerted Football Federation Australia that their No.1 player was headed abroad and not back here for the W-League season.
So they made a move, and quick.
Suddenly Kerr, a self-confessed home body, had another option to weigh up.
“I honestly wasn’t even thinking of coming back to Perth,” Kerr told The Daily Telegraph.
“Obviously last season was really, really disappointing, so it was a choice literally between Barcelona and Chelsea and I was writing down the pros and cons. I’d spoken to both the coaches and then this came up.
“It got me thinking about what it would mean for my playing career at home and what it would mean for me being around for World Cup preparation.
“It got me second guessing my decision. I don’t think I’d really even thought about playing in the W-League before I’d decided to go to Europe. When this came up it made me think maybe it is best if I stay.”
For the first time ever, the FFA has dipped into its marquee player fund for a female, making Kerr the first women’s marquee in the W-League.
It puts her alongside Alessandro del Piero, Dwight Yorke, Tim Cahill and Harry Kewell.
It’s a big step she hopes will lead to bigger things for female players.
“I wish there was one for every club like the A-League and hopefully that’s something we’re going to move towards and I think football will get there for women’s teams.”
It wasn’t an easy decision though and the back and forth was stressful — “I kind of wanted someone to make the choice for me, because that’s easier”. Not that you would have noticed with her on-field efforts.
She was in the middle of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in the US with new team Chicago Red Stars around the time the FFA came to the party.
She was taking time to settle in Chicago, but it strangely helps explain why returning to Australia was appealing.
Midway through the NWSL season Kerr had found the back of the net just five times, but early in July, against her old team Sky Blue FC, she scored a hat-trick. From there, she scored eight more times across eight games, to finish with 16 for the season and her second straight golden boot.
Kerr is at her best when she is her most comfortable and once she was with Red Stars, goal-scoring became easier.
“That’s one of the main reasons I was really worried about going to Europe,” Kerr said.
“I may not be your average athlete; I muck around at training. I definitely work hard but I like to have a giggle and make people laugh and make people comfortable and when you go to a new team that can kind of be perceived badly.
“I wasn’t doing all those things (in Chicago) and was taking myself way too seriously and as the year went on they started to see who I really was and it was OK; the coach accepted me for who I was and it just went from there.”
It’s form Australian fans hope will continue with the Matildas as they prepare for next year’s World Cup.
Kerr will watch friendlies against France and England this week from the comfort of her parents’ place, her base when she’s back in Australia, but from then she’ll be back upfront, ready to show that Australia can be world beaters.
And after that, show the world what she can do too.
“I do want to try (Europe),” Kerr said, “and I kind of want to go over there because Europeans don’t think Australians are that good a footballers; so prove some people wrong.”
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