Humble Sam Kerr prefers team accolades to personal glory

Matildas’ star Sam Kerr is being touted as the best women’s player in the world, but she is having none of that.

Sam Kerr celebrates the goal that took Australia to 6-1 over Brazil in Los Angeles yesterday.

There was such a long pause at the other end of the telephone line that the embarrassment and awkwardness was almost tangible.

Young Sam Kerr is uncomfortable talking about herself at the best of times but the silence as she tried to grapple with the suggestion that she might be the best ­female footballer in the world right now was deafening.

Socceroos defender Trent Sainsbury had made the not outrageous compliment via a tweet on social media after Kerr’s stunning first-half hat-trick against Japan as the Matildas stunned their bitter rivals 4-2 in a match in the US earlier this week.

“Is Samantha Kerr the best women’s footballer in the world this very moment? Most in-form Australian 100 per cent,” Sainsbury tweeted.

And he wasn’t alone, with football fans around the country gushing over her performance. The praise reached another level yesterday as Kerr starred in Australia’s 6-1 rout of Brazil in the final game of the tournament. While she managed just the one goal, the sublime attacker showed her unselfishness, setting up two as the Matildas made the Australian public sit up and take notice.

But just as she doesn’t seek ­personal glory on the field — it’s all about the team first and foremost — nor does she hanker for the spotlight and the slaps on the back off it.

That was never more evident in an interview she did with The Weekend Australian earlier in the week. After much prodding to get some sort of reaction to Sainsbury’s claims and after what seemed an eternity as she grappled with the thought, the Matildas star, who is taking the women’s game by storm at club and international level, let out a nervous laugh.

“I don’t like it, to be honest,” Kerr said. “I don’t read too much into that sort of stuff.”

But she must be proud because it’s fantastic for the women’s game in Australia?

“It is, but I take it as it is. I don’t talk about anything like that. I don’t enjoy it. I much rather the focus be on the team,” she replied.

Whether she likes it or not, the simple fact is the 23-year-old commands the spotlight. She has become a flag-bearer for the women’s game, a player with sublime attacking skills, pace, vision and an eye for goals that puts her among the very best in the world.

Her competitiveness and determination to be the best she can are no accident.

Having come from a family steeped in Australian rules football, Kerr’s fierce nature was forged in her early days in East Fremantle playing the game as a junior. There was many a bloodied lip and scratches.

That was until her parents had had enough of seeing her limp home, battered and bruised. Roger Kerr, who played in the WAFL and SAFL, and his wife soon made it clear that the Australian game wasn’t for their daughter and, at the age of 12, Sam switched to soccer.

“Mum and Dad hated seeing me beaten up every week. Seeing their girl with a bloodied lip was hard to take, so I was forced to make the move,” she said. “A cousin was playing soccer, so that was it.”

While the Kerrs, and her brother Daniel, a former West Coast Eagles great, avidly follow Sam’s career, they are just like their daughter.

“They are obviously very proud but they just want me to keep my feet on the ground. We don’t like to get ahead of ourselves, and that’s a good thing,” she said.

Given her AFL background and the big push for the women’s game in that sport, Kerr would be an obvious target for conversion. Former Matildas goalkeeper ­Brianna Davey made the switch earlier this year amid suggestions others would follow.

But while she admits she still loves the game, that is the full ­extent of things.

“I definitely love having a crack in the backyard and kicking a ball around ... I can’t help that, given the background,” she said. “As for a switch, nah. Compared to playing for my country, it doesn’t compare. I’ll always love AFL but real football has given me so much more. I get to travel the world and I am playing with a great club (in the US). Besides, I don’t think Daniel would let me anyway.”

As for the Matildas, Kerr, who plays for Sky Blue FC in the US, reckons the sky is the limit as they chase the dream of becoming the No 1 team in world football.

The win over the US last week — the Matildas’ first ever against them — the 4-1 defeat of Japan and yesterday’s remarkable 6-1 thumping of Brazil has Australian fans thinking about the real possibility of winning the World Cup.

“It’s funny what bit of (good) media does because we have been thinking that for the last couple of years. People are taking notice,” Kerr added. “It’s a great feeling and what the sport needs and I hope everyone stays behind us.

“There is a big picture for us ... we want to be World Cup contenders, Asian cup contenders and gold medal contenders. It’s been building for a few years and it is great that things are starting to fall into place right now.”

But for now, it is back to club football with Sky Blue FC, where she alternates between Perth Glory in the Women’s National League. Kerr has scored 11 goals this season and is just one behind leading scorer Megan Rapinoe.

“It’s going OK,” she said in a clear understatement. “I’m just trying to help them win the championship.”