Women's World Cup 2023: Australia's accidental icon - how Sam Kerr became the face of a nation

Kerr is the figurehead for joint-host Australia's run astatine the Women's World Cup

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She had been playing Australian rules football. And loving it.

Her member Daniel, 10 years older, was the prima of Perth's West Coast Eagles. But her days with the oval shot were numbered. As the boys she played alongside got bigger, the enactment got much physical. She would travel backmost from matches with achromatic eyes oregon a swollen nose.

At 12 years old, the teams went single-sex. She couldn't support playing with her aged friends. It was the extremity of 1 journey, but the commencement of another; 1 that has made her 1 of the top women's players of each time.

"I wouldn't accidental she loved shot astatine first," her parent Roxanne told BBC World Service's World Football. "Because we arsenic a household are truthful AFL [Australian rules], it was truly upsetting for her not to beryllium capable to play that with the boys, truthful astatine the opening she didn't truly instrumentality her shot precise seriously."

• LISTEN: Sam Kerr: the making of a Matilda

But the remainder of the athletics soon had to instrumentality her seriously.

Aged lone 15, Kerr won her archetypal headdress for the Australian nationalist team, the Matildas.

Now 29, she volition pb her state arsenic skipper astatine a location World Cup, seeking to instrumentality them past the quarter-finals for the archetypal time.

If she does, she whitethorn conscionable execute her imagination of replicating the feat of her idol, Sydney 2000 golden medallist Cathy Freeman, and "stop the nation".

This is the communicative of however Kerr developed into 1 of the world's champion strikers and an Australian icon.

For astir players, their archetypal planetary headdress is simply a treasured infinitesimal - an explosive culmination of hard enactment and pride.

But Kerr's turned retired to beryllium an awkward whimper, alternatively than a bang.

When Scotsman Tom Sermanni sent Kerr retired successful the 76th infinitesimal of a affable against Italy successful Canberra successful 2009, nary of her friends and household were determination to ticker her.

It wasn't though immoderate indifference. It was the deficiency of an invitation.

"I ne'er realised however large the infinitesimal was and I ever accidental if I could redo 1 portion of my career, it would beryllium my archetypal cap," Kerr admitted successful 2021.

"She didn't archer america erstwhile she was going to marque her Australia debut, she conscionable told america she was going to camp, truthful we didn't go," Kerr's parent Roxanne said.

A 14-year-old Kerr (left) plays for Australia under-17s against New Zealand successful February 2008

They would person been there. Kerr's parents spent her puerility ferrying her crossed Perth and beyond arsenic her vocation progressed. The Kerrs were a household agreed successful their passionateness for athletics and competition.

The practice goes mode back. One of Kerr's grandfathers was a featherweight boxer, different was a state-level Australian rules player. A grandma played basketball. A large uncle won equine racing's Melbourne Cup successful 1966. And her begetter Roger and eldest member Daniel were dedicated to Aussie rules.

Their plot was a parched way for backyard cricket successful the summer. If they weren't playing immoderate benignant of sport, they were spending hours glued to the TV watching it. Roger fondly remembers watching each 2nd of cricket's Boxing Day tests, sheltering wrong from Perth's blistery adust summers.

"She and Daniel are precise close," Roxanne said. "They ever talked astir sport, immoderate sport. They some emotion boxing, watching the tennis, the cricket, the racing cars, immoderate is on.

"We are inactive competitive. We are everlastingly playing thing - whether is it coits oregon jenga successful the plot - and the full location is screaming implicit who is going to triumph oregon lose. It is successful her blood."

Kerr's archetypal elder planetary extremity arrived astir a twelvemonth aft her debut for Australia, deflecting a clearance into the nett from adjacent range successful an Asian Cup lucifer against South Korea.

That was the archetypal of 63 goals and counting for the Matildas. The Kerr celebration, which made its debut that day, has since go a acquainted sight.

"She didn't rather execute what she delivers now," remembered team-mate Kate Gill of Kerr's cartwheel-backflip combo.

"But I conscionable retrieve the mode she landed and the grin connected her look arsenic she collapsed to the ground. It was a beauteous peculiar moment."

Kerr's solemnisation has been incorporated into the astir caller variation of the Fifa bid of console games

Coach Sermanni had nary qualms astir bringing Kerr into the elder squad astatine specified a young age.

"She had the earthy materials. My archetypal content was powerfulness and energy," helium said.

Sermanni said her consciousness of honesty and amusive and "devil-may-care attitude" arrived afloat developed.

"I deliberation successful 2010, we went to play Germany away," said Sermanni.

"I retrieve coming successful astatine half-time and Sam conscionable said, deadpan, 'that's the hardest crippled I've ever played'. So she conscionable had that benignant of guiltless honesty."

In nine football, the goals initially came arsenic much of a trickle than a flood, until a tactical masterstroke.

At the commencement of her nonrecreational career, the evident spot to enactment Kerr - blisteringly fast, but inactive a naive teen - was connected the wing. And that is wherever she was stationed for Perth Glory.

However erstwhile Bobby Despotovski was appointed arsenic the W-League side's manager successful 2014, helium sensed she could bash much centrally.

"I thought to myself, she's unused, being truthful acold retired of the box, and truthful acold from the goal," helium told BBC Sport.

"Why don't we really enactment her person to the extremity arsenic an out-and-out striker and spot what happens?"

After immoderate wounded setbacks, the goals started to flow.

"I said each on that she's going to beryllium 1 of the champion footballers successful the world," Despotovski said. "And cipher believed me."

There was a batch much to Kerr's improvement astatine Perth Glory - she besides had to enactment connected intelligence toughness.

While Daniel was 1 of Australia's starring AFL players, helium was besides often progressive successful off-field controversies, often featuring intoxicant and violence.

"At an aboriginal age, erstwhile her member was playing AFL precise well, helium was successful the media for bully reasons," Despotovski said.

"But aboriginal on, successful her teen years, it was for atrocious reasons.

"I deliberation she needed to make mentally to artifact that retired and proceed connected her path. It's afloat testament to her intelligence state.

"I retrieve galore times and she was very, precise frustrated.

"We would person agelong chats astir the vexation and however she tin transmission it and usage it arsenic a springboard to beryllium overmuch better."

Kerr worked connected decently channelling her temper during games, and alternatively of making endless runs for passes that didn't come, she focused connected fewer, much unsafe darts into the box.

"When we gave her the captaincy, you could spot her stepping up to the adjacent level," Despotovski said.

"She would pb the squad from the archetypal infinitesimal until the extremity of the crippled each time.

"She took everyone nether her helping and she led by illustration connected and disconnected the park."

Kerr, with parents Roger and Roxanne, being presented with the cardinal to the her hometown of Perth

Seeking retired much games and a higher modular of competition, Kerr trod a communal way for Australian footballers, playing back-to-back seasons by switching from Australia to the United States.

The deficiency of overlap successful the fixture lists made for a gruelling schedule, but scope for accelerated improvement.

When Western New York Flash manager Aaran Lines was negotiating with Sam's cause to bring her implicit to the nine successful 2013, helium expected the 19-year-old to beryllium shy. Instead helium recovered the opposite.

"She had astonishing energy, she lights up the locker room," helium said.

"I retrieve her athleticism, her quality to jump, her timing. With her Aussie rules background, she would look to interval successful the air.

"The kid could leap similar a kangaroo. Her quality to get connected crosses and bash untrainable stuff, it was conscionable successful her property and knowing of the game."

She played alongside established superstars of the crippled - specified arsenic Abby Wambach and Carli Lloyd - astatine Western New York Flash and shone.

But successful precocious 2014 she suffered a superior genu injury, requiring surgery.

With the 2015 World Cup approaching, Kerr was successful a contention against clip to beryllium her fitness.

Four weeks aft going nether the knife, she went to the Australian Institute of Sport successful Canberra to enactment with spot and conditioning manager Aaron Holt.

He had 7 weeks to get her up and running.

"I thought it was going to beryllium beauteous pugnacious to get her there. The archetypal 2 weeks, she was connected crutches," Holt explained connected BBC World Service's documentary Sam Kerr: The making of a Matilda.

"I had to perpetually set her grooming programme, due to the fact that she conscionable loved the enactment - you would archer her however many, and she would measurement up each time."

On the precise past day, with nary clip to spare, Kerr completed rehabilitation and was selected for the World Cup.

"There was truthful overmuch much enactment to bash aft being selected, but that tourney spring-boarded her career," helium said.

"If she hadn't made it, who knows wherever she mightiness beryllium today."

On the backmost of a palmy World Cup run successful the Matildas reached the past eight, Kerr joined New York-based Sky Blue FC, present known arsenic NY Gotham FC.

She became the NWSL's apical scorer astatine 23 and won the Golden Boot and Most Valuable Player grant successful her 2nd afloat season.

At the extremity of 2019, amid involvement from respective clubs, Kerr announced she would articulation Chelsea, becoming 1 of the best-paid women successful the game.

She was the Women's Super League's apical scorer successful each of her archetypal 2 afloat seasons successful London. Individual designation has followed; she has been some nine and league subordinate of the year, and was 3rd successful the past 2 Ballon d'Or polls.

Her consistency is matched by a wont of turning up erstwhile it matters most.

Several radical the BBC spoke to described Kerr arsenic a "big-game player".

She has played successful the past 3 FA Cup finals, scoring 5 goals, with the Blues winning a hat-trick of trophies.

"Whenever we request her to people a extremity she is ever there," said Chelsea winger Guro Reiten.

"If Sam's not scoring goals, I'm not looking astatine her, I'm looking astatine maine - what americium I not doing right?

"Sam tells maine each day: 'Between my hairline and my eyebrows, that's wherever I privation it!' It's true."

Every clip Kerr returns to Australia, she is swarmed by assemblage of fans wearing her fig 20 shirt.

The Australian authorities awarded Kerr the Young Australian of the Year grant successful 2018, and asked her to transportation the nationalist emblem astatine King Charles' coronation earlier this year.

Kerr initially intended to crook down the invitation to Westminster Abbey, arsenic it clashed with grooming astatine Chelsea.

Coach Emma Hayes recovered retired from idiosyncratic else, gave Kerr the time disconnected and told her she was "crazy" for astir opting retired of the event.

"She was beauteous chuffed to beryllium sitting adjacent to Harry and thought King Charles was cool," Roxanne said.

Kerr led the Australian delegation to Westminster Abbey for King Charles' coronation successful May

She wasn't conscionable representing Australia, however.

Kerr, whose begetter Roger was calved successful Kolkata to an Indian parent and English father, has expressed enthusiasm astir going to India and connecting with her roots.

"It was beauteous hard arsenic a young chap with acheronian tegument successful Australia, but present it's a wholly antithetic satellite and multiculturalism is everywhere," Kerr's begetter Roger said.

"Everyone's adjacent to Sam - doesn't substance what contention you are arsenic agelong arsenic you're a bully person."

Kerr was praised for her enactment successful February erstwhile the Matildas wore rainbow numbers connected their jerseys for a Sydney crippled that coincided with the metropolis hosting World Pride.

"Everyone should consciousness comfy successful immoderate tegument they're in, whoever they privation to be, whoever they privation to love," said Kerr, whose spouse Kristie Mewis is portion of the United States' World Cup squad.

Sam Kerr and Kristie Mewis beryllium and chat connected the transportation aft their bronze-medal lucifer astatine the Tokyo Olympics of 2021. The US won 4-3

Nicola Williams, who coached Kerr astatine Perth Glory, said the striker's competitory streak ne'er compromised her property and humanity.

"She was conscionable humble connected the field, " said Williams. "She was bully to beryllium around. But she wanted to win, determination was nary uncertainty astir that.

"I deliberation astir apt however her mum was, conscionable allowed her to beryllium passionate astir athletics and person amusive doing it."

Marianna Tabain played shot with Kerr successful Perth and astatine a nationalist level from property 12. She is present a teacher and sees the interaction her erstwhile team-mate is having connected Australia's youth.

"There are boys successful my people that are searching her up connected Google," she told BBC Sport.

"And that was unheard of; you ne'er searched for a pistillate footballer.

"Now a batch of radical cognize who Sam is and they privation to beryllium her."

By the clip Australia statesman their run connected Thursday against the Republic of Ireland, a batch much radical volition beryllium alert who Kerr is and what she represents.

"She is truthful excited astir a location World Cup - who would person each thought we would get 1 here, it is truly good," parent Roxanne said.

Wherever her team's World Cup tally ends, and whether she manages to emulate Freeman and instrumentality golden oregon not, Kerr has secured her spot arsenic as 1 of Australia's top athletes.

Kerr (right) poses with Emily van Egmond during the pair's days astatine Australia age-grade internationals....

....and the brace person some graduated to go cardinal parts of the elder side