Few women’s footballers on the planet have the profile of Sam Kerr.
One of the most influential and in-demand players around, the ‘Million Dollar Matilda’ is a global superstar.
On the pitch, she is a ruthless goalscorer, with an ability to turn any game in an instant. Her performances with Chelsea, Chicago Red Stars, Perth Glory and the Australian national team have undisputedly made her one of the greatest strikers to have played the game. But how did Kerr become one of the biggest names in the sport? Let’s take a look at her career so far...
Sam Kerr: Her career so far
Born in Perth, Western Australia, Kerr’s father was a pro Aussie Rules Footballer, with both English and Indian origin.
Kerr also played Aussie Rules in her younger days, before switching to football at the age of 12. The former sport helped hone her natural athleticism and she was scouted by Perth Glory not long after.
She would make her A-League debut aged just 15 during the 2009 season. Although the Glory Team had a below-par season and missed out on the play-offs, on an individual level Kerr impressed.
As well as winning the Goal of the Year award, Kerr was voted the Players’ Player of the Year.
Although she had an instant impact on her home league, it was American club soccer where Kerr would truly take her career onto the next level.
Spells at Western New York Flash and Sky Blue FC, would see her coming up against some of the best defenders in the world on a weekly basis, also linking up with Australia teammate Caitlin Foord at the latter.
Yet Kerr’s goalscoring would only become more prevalent. In the 2017 season, Kerr set a new NWSL record when she scored 4 goals in a single game. The Blues were down 3–0 to Seattle Reign at half-time, but eventually won an incredible match with 5 goals to 4. At the age of 23, she was already the league’s top all-time goal scorer.
Kerr was named the NWSL’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) for 2019 after scoring a record 19 goals in 23 games to secure a third-consecutive Golden Boot. This was despite being absent for part of the season because of that summer’s World Cup.
Her next stop was Chelsea, and Kerr moved to London in early 2020. A first goal wasn’t far away, the Aussie scoring a fine header in a 4-1 London derby win against Arsenal – it was a sign of things to come.
Although her first season in England would be curtailed, with the season suspended by the Covid-19 Pandemic, Chelsea were eventually awarded the WSL title on a points-per-game basis, giving Kerr another championship medal.
Goals and further titles have come on a regular basis ever since. In 2023, Kerr scored a crucial winner in a league game over Manchester United at Kingsmeadow to swing the title race in Chelsea’s favour.
She then performed the same trick two months later against the same opponent, this time in the FA Cup final at Wembley, celebrating with her trademark front-flip celebration.
In total with Chelsea she has won five WSL titles, three FA Cups, two League Cups and has been a Champions League runner-up.
