Sam Kerr: Five things to know about Australia's history-making football star

It isn't hard to argue Sam Kerr's case for being the star of women's football.

21 goals in 22 games in their 2020/21 WSL winning season gave Chelsea the title and Kerr the golden boot, her three goals in Champions League took Chelsea all the way to the final and now she's taking the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games by storm too.

Kerr scored the winner in a 2-1 victory over New Zealand to get the Matildas off to the perfect start, then she bagged both in the 4-2 setback against the rampant Swedes.

And another brace against Great Britain in that 4-2 quarter final thriller has taken an Australian team - men's or women's - to the semi-finals of a major tournament for the first time ever.

With 47 goals in 97 games for the Aussie national team and still only 27 years old, Matildas maniacs have a lot to look forward to from their history-making captain.

1. Sam Kerr: Golden boot on three continents

52 goals in 49 matches for Perth Glory, 35 goals in 43 starts for the Chicago Red Stars and 21 strikes in 22 matches for Chelsea.

Sam Kerr's numbers speak for themselves.

A growing chorus of Australian voices are now putting it out there that Sam Kerr is the greatest footballer Australia has ever had, male or female.

Many still hold on to Tim Cahill’s 50 goals in 108 appearances for the Socceroos, but Kerr is fast approaching that number in far fewer games.

And Cahill, brilliant as he was, never took the 'roos to an Olympic semi final.

2. Sam Kerr is proud of her Indian heritage

In the 2021 Champions League final against Barcelona Sam Kerr was representing over a billion people.

Kerr inherited sporting genes from her father, a professional Aussie rules player, who was born in Kolkata to an Indian mother and an English father.

She was a big inspiration for Kerr and, according to Forbes, continues to go out running in her eighties.

"My Indian heritage is something I’m really proud of," Kerr told Forbes in May, "and I know my nanna’s really proud that I’m representing young Indian girls whenever I go out there and play. I think (reaching the final) was a really cool moment for my nan, and my family over here that is English, they’re really proud of me too. I hope it inspires young girls.

"We have the Asian Cup coming up in India next year so, fingers crossed, everything goes well in India and we can still get out there. I’ve never been to India. It’s something that I definitely want to get involved in, learning about my Indian heritage and culture."

3. Sam Kerr was inspired by Olympic hero Cathy Freeman

Cathy Freeman is an Australian Olympic champion and pioneer who lit the Olympic Flame at the Sydney 2000 Olympics and rewrote sporting history as an Australian Indigenous person.

She won the women's 400 metres at the 2000 Summer Olympics and had a profound impact on Australian sport and beyond, inspiring an entire generation, like a young Sam Kerr.

“We always talk about the 2000 Olympics,” Kerr told The Guardian in September 2020.

“I remember Cathy Freeman still to this day. One of the most amazing moments [was] watching her run on home soil. So hopefully this team can have that impact on young boys and girls growing up now, and we have more and more kids growing up wanting to play for the Socceroos and the Matildas.

“I hope that we can be in 30 years what Cathy Freeman [was] to kids like us.”

4. Sam Kerr and Fran Kirby: 'Kerrby'

'Bennifer,' 'Brangelina,' Kimye,' 'Kerrby.'

Sam Kerr and Fran Kirby have struck up such a successful partnership that they've given them a celebrity combo name, on the pitch they have a synergy bordering on telepathy.

Combining for a total of 37 goals and 18 assists for Chelsea last season, Kerr won the golden boot and Kirby the PFA Women's Players' Player of the Year.

On 30 July 2021 Sam Kerr and Fran Kirby lined up on opposite sides of the pitch in opposing colours in the Olympic quarter final.

It was strange for both having spent such a scandalously successful season together, but it was Kerr who came out on top, scoring two goals that took the Matildas into the semi final of the Olympics for the first time ever.

Chelsea fans can't wait to see them back together again next season.

5. Sam Kerr: "I was totally crap in my first season"

Taken up football but feel like you're rubbish?

You're not alone.

In her very first season world-beater Sam Kerr felt like she was crap and wanted to give up.

Born into an Australian Rules family where her dad Roger and her brother Daniel both played professionally, Kerr grew up with the egg-shaped ball and struggled with the transition to an orb.

As a young girl Kerr played Aussie rules with the boys, but when she got to 12 things got too physical and she had to switch to football.

"I was totally crap in my first season," she tells The Guardian.

"I just went from being at the top of my game, as much as you can as a kid, to going to the bottom moving to football. I didn’t know the rules, I didn’t know offside, I didn’t understand why no one would pass me the ball.”

It's amazing where perseverance can get you.