Sam Kerr has cemented her status as one of the greatest female footballers of all time by sharing a photo with Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland as they accepted the Footballer of the Year trophies from England’s Football Writers’ Association.
The Australian Matildas and Chelsea star became the first woman to lift the prestigious trophy in two consecutive seasons, just days before she aims to blast Chelsea to a fourth consecutive Women’s Super League title in England.
Haaland was the runaway winner of the men’s award and Kerr shared a photo of them both on her social media, but there was just one problem: a bunch of Aussies know who Kerr is, but not Manchester City’s goalscoring machine.
“What makes me laugh is that so many people (like me) know who Sam Kerr is, but have no idea who the dude is,” one fan commented.
“Awww a boy in his high school met Sam, good on him,” another joked.
“Who is that person meeting Sam Kerr? Legitimate question. I have no idea who that is,” another Matildas fan added.
Kerr also shared the news that she will return to her hometown of Perth later this year to play with the Matildas.
Kerr shared this selfie with Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland, but many Aussie fans didn’t know who he was
Kerr won the award for being the best footballer in the Women’s Super League for the second year in a row
Haaland was the easy choice for the men’s award as the Manchester City star reportedly shared a mutual respect and friendship with Kerr.
While Western Australia missed out on FIFA Women’s World Cup matches, the Matildas have announced they will play three qualifiers for the Paris Olympic Games in Perth from October this year.
The Matildas play against Iran, Chinese Tapai and the Philippines in Kerr’s hometown, with the Chelsea star sharing the news with the caption: ‘Perth, we got games’ and a misty-eyed emoji.
Before then, Kerr has unfinished business in the UK, as she intends to blast Chelsea to a fourth successive Women’s Super League title in England, completing another FA Cup WSL double.
Kerr explained how difficult it was for her to stay on top.
“I think it may seem easy to some people, but every year it gets harder and harder to win the league,” said Kerr, whose team must beat bottom-placed Reading on the final day on Saturday to re-seal the title . a draw is probably enough,” she said.
“Anyone involved in football knows how difficult it is to come back year after year and stay on top. So we’re doing everything we can to win on Saturday.’
It is such a rare feat to win the FWA Footballer of the Year trophy in consecutive years that no woman has achieved it before in the short history of the award, while men’s Thierry Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo are the only two who have done this in three years. quarter of a century.
The Matildas announce Paris Olympic qualifiers to be held in Sam Kerr’s hometown of Perth
Kerr will complete the season at Chelsea before returning to Australia for the World Cup and Olympic qualifiers
Kerr and teammates Pernille Harder and Magdalena Eriksson are just one result away from a historic FA Cup-WSL double
Kerr has had another triumphant season, not once topping the WSL goalscoring charts, but still scoring 28 goals in all competitions, including several big ones, not least the winner in Chelsea’s 1-0 FA Cup final victory over Manchester United earlier this month.
Speaking of another breakthrough year for her and the women’s game in England, where she’s become a star, Kerr said: ‘It’s been amazing. It’s something I’m very proud of.
‘Thanks to the European Championship, women’s football has grown enormously. When you walk down the street, the crowds are bigger, everything has only increased in the past year.’
Not only Kerr, but also men’s footballer of the year Erling Haaland received their awards in a central London hotel at a gala dinner to mark the 75th anniversary of the award first won by Sir Stanley Matthews in 1948.
Manchester City’s Haaland, who scored 52 goals in 51 games ahead of Sunday’s Premier League final at Brentford, is, like Kerr, still looking for more silverware, with the English champions lining up for a Premier League treble League, FA Cup and Champions League.
“I feel good, it’s a special moment,” he told the FWA. “I expected to do good things, but I didn’t expect to do this.”
He has broken the record for most Premier League goals in a season with 36 as Manchester City clinched a third straight title with three games to spare after trailing Arsenal by eight points in one stage.