‘Best striker in the world’:The inevitability of Kerr becoming Australia’s greatest ever

Every few generations,an Australian player comes along that commands the spotlight in British football.

First there was Joe Marston,leading Preston to within goal difference of the 1953 league title. Then came Craig Johnston lighting up the left flank of the famous Liverpool side of the 1980s. Mark Bosnich lifted the EPL title with Manchester United in 2000 before Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka dragged Leeds to a Champions League semi-final.

Matildas superstar Sam Kerr has jagged two exceptional goals to lead Chelsea to victory in the FA Cup final.

The last two decades have been relatively quiet for Australians in the UK – until Sam Kerr moved to Chelsea in 2019 and put herself on centre stage.

On Monday morning (AEDT),the 28-year-old Matildas star stepped on to the hallowed field of Wembley and confirmed herself as one of Australia’s greatest ever footballers byscoring two stunning goals under the famed arch to guide Chelsea to a 3-0 win over Arsenal in the FA Cup final.

Her first,a textbook example of pace and precision on the counter,gave the Blues breathing space. Her second was simply sublime. A deft chip over Arsenal goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger left more than 40,000 fans at Wembley and scores more struggling for superlatives.

Chelsea’s fans voted Kerr the player of the match and her face was plastered on the front page of Monday papers in Britain.

Many online were quick to draw comparisons of Kerr to another Chelsea great,Didier Drogba,while others were left bemoaning how she was only voted the third best women’s player on the planet six days earlier.

Australia’s captain finished behind Barcelona’s attacking midfield duo Alexia Petullas and Jennifer Hermoso in the Ballon d’Or last week,causing a slight stir within the Anglo football world.

“As far as I’m concerned Sam Kerr is the best striker in the world,” Chelsea coach Emma Hayes said after the FA Cup final.

And few could argue. Kerr has a goal haul replicated by few,a list of individual accolades she couldn’t even keep count of and a trophy cabinet that’s growing every season.

But it’s not the statistics that make the strongest claim for Kerr being the world’s best striker. It’s the seeming inevitability that follows her success.

Sam Kerr of Chelsea celebrates after scoring her second goal.

Sam Kerr of Chelsea celebrates after scoring her second goal.Getty

The rarest commodity in football – goals – are simply routine for Kerr. So much so that she strikes fear into even the most seasoned defenders. Even the world’s elite are at odds how to keep her quiet.

A fortnight ago,the coach of world champions USA concededhe had no reliable strategy to stop Kerr.

“I’d like to say that ‘if we do this,we’ll stop Sam Kerr’ but it just doesn’t work like that,” Vlatko Andonovski said. “She’s so dynamic and so unpredictable that no matter what you do,she always figures out a way to make it tougher.”

Monday morning was yet another example. Australia wasn’t surprised to wake up to the news of Kerr scoring a double in the final,only the manner in which she did.

The striker is on the cusp of breaking the scoring record for her country across both the Matildas and Socceroos,needing just one more to equal Tim Cahill’s record of 50. Similarly,that is a matter of “when” not “if”.

Chelsea’s Sam Kerr,left and Arsenal’s Lotte Wubben-Moy battle for the ball.

Chelsea’s Sam Kerr,left and Arsenal’s Lotte Wubben-Moy battle for the ball.PA

That expectation is born out of her consistency and resilience. Kerr is almost machine-like,operating like clockwork. A week ago,she was battling a niggling injury. On the morning of the final,she was likely shaking off jet lag and fatigue having only arrived in the UK from Australia three days prior after playing two games against the USA.

Had she misfired against Arsenal,she would have had legitimate excuses. Instead,she walked away with the trophy and two sublimely taken goals.

“Champions don’t make excuses or become victims or look for anybody else to manage them,” Hayes said of Kerr.

“Sam takes responsibility. Every time I listen to her and every time I watch her perform every day,she’s in charge and in control of making sure that she sets the standards for herself and that’s what I admire about her. There was no way she was going to be on the losing team today. She sets that tone in such a way that I’ve rarely seen.”

Kerr arrived at Stamford Bridge in November 2019 as one of the world’s most sought after players. Today,she stands almost unrivalled as the best in her position. It’s a vindication of her move to a streamlined club environment in Europe after balancing A-League women’s seasons with the NWSL in North America every year.

She was part of the first major wave of Matildas moving to the Women’s Super League that is rapidly improving by the year,raising the standards of the Matildas players in tow. The runners-up medals collected by Arsenal’s Australian contingent – Steph Catley,Caitlin Foord and Lydia Williams – on Monday morning is another example.

At a time when there are no Australian men playing regularly in England’s top flight,the women have become the flag bearers.

But it’s Kerr who’s the toast of the town. She’s already joined the ranks of Marston,Johnston,Bosnich,Kewell and Viduka.

The inevitability of her career is that it is another matter of “when,not if” she’ll surpass them. If she hasn’t already.

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Dominic Bossi is a football reporter with The Sydney Morning Herald.

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