Montemurro hails captain Kerr for off-field qualities ahead of Matildas homecoming

As he fielded the first question of his press conference on Monday, Matildas coach Joe Montemurro reached into his pocket, grabbed a pen and scribbled something onto his left palm.

“I was just waiting for the Sam Kerr question,” he said. “I lost a bet. It took two minutes.”

Actually, it took less than that: one minute, 15 seconds, by our count. And the next three questions were about her, too.

Nature is healing.

The purpose of the press conference was for Montemurro to unveil his 24-player squad for Australia’s upcoming friendly series against New Zealand – their final matches before next year’s Women’s Asian Cup. The matches will be played in Gosford on November 28 and Adelaide on December 2.

Naturally, the squad includes Kerr, who is set to represent her country on home soil for the first time in more than two years.

Sam Kerr is coming home.Credit: Getty Images

Somewhat contentiously, depending on your perspective, she will do so as captain.

After much consternation about whether Football Australia should formally strip her of the responsibility following her infamous run-in with a London cab driver in January 2023, Kerr was handed the captain’s armband by Montemurro for last month’s disappointing 3-0 defeat to England, her second game back since recovering from the ACL injury that kept her out of action for so long.

Montemurro described it as a “football decision” and one that clearly has the backing of the playing group. We already know what match-going Matildas fans think: in April, when Kerr returned to camp to rehab her injury, she was loudly cheered every time the cameras at the Allianz and McDonald Jones stadiums panned to her on the bench.

And we definitely know what Montemurro thinks, based on his response to the mention of her name on Monday.

Kerr’s off-field qualities, he said, are a critical “gel” that he hopes will help fuse the core group that has been in the national team set-up for many years with the newcomers who have been integrated during the past 18 months.

“She’s not the most vocal leader,” he said.

“And I think modern leaders are the ones that just [are a benefit] having her around, and knowing that she’s got your back, and that she’s reliable for the team, and her selflessness is unbelievable ... the little things she does at training, even just collecting the balls and picking up the cones after training. They’re special qualities as a leader, and we’re really happy to have her.”

Kerr, 32, is still being nursed back to full fitness and was rested last weekend by her club Chelsea in the Women’s Super League with a view to using her for their midweek UEFA Women’s Champions League clash against Barcelona. But her deployment last month by the Matildas against Wales and England has accelerated her progress towards full match fitness.

“Attackers, they need time,” Montemurro said.

“They need minutes because they’re not involved in the game all the time. So the more they get game rhythm, the more they play, the more they get the minutes, they then find that moment to do what they need to do. It was good and really strategic to get her minutes in the two games.”

Meanwhile, the team’s other superstar, Mary Fowler, is tracking strongly in her own ACL recovery, with Montemurro anticipating she will be back playing for Manchester City again come February.

“It looks like she will get a fairly good runway into the Asian Cup,” he said.

Montemurro praised Fowler, 22, for her candour in speaking publicly about her mental health challenges in her book, Bloom.

Loading

In published excerpts ahead of the book’s release on Tuesday, Fowler writes about self-harm and contemplating suicide during her time as a teenager at French club Montpellier.

“We need to applaud the fact that she’s been able to face those issues ... it’s so courageous to talk about these things,” Montemurro said.

“The fact is that she’s been able to deal with these issues, I think, is all credit to her. It’s amazing, and I suppose it’s a little bit of a sign of the pressures that professional athletes and professional sportspeople are under these days, that there are challenges.

“And I think the more we talk about it, the more it’s out in the open … this is a perfect example of someone that’s been really courageous and been able to come out with her issues, deal with it and know that there are people behind her backing her and want to do what’s best for her.”

Most Viewed in Sport

Loading