Sam Kerr has developed surprise leadership skills: Chelsea coach
The assistant coach of Sam Kerr’s Women’s Super League team Chelsea says the star striker has developed an unexpected capacity to lead young players that will likely benefit the Matildas.
Tanya Oxtoby, who previously coached Kerr at Perth Glory, said while the West Australian’s infectious energy for the game hadn’t waned, she had also developed strong leadership skills in recent years.
Sam Kerr’s assistant coach at Chelsea believes the 29-year-old has developed the capacity to lead young teammates. Getty
“I think in terms of her application and her professionalism she’s grown massively and … just seeing her be able to guide some of the younger players that we’ve got that come through at the club is probably an area I wouldn’t have guessed would be her strength,” she said.
“She’s the one that lifts when you kind of go through that grind; she’s the one that brings the energy, so that hasn’t changed.”
Kerr’s Matildas take on Ireland in their first match of the group stages on Thursday, with more than 80,000 fans expected to pack into Sydney’s Stadium Australia.
Former Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou said having the FIFA Women’s World Cup on home soil was a massive opportunity for Australia to grow the game of football, but warned it had been in a similar position before and failed to capitalise.
Speaking in Perth on Monday, the new Tottenham Hotspur manager said he hoped the game could leave a permanent mark on the Australian sporting landscape.
“Where it is right now is where it’s been many times, it’s what happens from now on,” he said.
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou in Perth on Monday. PA
Postecoglou referenced the Socceroos’ 2015 Asian Cup win, saying it created “barely a ripple” in Australia.
Asked if it would be
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