On The Road with Sam Kerr and Guro Reiten

Famous for her celebratory backflip, which she shows off whenever she scores a goal (quite often, then, and 32 times last season), perhaps Kerr’s outgoing personality shouldn’t be surprising.

“She’s the loud, crazy one,” says Reiten, giggling as her friend pulls an expression of mock surprise. “Crazy, but fun.”

Reiten — she of the legendary, frequently scoring left boot — is a little quieter (though it’s all relative, right?), winding down after a full-on season by painting, reading, and watching movies. At the same time, she’s no stranger to nights out dancing with Kerr and the rest of the team. And, when these two get together (and get talking), the main activity is…giggling.

Any kind of music, from what they listen to on the bus to who is any good at karaoke — not, according to Kerr and Reiten, midfielder Erin Cuthbert, despite her delusions. “She thinks she’s Adele!” Kerr says.

Reiten breaks into an impression of Cuthbert doing karaoke that has them both collapsing into giggles again. Personally, she avoids getting involved in the playlists.

“I stay away from the music, because we Scandis have a bad reputation when it comes to that,” Reiten jokes. “They think we like Mamma Mia and that’s all we listen to!”

Instead, she leaves the rest of the team to battle it out, whether it’s Lauren “LJ” James’ rap music (“no one else likes it“) or defender Millie Bright’s selection, which could be anything from pop to acoustic, background music, for downtime.

These teammates really are mates. They travel on the bus together, share rooms while on the road, and of course win (lots of) matches together. Yet they’re still not tired of each other’s company.

They even go on holiday together. Or, at least, they were supposed to, except… “She bailed,” reveals Kerr.

“I hadn’t been home!” protests Reiten, but her friend is having none of it.

“Cry me a river! It was the three of us going to Barcelona — me, Guro, and Erin [Cuthbert]. And Guro flaked it.”

Kerr and Cuthbert made the most of it, exploring every inch of the city and confirming its reputation as having some of the best nightlife in Europe. Kerr even called Reiten, pre-flight, at 6:30 a.m. to tell her what she was missing.

“I was like, I have to tell her what happened [on the trip] and I have a flight in 30 minutes so I’m packing my bags.”

Straight to the airport after, she tells us, getting zero sleep the night before — we’re impressed. But, knowing Kerr, hardly surprised.

One of Kerr’s most popular Instagram posts is a photo of her lounging on a yacht in Ibiza: drink in hand, sunglasses on, and looking very much at home. (“That’s a bit of me, that,” she says — her favourite phrase.)

Here’s a few other things that are “a bit of” Kerr. Scoring a hat trick at the 2019 World Cup. (She’s the only Aussie player, male or female, ever to pull off such an achievement.) Casually spinning a sky-high backflip, which wouldn’t be out of place at Cirque du Soleil, after every single goal. And regularly munching on pasta sandwiches (more on that later)…

Reiten’s Insta is at the other extreme — right on the edge, in fact. The Instagram photo she shares with us shows her (with her brother) perched on a rock jutting over a spectacular mountain valley back home in Norway. “My mum [a former star player for Norway herself] took the photo,” she recalls. “Below was a 400-metre drop, straight down. I was terrified. I’m like crawling because it’s so scary.”

Chelsea FC fans were terrified, too, urging their favourite “left boot” to bring herself safely back to the pitch and continue hitting the back (or corner) of the net.

No strangers to silverware, with six league titles and seven other trophies (and counting) in the cabinet, the teammates still suffer nerves before any match — and are ecstatic when they win. (Even though that’s such a regular occurrence, it’s almost boring. Almost.)

Before their victorious win against Manchester City in May 2022, the atmosphere on the bus was, Kerr says, “a bit tense.”

Kerr, of course, overcame any jitters — scoring twice, including the winning goal, cinching a 3-2 victory against the rivals. And it was just the excuse she needed to lead the celebrations. True to form, she once again proved her stamina, outlasting the others (and staying up the latest).

But Reiten’s not one of them. It’s typically a “giant suitcase” for her, even for a couple of days, while Kerr — according to her teammate — “rocks up with a rucksack,” preferring to just buy stuff when they arrive at their destination.

Just don’t ask midfielder (and, usually, “the sensible one”) Jessie Fleming to look after the passports. She once arrived at the team bus, before a match abroad, without hers. And her teammates, naturally, will never let her forget it.

But she isn’t too fussed on landmarks (“She don’t care!” laughs Reiten — even if it’s a London icon like Buckingham Palace or Big Ben.)

“I can see those things on a painting at a dentist’s place or on a postcard.”

Hotels are her thing, so long as there’s a good view (“always”), ideally a pool bar, and a “nice big fluffy bed.”

The little details are also important and get the players talking. A nice floor, for example… “You were showing me your hotel room and you were like, ‘look at that floor. That’s a bit of me’,” says Reiten, creasing up once again.

They could even be the secret to being top goal scorer. “[Kerr] has a big sandwich, putting pasta on, salt — and that’s her dinner, “ reveals Reiten, who is more of a sushi fan, herself. “Before. Every. Game.”

“I thought it was normal,” shrugs Kerr (who — surprisingly, given this pasta sandwich confession — is usually the fussy one when it comes to food, finding certain textures a bit, you know, icky).

Reiten raises her eyebrows, indicating she really doesn’t think it is that normal, actually. And then, for the hundredth time in as many minutes, the teammates collapse into giggles.