Chelsea Women: Catarina Macario, west London’s newest multifaceted superstar

Last season including the Champions League final with French juggernauts, Macario demonstrated her ability to cause opponents fits in the No. 10 role, where she is more likely going to play for the west London outfit. It is little concerning that she has not played football in over a year now, but given that she is ruled out for the World Cup, her attention is going to be 100 percent on getting back on the pitch for the next WSL campaign. Some may say that at Chelsea the No. 9 shirt is cursed, but on the women’s side Macario is simply following in the footsteps of one of the club’s greats.

After winning back to back MAC Hermann Trophies during her sophomore and junior years at Stanford University in California, the Brazilian-born American went straight into the professional game. The now 23-year-old scored 63 goals in just 69 appearances for the Cardinal before moving to France to play with the most decorated women’s football club in the world.

At just 20 years of age, the USWNT star scored five games into her career with Les Lyonnaises. Sure, there may have been nerves moving to her second new country within eight years, but it looked like from the get-go that this player was born to play professional football. Macario would go on and score five goals within her next four games after breaking through against Dijon in 11 minutes after the start of the second half for her first goal. Even on the international stage after she received American citizenship, the former Flamengo academy player netted a goal in her second match with the defending World Cup winners.