As a world and Olympic champion, children’s book author and three-time cover star of Sports Illustrated’s annual Swimsuit magazine, United States forward Alex Morgan possesses a unique combination of talents and experience.
The 29-year-old has more followers on Instagram than Virgil van Dijk, Tottenham or Pele – her 6.3 million followers roughly the same as the number signed up to the Royal Family’s official account.
Morgan is in the spotlight more than usual this month as she leads the USA’s defence of their Women’s World Cup title, but who is the woman behind the superstar billing? And how influential can she be on the continued growth of her sport?
“She’s the face of the team and of the sport in the United States,” Caitlin Murray, journalist and author of a book about the US women’s national team.
“She is the rare example of a soccer player who has transcended her own sport to hold a place in mainstream culture.
“Women’s soccer fans are an especially passionate group and Alex Morgan is easily the most beloved player of all. When she walks by fans, the shrieking you hear is at a volume several decibels higher than for anyone else.”
California-born Morgan, who helped the USA win Olympic gold in 2012, rose to prominence at the 2011 World Cup – where she scored in their narrow defeat against Japan in the final, before helping them gain revenge in Canada in 2015.
Since then she has won a treble of trophies during a loan spell with Lyon, having previously lifted the 2013 title in the US with Portland Thorns.
Yet it’s not just on the field that the Orlando Pride striker has achieved success. She has a degree from Berkeley, in political economy, having also authored a line of children’s books.
Her series, called ‘The Kicks’, is all about teamwork, friendship and responsibility. So are those values representative of the player in private and on the training ground?
“You can tell why she’s the best in the world at what she does. She loves detail,” says Marc Skinner, Morgan’s head coach at club side Orlando Pride.
“In training, she is always asking questions, wanting to know how she can help her team and make herself better. I’ve found her to be genuinely really refreshing.
“She wants to be challenged. She wants to get better every day, and those are genuine words, from my experience. She expects high standards, high quality and she brings it so she should expect it.
“She’s a tremendous person as well. Off the field, she’s caring, she’s kind.”
Jeff Kassouf, co-author of ‘The Making of the Women’s World Cup’, has covered Morgan’s career for a decade and has witnessed her ascent towards becoming “arguably the most recognisable woman who plays a team sport” in the world.
“The thing to know about Morgan’s personality is that she actually prefers to be quite private,” Kassouf says. “I’m sure that seems ironic, since she is just about everywhere on TV screens and magazine covers, but she speaks frequently of wanting to be able to go to dinner with her husband
and not be bothered for photos.
“What has changed about her since she burst onto the scene nearly 10 years ago is that she is far more comfortable in that spotlight now. Through the years she has grabbed the torch as one of the voices of the team.
