Catarina Macario’s parents are worried after she suffered a serious injury during what has been a breakthrough season for both club and country.
The 22-year-old and a member of the United States women’s national team was taken off after 13 minutes of Lyon’s final league encounter of the season against Issy on June 1. It was revealed four days later that she had sustained a torn left ACL in a meaningless match.
Macario now faces months on the sidelines and will miss a critical stretch of national team games leading up to the 2023 Women’s World Cup. It will be held from July 20 to August 20, 2023.
Meet Footballer Catarina Macario Parents: Jose Macario And Ana Maria Macario
Footballer Catarina Macario was born to her parents, Jose Macario and Ana Maria Macario on October 4, 1999. Her mother, Maria is a doctor in Brazil.
While her father had taken the choice to relocate his son and daughter from their home in Brazil to the United States. Mostly so that Catarina could fulfill the family’s shared ambition of her becoming a soccer star.
Girls who played soccer in Brazil were not regarded seriously, and the United States was the land of opportunity. The situation in Brazil was difficult for female football players with no female team around.
Macário began participating in neighborhood pick-up games when he was four years old. With no female teams available, she joined one of Flamengo’s youth teams, where she played with males until transferring to Cruizerio’s youth squad at the age of five.
However, Macário was no longer allowed to play on the boys’ squad after she reached 12. As a result, Catarina, her father Jose, and her brother Steve relocated to San Diego, California.
While her mother stayed in Brazil and worked as a doctor to offer financial support.
Jose searched for every opportunity and the perfect place to horn her daughter’s skills.
He investigated which club would be best for his daughter’s growth before moving to the United States and mailed San Diego.
“He sent us an email saying that his daughter, Catarina, is interested in developing in the United States,” Chris Lemay, a former San Diego Surf instructor, told FTF.
He wanted her to spend at least a year with the 98s squad rather than the 99s.
“I planned on having her train with us for 10 minutes and then shift her over to the other field where the younger squad is,” Lemay explained.
However, Lemay explained that it literally took him less than 15 seconds to add her to his team. Despite the bullying, she faced as a black girl and the difficulties she had because she did not speak English.
Her parents counseled her not to waste her ability, and her father in particular pushed her.
Macario’s experience was the topic of an essay she penned for the Players’ Tribune earlier year. “For him to watch his daughter competing with the guys, there were no girls’ teams where we lived was the most incredible thing in the world,” she wrote.
“But the more he realized how brilliant I was, the more he would push me. The better I got, the more pressure I felt, and the harsher his comments became.”
However, with the pushing came support, and Macario appreciates Jose and her mother Ana Maria for not allowing her to give up.
Catarina Macario, A Brazillian Footballer Now Represents US Internationally
Catarina Macario was born and raised in São Luís, Maranhao, Brazil, alongside her brother, Steve. However, her family besides her mother relocated to San Diego, US to pursue their career in football.
Steve is also a soccer player who is proud of her sister’s growth and achievement. “Watching her grow up, playing soccer with males who didn’t care who she was as a player, didn’t appreciate her,” Cat’s brother told ESPN.
“It’s obviously satisfying that she’s now at a place that not just appreciates but celebrates it.”
That was over 10 years ago when she was twelve. She’s now a US citizen who was included on a roster for the US Team at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
At the age of 21, she has already made successful debuts for the United States Women’s National Team and Lyon. It is probably the world’s two top sides in international and club football.
Macario scored in only her second appearance for the United States against Colombia on January 23, 2021. Two weeks later was involved in Lyon’s match-winning goal against Montpellier, her first Lyon debut with a win.
The Brazilian national team contacted her several times about representing them nationally at the underage level. The emerging star had to pick between representing Brazil and the United States internationally.
But she claims the choice was decided before she even left Brazil.
“I just did not want to play for a federation that does not promote or regard my sport as equal, you know?” I really didn’t want to propagate the notion that everything is OK,” said Catarina to ESPN.
Catarina Macario Is A Brazilian-American Football Player
Catarina Macario is a Brazilian-American football midfielder who currently plays for Lyon in the French Division 1 Féminine. Macario had a successful collegiate career at Stanford University with several honors.
She was selected “Freshman of the Year” by TopDrawerSoccer.com and ESPNW Player of the Year in 2017. Macario was named Hermann Trophy winner, ESPNW Player of the Year, and TopDrawerSoccer.com National Player of the Year in 2018.
She also won the Honda Sports Award and the Hermann Trophy again in 2019.
In her freshman and junior years, Stanford won the NCAA Women’s College Cup. Lyon confirmed the signing of Macario for 2.5 years on January 12, 2021.
On February 6, 2021, she made her debut for Lyon in the Division 1 Féminine, coming on as a replacement in the 37th minute for Amandine Henry against Montpellier. Lyon won 2-1 at home.
On October 8, 2020, Macario earned her first summons to represent the United States at the senior level, albeit she could not play until FIFA cleared her.
Later that day, she declared on Twitter that she had obtained US citizenship. U.S. Soccer announced on January 13, 2021, that Macario had gained FIFA approval to represent the United States internationally.