Ultra Mag | Issue 25 - Catherine Zimmerman

Catherine Zimmerman saw a 10-week turnaround gain her a spot back in Melbourne Victory's team sooner than intended after walking onto the pitch for 20 minutes, breaking her fibula, and undergoing surgery three days later.

“I was nervous and excited”, she recalls when asked how she felt after returning to the field. “I’m just happy to be playing honestly, to come on to help the team to get a win was pretty cool.”

Mia Hamm, who she grew up watching on the US National Team, was Zimmerman's main football inspiration growing up in New Jersey. “[She] was like my idol,” she says. Football was “just the thing to do” in New Jersey. “It was either soccer or field hockey, and I was definitely not playing field hockey!”

Prior to moving to Australia in 2018, Zimmerman played college soccer, then with the Sky Blues, and soon after, in Switzerland. She describes her time in Switzerland as a perfect springboard to coming to Australia since it taught her about the sacrifices that come with moving away from home, loved ones, and football origins.

“I’ve always wanted to come to Australia,” Zimmerman admits. Following a brief visit to Australia for a trial with NPLW side Calder United, she quickly found herself playing in Australia on a regular basis, and some would argue that it has become her second home.

Because the football style in Australia is comparable to that in the United States, Zimmerman considers the move as simple and fitting for her career.

After playing for Calder United in 2018, she assisted her side to second place while also winning the Golden Boot award with 43 goals in 28 games. The next season, Calder won the treble, while Zimmerman earned the Golden Boot award as well as the Gold Medal award, after scoring 33 goals in 27 games. Zimmerman had earned herself a spot on the 2020 Melbourne Victory W-League squad as a result of her achievements.

“I love it, it’s a really good group,” she says. “There’s been a core group of girls that have been [at Victory] for the last three years, and on and off the field I think we have gotten really close.”

As she signed with Victory for the third consecutive season this season, Zimmerman hopes to add a third championship to her list of successes in the A-League Women's competition.

“It makes such a difference when you love your teammates, you want to play for them, you want to compete for them, and win with them and have those moments,” she says. “It’s a pretty special group.”

With a wealth of knowledge gained from playing in the United States and Switzerland, she is clearly a vital piece of Victory's jigsaw. Zimmerman is back on the field, hungry for a second consecutive triumph, after demonstrating incredible resilience and dedication following a major injury. "I suppose everyone is quite hungry," she continues. "We can do it".