1. In 2021, Catarina Macario signed with Lyon and won the UEFA Women's Champions League in her first full season.
25 Facts About Catarina Macario
1. 2.
Catarina Macario made her senior debut for the United States in 2021.
3.
Catarina Macario won a bronze medal with the team at the Tokyo Olympics later that year.
4.
Catarina Macario was born in Sao Luis, Maranhao, Brazil, to Ana Maria Cantanhede and Jose Melonio Catarina Macario.
5.
Catarina Macario started playing football at the age of 4, following the footsteps of her older brother, Estevao.
6.
Catarina Macario started playing in the academy of Flamengo in Sao Luis.
7.
Catarina Macario remained there for less than 6 months before switching to the Cruzeiro academy.
8.
In Brasilia, Catarina Macario played for the Santos academy, where she remained until she moved to the United States in December 2011.
9.
In Brazil, Catarina Macario had always played for boys' teams and only started playing for a girls' team after arriving in the United States.
10.
In 2011, at the age of 12 and without speaking any English, Catarina Macario relocated with her father and brother to San Diego, California, in order to pursue her dream of playing soccer.
11.
On February 1,2017, Catarina Macario committed to play collegiately for Stanford University.
12.
On January 4,2019, Catarina Macario won the MAC Hermann Trophy, awarded to the nation's top female and male players.
13.
Catarina Macario was awarded the MAC Hermann Trophy a second time, becoming the sixth woman to repeat as winner since the award was established in 1988.
14.
On January 8,2021, Catarina Macario announced that she would be forgoing her senior season at Stanford to start her professional career.
15.
Catarina Macario scored her first goal 6 minutes into her debut for Chelsea on March 3,2024, during a WSL game against Leicester City after returning from an ACL injury she got in June 2022.
16.
Catarina Macario is eligible to play internationally for Brazil and the United States.
17.
Catarina Macario was called to represent the United States at several youth levels.
18.
Catarina Macario stated that she intended to represent the United States at the senior level, turning down several approaches from the Brazilian Football Confederation.
19.
Catarina Macario generally plays as a midfielder for the United States, although Vlatko Andonovski has stated she could move to a false nine role in the future.
20.
On October 8,2020, Catarina Macario received her first call up to represent the United States at senior level, though she could not yet do this in games until she received clearance from FIFA.
21.
On January 13,2021, US Soccer announced that Catarina Macario received clearance from FIFA to represent the United States internationally.
22.
On January 18,2021, Catarina Macario debuted for the United States, coming in the half-time of a friendly match against Colombia, thus becoming the first naturalized citizen ever to play for the US senior women's team.
23.
On June 23,2021, Catarina Macario was included in the United States roster for the 2020 Summer Olympics where they placed 3rd, earning Catarina Macario a bronze medal.
24.
On June 26,2024, Catarina Macario was selected by her former Chelsea coach Emma Hayes to the 18-player roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics in France.
25.
Catarina Macario graduated from Stanford University in 2021 with a BA in communications and minor in psychology.