Catalina Pérez

She came through the U.S. college system at the University of Miami and Mississippi State before building a pro career across Italy, Spain, Brazil, Germany, and now France.

She has represented Colombia at multiple World Cups, Olympic Games, Copa América tournaments and the Pan American Games.

She was born in Bogotá, Colombia, and her parents moved the family to Boca Raton, Florida, when she was four years old in search of better opportunities.

Her parents first enrolled her in tennis classes in the U.S., but after watching her older brother’s football session she begged to switch to football instead.

As a kid she played as a midfielder until a coach asked players to rotate in goal; she volunteered to “get it over with”, saved everything…and was never allowed out of the net again.

In school, she competed in cross country, water polo, and tennis on top of football, and was honored as “most athletic” in her final year.

She studied Finance at the University of Miami, then completed a Master’s in Business Administration there, and even worked at Santander Bank in Boston while recovering from injury.

Her idol is Iker Casillas.

She has suffered three ruptures of the ACL in her left knee.

She said she sees many of the moments in her career as miracles and that her faith in God is what helps her overcome injuries and setbacks.

Because she grew up in the U.S. with a slightly different accent and look, Catalina has spoken about being made to feel like an outsider at early Colombia camps.

She created a scholarship for Colombian girls to attend Saint Andrew’s School in Boca Raton, combining education with high-level football opportunities similar to those she had.