The Interview: Catarina Macario

The USWNT star and Champions League winner, who finished No. 9 in the Ballon d'Or voting, has been in Doha rehabbing an ACL injury for the last two months.

DOHA, Qatar — It was an absolute pleasure to meet up again a few days ago with Catarina Macario, the USWNT and Lyon star who has been in Doha for the past two months rehabbing after an ACL injury in June. She had a breakout season in 2021-22, winning the Champions League and French league titles with Lyon and finishing No. 9 in the Ballon d’Or voting. We caught up just before the USA-Netherlands game on Saturday at the World Cup.

The entirety of the written interview below is reserved for paid subscribers. As always, you can still get the entire free audio version of my podcast when it publishes Thursday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you like to go for your pods.

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Grant Wahl:

Big thanks to Adidas for helping set up today's interview. We've got a good one today. Our guest is with me here in Doha, and she has been rehabbing here for a little while now. Catarina Macario is working her way back to the U.S. women's national team and her club Lyon after suffering an ACL injury in June. She's also attending some of the World Cup games, and we're recording this on Saturday, just a couple hours before the U.S.A-Netherlands game. Cat, it is great to see you again. Thanks for coming on the show.

Catarina Macario:

Thanks, Grant. Thanks for having me.

Grant Wahl:

First question, how are you?

Catarina Macario:

I'm doing well. Yeah. Thank you. Just rehabbing away, so yeah, just hoping to get back on the field as soon as possible.

Grant Wahl:

And what led to you coming to Doha for your rehab, and how much time have you spent here?

Catarina Macario:

I've been here for about two months now, and I'm here because I'm doing rehabilitation at Aspetar, which is one of the best rehab centers in the world, actually. And I just wanted to be treated by the best. And I have my goals of going to the World Cup. And just want to make sure that I'm a hundred percent. And so I just figured that here would be the best place to get back to the best version of myself.

Grant Wahl:

I mean, the facilities here are incredible. I've taken a tour of them before, so I totally understand why you're here doing this. How many World Cup games have you attended? What's it been like?

Catarina Macario:

That's a good question. Thankfully, Adidas has been very kind to me since they know that I was already here. So I've just been going to about one game per day or so. I've never been to a World Cup before, and this was a very once in a lifetime opportunity, obviously, because I'm supposed to be playing instead of being injured and being here. But it just happened that the World Cup was here, so we're able to make it happen.

Grant Wahl:

How many U.S. games? How many Brazil games?

Catarina Macario:

All the U.S. games, and all the Brazil games except one.

Grant Wahl:

So, this time off from playing for the U.S. national team and Lyon. I know it's not what you wanted, but how have you tried to approach these last six months?

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Catarina Macario:

It’s been five months since my surgery actually. But like you said, it's definitely not what I wanted. But things happen. Injuries are part of football, and I'm just kind of taking it one day at a time and just knowing that this would make me a better player and this would make me a better person. And I feel like injuries really help you almost get grounded in a way. And just knowing that's like, okay, I'm not just a football player, and I have way more to life than just football. And so it's been very eye-opening, actually, and I honestly wouldn't have it any other way.

Grant Wahl:

Are there any human things that you're doing during this period that maybe you weren't doing as much of before?

Catarina Macario:

I've honestly never been really able to travel, and this has been a really cool period just to do that, a few weekends here and there, just because when you're playing, even if you have one or two days off, you have to think about the next week and recovery and things like that. But this time, I was like, you know what? I'm going to treat myself, and I'm going to go on a trip. I've been able to spend more time with my dad, which has been cool. Just reading more books and just really practicing more mindfulness. And it's been really cool, yeah, just getting more in touch with myself, and obviously connecting more with my friends, which sometimes I don't necessarily get the opportunity to. And just getting to know the world a little bit better.

Grant Wahl:

That's really interesting. That's cool. Thanks for sharing. When are you hoping to be back on the field?

Catarina Macario:

That's a good question. I would love to be back around March. Yeah, we'll see. March, April. Obviously, it depends. There's no set timeline. Sometimes, unfortunately with injuries, you have some good days, you have some off days, good weeks, off weeks, so it just kind of depends. And again, I'm thankful that I'm here at the best place in the world, and so I know that I'm in good hands. I'm itching to be back with a team again, but I just want to do it as safely as possible, so taking my time.

Grant Wahl:

It makes sense. The U.S. women's team, they won their last game. They've had an extremely rare, epically rare three-game losing streak recently against top European teams, England, Spain, Germany. What was it like for you watching those games?

Catarina Macario:

I mean, it was I think kind of what every fan was feeling. I was like, whoa, what's going on? But I feel like the one thing that you get with the U.S. is that they have a crazy mentality, and they'll always bounce back. And I was so thankful to be able to see that in the fourth match. I think the team lacks experience right now. Obviously we have a lot of young players. And first and foremost, I wish that I was there to be getting that experience and obviously be with the team and help them as much as I can. 

But also, I think it's a good thing. It's a good wake-up call. It's a good experience to have, and it's better to happen now than later. And so you have to make the adjustments and just get back to the winning ways and the standard that the U.S. team has. And sometimes that takes a couple losses, but after all, I think this will set us up in a good path for 2023.

Grant Wahl:

The first U.S. game at the Women's World Cup is July 22. Not that many months away, actually.

Catarina Macario:

I know, yeah.

Grant Wahl:

Seven months from now. Are you still hoping to make a big impact with the U.S. at the World Cup?

Catarina Macario:

Yeah, of course. I mean, I think not just individually but collectively. You'd say, of course we want to win again. Not just that, but we want to win and play well. And whether it be against Vietnam, Netherlands, whatever, just the whole tournament, it's a great opportunity to show who we are, not only individually but also collectively. And I think it's been really cool just to see the different nations stepping up in their investments, just stepping up in how they're growing the women's game, and it's been really cool and exciting to be a part of. So I'm super excited for Australia and New Zealand.

Grant Wahl:

I mean, when you go to these U.S. games and you feel the tension in the stands, does it make you think about what it might be like to experience? Obviously you wouldn't be a fan at the women's World Cup, you would be on the field.

Catarina Macario:

No, a hundred percent, a hundred percent. Honestly, there are times when I hear the anthem and I almost feel like crying, just because I get a little bit emotional. It's the fact that you get to represent your country on such a big stage, and that's so special. And so it's going to be different for sure walking onto the field hopefully in 2023, but it's something that I've been looking forward to my whole life. And I hope to do it whenever I'm feeling at my best possible self.

Grant Wahl:

What sort of conversations have you had with the U.S. coach, Vlatko Andonovski?

Catarina Macario:

He's here actually.

Grant Wahl:

I'll track him down. I didn't know that.

Catarina Macario:

Yeah. Yeah, he's here. He's doing some scouting to help with the men's team, obviously.

Grant Wahl:

Oh, okay.

Catarina Macario:

But we just catch up here and there, obviously keeping him updated on my injuries and whatnot. But yeah, kind of just talking. We talked a little bit about the games and things like that, the games that the U.S. has had recently. He's just a great guy, honestly. Overall, we just talk kind of human to human, and he makes you feel comfortable, which is something that you don't find in every coach, honestly, and it's something that I really appreciate, just because he trusts you. No matter what, he tries to get the best out of his players. It's been good to see him here. And obviously we're supporting the U.S. and hoping that they go as far as possible, but also in the back of our minds, we both know, okay, we enjoy watching football, but also we have work to do for 2023.

Grant Wahl:

We have seen superstars in the women's game have ACL injuries in the last year. It's an experience I can only imagine, but you, Alexia Putellas, Beth Mead recently with England. Do you ever wonder what's going on with that, why it's happening?

Catarina Macario:

Yeah. I mean, I'm no scientific expert or anything like that, but I think first of all women are already more predisposed to having ACL injuries. I think something with the hips or whatnot. Again, I'm not an expert.

Grant Wahl:

No, I understand. I put you in a tough spot.

Catarina Macario:

And also we have periods and things like that, just different things that can increase your rate of injury, your likelihood to get injured. And I just think that there's a big, big lack of research right now in the women's field, just really focusing on women's players. And everything that's done is generally concentrated on males. And it's like, okay, but we're completely different people. And so I think now that we're playing more intense games, obviously the demand is higher, and I think that maybe the research has not followed. And same with the medical field. I don't think that some clubs are necessarily doing everything that they can to help with the prevention side of injuries and whatnot. And unfortunately, we are seeing this a lot right now. It's just really unfortunate, but I hope that we'll come to a day that's like, we'll put this behind us.

Grant Wahl:

I hope sports science hears this and makes some progress-

Catarina Macario:

I hope so too. Yeah. Yeah.

Grant Wahl:

... on this, because I think it's important for the growth of women’s sports.

Catarina Macario:

For sure.

Grant Wahl:

And until your injury happened in June, it had been really a dream season for you with Lyon. You took back the Champions League title from Barcelona, the league title from PSG. You personally were number nine and the highest American in the voting for the Ballon d'Or Award. It's funny because the story I wrote about you in January, we had an artist do a picture of you at the start of it, and we had in the artwork holding up a shirt that said, "Ballon d'Or ‘24?" And it made me think we were too conservative in saying ‘24. Congratulations on that.

Catarina Macario:

Thank you. Thank you so much.

Grant Wahl:

When you look back on that season, how would you describe it?

Catarina Macario:

Yeah, I mean, it was a tremendous, tremendous season. It kind of went by in a blink of an eye, I’m not going to lie. Obviously, it was like my first professional season, my first full season, and I'm just so glad that we were able to just get the Champions League and get back the trophy as well. And obviously individually, it wasn't bad. So I am very, very thrilled just, because in the beginning, it was definitely tough making the transition to professional football. 

So I'm very happy. Obviously at the end I had my injury, but it was a tremendous year. I wouldn't change anything about it. And I just hope that this is only the beginning that will keep getting better and better. And obviously I have my eye set for the World Cup.

Grant Wahl:

We are only 28 days away from New Year's Eve parties. It's weird to be at a World Cup in December. I'm wrapping my mind around it still.

Catarina Macario:

I know. It doesn’t even feel like December.

Grant Wahl:

That's a time when people think about the year ahead. What will you be thinking about when the clock hits midnight on New Year's Eve?

Catarina Macario:

Well, I will be thinking about just getting as healthy as possible as quick as possible, but as safe as possible, and just doing absolutely everything I can in order to help the United States win another World Cup.

Grant Wahl:

Catarina Macario is hard at work to get back on the field for the U.S. women's national team and Lyon. Cat, thanks for coming on the show.

Catarina Macario:

Yeah. Thank you. Always a pleasure, Grant.