It's obvious the U.S. Women's Team and their chances for a gold medal suffer without Wambach. The question is, how much?
Here's my take for espn.com on the situation.
I'd also add that I like the inclusion of Lauren Cheney. She has a lot of experience for a youngster, and she has in fact faced a Brazil team with Marta in the PanAmerican games final as a member of the U20 team versus a full-strength Brazil. The U.S. lost, but the experience no doubt toughened Cheney up. She has a wicked shot, controls the ball well, and has nice vision to make a pass.
The team is going to have to bounce back, though. There's a bit of break now before the players reunite on Monday. If they're moping around and worrying about what will happen, it doesn't bode well for the psyche of the squad before an important competition.
12 comments:
A.C.
Good article but I want to see some good positive, vibes regarding the USWNT coming from you leading up to the Olympics!
I think a C.C. should be devoted to just that - 5 minutes of nothing but positives regarding how they will win gold, against all odds!
This Monday - everybody watch it!
:))
You know, coach, I agree with your assessment that the WNT will do far better than anyone surmises w/Wambach out. The main thing is that Pia Sundhage's emphasis on possession and passing could help players like Amy Rodriguez and Aly Wambach shine, since that style is less reliant on Wambach than Greg Ryan's approach.
One more thing that a.c. said:
For whatever the reasons, the U.S. team now has a new coach, and a much younger roster, with quite a few players who had nothing to do with the Solo situation and want nothing more than to win for themselves and their country.
That, more than anything else, makes the WNT's outlook more positive (or, at least, less foreboding) than you might think.
Absolutely Joseph. Pia seems like a great coach and the team probably won't miss a beat. Whether or not they can beat germany or brazil depends on their defense more than their offense imo.
Yes Anon,
Goals win games & Abby will be missed
but
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS!
You heard it hear on Sideline Views! lol
Nice article. Only time will tell.
Their set play offense will suffer some for sure. And Abby was a presence the opposition had to account for which created space for teammates. But a configuration without Abby is faster and that may open up some run of play opportunities. In many respects this'll make the US more unpredictable.
New stars will need to shine. It'll be interesting to see if they do and who they'll be.
Speed kills. Run run run, USA.
ghost
(Hey, Coach one good cliche deserves another: The best defense is a good offense.)
Coach Pia S. has done a very good job of reading her team. The WNT has a slew of great players and it is great to see that in all of their games. I really like the new talent bought in this season. Go for the gold ladies it is yours to be had. It was great to hear Abby W. say that you can’t win a championship with one player. It takes the team to get the beautiful game choreographed to the perfection that the WNT can achieve. ill be watching.
haha Ghost, no cliche there, I made it up!
:)
BTW Ghost, not in soccer, DEFENSE comes first!
:))
Food for thought.
A "conspiracy theory" to contemplate regarding Abby's devastating injury.
The following are quotes from Abby:
“I’m excited to watch them and cheer them on DURING THIS CHALLENGE THEY'VE BEEN PRESENTED WITH,” Wambach said after the game. “It’s really going to take everyone coming together."
and more recently after her surgey, which I am delighted to hear went really well:
“I WAS an important player for this team and the type of player that some people may say is irreplaceable, but the reality is I am replaceable. They have to replace me and THEY'RE GOING TO BE CONFRONTED WITH A TOUGHER CHALLENGE,” she said."
Now, I'm not the type of person th hang on a persons EVERY word but, as I have indicated in previous posts, during the first 30 minutes of this game I was thinking "Abby, what on earth are you doing out there, WE & the TEAM might just need you to back down a bit or BAD things are going to happen out here. This is the last game before the Olympics, a meaningless friendly, and you are playing with more then the "usual" reckless abandon and aggressiveness out there!"
Sure enough, a very bad thing for ABBY, THE TEAM and THE FANS did happen.
Hmmm, is it possible that maybe, just maybe, after all the World Cup fallout that a very, very small part of Abby wanted the TEAM and the FANS to be without her for the Olympics to see how they can really do without her? That she really had NO desire to return to China after all that happened back in September and the months to follow?
Silly thought now isn't it? Really! More movie material maybe? Really! (more SNL folks - really!)
I never in a million years would think that anybody, never mind Abby Wamback, would go out on the pitch and play with a desire to get oneself hurt! Never mind a shattered leg that will need a plate in it for the rest of her life.
On another front, I see U.S. Olympian Gymnast Shayla Worthey has also gone down with a broken leg. These are truly tough breaks (no pun intended) leading up to an event of a lifetime. :(
Unless of course you had NO desire to go back to China and the memories that will bring back from a rather short time ago.
I'm no doctor but you have to wonder if this injury is career threatening never mind the Olympics. It's never good to lose a player of such importance, especailly this close to the games but Pia has been trying to balance out the attacking load for some time and these games were never going to be a cakewalk anyway so it will be interesting to see how the team reacts. Is anyone replacing her on the roster? This is a very young team. Is Abby traveling with them anyway? I bet she could be very useful in that regard.
John
Given what Wambach did in her last appearance in China (participate in the conspiracy against Hope Solo), I don't think her presence would be all that useful. In fact, it might be counterproductive.
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