Interesting interview with Briana Scurry, from 2004...

U.S. goalkeeper Scurry out to make amends

By Joseph White // Associated Press // August 9, 2004

There's no doubt in Briana Scurry's mind.
If she had been the starting goalkeeper four years ago in Sydney,
the U.S. women's soccer team would have won the gold medal.
"I put myself into that entire game,'' she said.
"And I've always felt -- and I still feel
-- that if I were playing, we would have won.''

Instead, one of the heroes of the 1999 World Cup was an out-of-shape bench-warmer, having enjoyed too much the fruits of sudden fame. The torch had passed to Siri Mullinix, who played every minute of the 2000 Olympic tournament, and whose left hand couldn't quite get all of Dagny Mellgren's shot in sudden death overtime of the gold-medal game against Norway.

The rest > here <

Wasn't Solo punished for the exactly same attitude and similar words?

As previously promised:

The Facts: http://www.fairgamemag.com/eng/world_cup_blog/villians_heroes

The Fed: http://www.ussoccerplayers.com/exclusives/index.html?article_id=721

http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/soccer/20071003-9999-1s3socpage.html

http://www.star-telegram.com/549/story/259165.html

The Fiasco: http://www.ussoccerreview.com/beforeiforget/index.php?column_id=50

And K. Lilly: http://www.acorn-online.com/news/publish/wilton/23444.shtml

I like that quote: "Ms. Lilly, who started every game at forward, finished the tournament with one goal and three assists.

“I thought I did all right,” she said. “I had some other chances that I should have put away.”

I believe, and I'm reasonably new to women's football, that she might have done a bit better knowing her record in the past.

But - everywhere in those links, it's old players clubbing together, along with someone (Gulati) who should go into politics, his answers to questions being pretty meaningless.

I'm a fan of both Arsenal men and ladies.

For ladies - Kelly Smith was given her medal in UEFA final after Arsenal won the final - even though she was (unfairly imo) banned from both legs.

For men - Jens Lehmann (GK) made 2 mistakes in first 2 league games this season.
The first one (he passed the ball to an opponent in first minute of first league game of season) was overcome, as Arsenal won the game.
Next game, he let the ball slip through his hands in a game we were winning - the only game not won this season.

He's not played since. He has claimed he is fit to play, but the manager / coach has said he's got an injury, so he's not been selected.

He (Jens) is a bit cocky about his abilities, but he was given job in Germany's goal above Kahn, who was also cocky.
But Almunia, who has taken over, also says he's the best.
Fabianski will be claiming he's the best soon - it's a thing goalkeepers do, I think.

When Arsenal won the Premiership a few seasons ago, they brought on a gk (Stuart Taylor) as sub in the last couple of minutes as he needed one more appearance to get a Premiership medal.

Yet USA stop Hope collecting her medal even after letting in no goals in 3 games.

Pathetic

Actually, I think she will get her metal, they just didn't want to do it publically. I don't know if she would want it though.

I think you have to have an extremely high self esteem to be a goalie. If goalies made the mistakes forwards do- it would be insane, and when they do make a small mistake they get ripped to shreds. A lot of people would end up in the corner of the goal, in the fetal position, whimpering- having to deal with all these stresses.

After the N. Korea game, in which Solo made a massive mistake letting in a goal, and then having another one scored on her 5 minutes later, and then completely recovering inorder to save the game in the '89 minute in a full stretch diving save in the pouring rain- I'm pretty sure they enjoyed her cockiness then.

So yeah, they're pathetic, but they're all we've got, (no Arsenal, Arsenal LFC, Chelsea, Fulham, etc., etc.) so actually we're probably the pathetic ones.

I replied in a different thread, which is partly a reply to this (before I saw it).

I'm glad she'll get her medal, akthough, as you say, she might not want it.

I believe Muhammed Ali, or Cassius Clay as he was then, threw away his Olympic gold medal in the Tiber in Rome in 1960 because of the attitude of the press etc ( I'm not sure how true that is).

And - just to update you on the game in the English Premier League - there is no Fulham any more, not run by the main club anyway.
Mohammed Al-Fayed decided there was no profit there - or maybe he was just peeved after not getting UK citizenship despite all the millions he has earned in UK.

Before my days of following Women's games, I believe Fulham were one of the best.

Since I started, I discovered that Charlton were one of the best - in fact, the last team that beat Arsenal Ladies (Premier League Cup Final, 2006 - I was there ).

Now their "Club" have pulled the rug from under them, despite them reaching the FA Final last season, and been seen live on tv as well as by a record crowd for a Women's final (around 25,000 - I wasn't there due to illness ).
They came so close to qualifying for the UEFA cup this year, just beaten to it by Everton who came into second place in the Prem League (an extra place in Europe was permitted as Arsenal were the new holders and qualified as such).

But the Charlton "men's team" were relegated from the the Prem league - and the club decided to do a cost cutting exercise.
They saved around £80,000 ($160,000 approx) by scrapping their excellent Women's team (that might give you an idea about earnings in Women's footie here).
Forget the fact they sold one male player for around £16m - they couldn't afford their Women's team

But - at least they have re-established themselves (although not with the same players) and played their first game of the season the other day. Lost 7-0, but...

I suppose you've seen this before - but I just wanted to rant a bit.

Sorry.

I read about Charlton on the BBC site, but thank you for telling me, I do find these things interesting. What I got from the posts on that board is that some men in the UK concerning women's footie say it's all about money and women simply don't get the crowds to support themselves . That's wrong on many levels, but most important for their own argument is that it's very nearsighted. The USWNT makes gobs of money for the Fed, and very little of it through attendance. It's about selling little girls dreams, dreams that their daddy's will bend over backwards financially to support inorder to give their daughters role models that they can actually respect. Their money comes from grassroots buildup and sponsors that want to cash in on the dream. Mia Hamm made so much money for Nike they named a building after her. If Umbro were smart they would turn Kelly Smith into their Mia Hamm. She's extremely talented, reasonably attractive, and feminine enough (last two shallow but advertising reality). What happened to Charlton Ladies, was not only unfair and financially insignifigant in solving their problems, it's lacking business foresight and smarts. I know the men's teams make gobs of money on their own, but that's true about the NBA, and the WNBA has worked out for them-all it takes is a little commitment and a little extra effort.

I read the other day that there are now 160,000 female players in England (more if you add rest of UK). There were 10.000 in UK about 10 years ago.

But the powers that be dont care.

That's like just half of the population of Belfast!

It shows it's growing though

Women's footie I mean - not Belfast

USA 4-0 Mexico (Friendly)

Poor Hope third choice now , Nicole Barhhart played in goal , at least she kept a clean sheet

I bet when they have a tougher opponent than only Mexico,
they'll say her quarantine is over and she can play

Finally some good news to report (bottom of post), even if Sundhage doesn't replace Ryan the fact there is official news out there that states the Fed is looking gives me hope.

This gives me hope because a new coach will hopefully change the US's antiquated tactics and clean house-two things that are overdue. I respect the past performances of people like Scurry and Lilly (not their present acts) but they showed during the WWC, based on their performances alone, that they are past their prime and gained their places based on name rather then deed- and that is a mentality that a new coach will hopefully rid us of. From what I've read from fans about the Mexico games is that even though these games are seen as a joke the younger players like Lloyd and Kai have shown tremendous potential. Although many people may see the entire team as pathetic because they didn't stand up for Solo, I'm pretty confident that the younger players were legitimately scared of being fired-so I'm forgiving them for now.

Hopefully all these things will happen, so there will be some justice in this situation.


Swedish newspaper Göteborgs-Posten reports that both the U.S. National Team and an American college are interested in Pia Sundhage, who served as an assistant coach for China at the 2007 World Cup, coached the WUSA's Boston Breakers in 2003 and was an assistant coach for the WUSA's Philadelphia Charge in 2001 and 2002 (article in Swedish). A rough translation follows:
Sundhage offered coaching job in USA

From one National Team to another? If the duo of Domanski Lyfors/Sundhage say no to China's National Team can Sundhage disappear to USA? "There is an inquiry from both the National Team and a college club," said Sundhage to gp.se.

It has been difficult for Marika Domanski Lyfors and Pia Sundhage to make up their minds. Will they continue with China's National Team through the 2008 Beijing Olympics? Or will they move home? On Wednesday, will they make up their minds? But one can never know.

"We will make a decision during the holiday and leave our answer for Monday. Neither of us will continue working in China on our own," said Pia Sundhage.

If they choose not to return, Sundhage, who left her job as the coach of Örebro during the middle of the season, will be without a job. But there are offers. Certainly before all for Sundhage there is in the USA a signficantly larger coaching position than here at home.

"There is no concrete offer at this time. But there is clearly interest both from the National Team and a college club," said Sundhage.

Is there an offer from the U.S. National Team?

"That is nothing I can comment on just now."

Why do you hesitate about continuing in China?

"As they only act as a sports league we already have a challenge in that their ways are backwards in China. The kick, the experience and positive press for us and the team during the World Cup was unbelievablely heated. But in the middle of it I dealt with a health issue," said Sundhage who during her month in China had a big problem with the food – which as her luck allowed during the middle of the World Cup Finals she fell ill and got a ride in an ambulance to the hospital. After the first day with an IV she felt better.

What happened?

"There was a combination that I ate altogether a little of and it was bad food," said Sundhage.

The article then goes into Domanski Lyfors situation with not wanting to be way from her 17-year-old son for another year if she were to return to China.

It's for definate now, Ryan's contract will not be renewed

ussoccer.com:

CHICAGO (October 22, 2007) — U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati announced today that the contract of U.S. Women's National Team head coach Greg Ryan will not be renewed when it expires at the end of 2007, ending his nearly three-year tenure as the team’s head coach.

“At the conclusion of each world championship cycle, every national team's performance is closely analyzed,” said Gulati in making the announcement. “There are many factors considered in this analysis, and it certainly isn't just about one loss or one particular coaching decision. In this case, after looking closely at the last six weeks and the team's performance at the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, we have made a decision to change leadership of the U.S. Women’s National Team. I want to thank Greg Ryan and his staff for their work over the last two-plus years. We look forward to the continued development of our National Team as one of the best in the world.”

The decision was made after a review of the team's third-place finish at the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup in China. Ryan finishes his career with an official record of 45-1-9, after originally joining the team as head coach in January, 2005. Ryan also served as an assistant coach for the team in 2004.

The search will be led by a three-person committee made up of Gulati, U.S. Soccer Secretary General Dan Flynn and Hall of Fame Women’s National Team forward Mia Hamm. An announcement on the new coach is expected in the next 30 to 45 days.


I'm sure with this change the Hope problem will be resolved

Will be interesting to see who they decide to go with to take over the role. A little disappointing to see him go as that is an undeniably impressive record.

He lost it at the World Cup , Ryan had done nowt wrong up until that point. We need someone who will axe the likes of Lilly , Scurry and bring in new blood.

That would have to be one very brave person! Personally, I can't see Lilly getting axed could possibly see it for Scurry.

As much as I want to see bravery in the new coach , I think Lilly will stay on until the Olympics. Her reaction time was slower and the w/c and I think age is catching up with her , maybe now it would be time for her to play a bit part role.

Damfotboll.com is reporting that Pia Sundhage's interview for the U.S. National Team head coaching position over the weekend went well and that she should know in a week or two if she will get the job. (Swedish) A rough translation of the article follows. My notes are in italics.

Positive Vibe about Pia's Visit to the USA
The question of whether Pia Sundhage will be the USA's next head coach, we can have an answer for in the next 1-2 weeks. She has flown home after an interview with the selection committee in the U.S. over the weekend.

Pia is one of four candidates. The others are: Tony DiCicco, the former successful head coach with both World Cup and Olympic gold to his credit; Jill Ellis who worked with April Heinrichs (former coach before Greg Ryan) and formerly the head coach for the U-21 National Team. She is now a college coach. And Jerry Smith, the head coach for the U-23 National Team. (Note: The U.S. does not have a U-23 Women's National Team. Smith did coach the U-21s from 2000-2002.)

What does this say for you in this competition Pia?
"That the USA National Team is saying that they are moving to a new perspective of football. What is better than engaging one who has experience from three continents," thinks Pia.

In Swedish football she was a successful coach with an assignment as the women's video coach, likewise in the USA she was a coach for the pro league's Philadelphia Charge (Note: assistant coach) and Boston Breakers (Note: head coach), and also in China where she was an assistant coach for the National Team in the World Cup.

Over the weekend, you went over for an interview. Did you feel a positive vibe?
"Yes," laughed Pia, "I had traveled much but had a short time over there. The interview went well and I also had some good laughs with Mia Hamm as there was room and she was included in the selection committee."

damfotboll.com has a contact that believes that Pia is the American players' choice. But how far that reaches we may see in a week or two.

Thanks for that

Lets hope she gets it.