Best news I've heard all day. so do we read into it that Lilly's been dropped or asked to be left out. I'm hoping it's the latter. As for Lopez , I've never liked her style of play , she's seems a tad to slow and didn't make that much of an impact in the w/c , I'm still baffled as to why she started over Ellerton in Brazil game.

So Phil Wheddon has be given his job back then didn't deserve to lose it in my opinion for just saying how he felt.

Why Is Scurry still there , she's to slow now for the game , come on Pia drop her.


I'm shocked that Ellerton is dropped , she's a good quick defender. I hope that's just to see what the younger ones can do.

I agree with you on Lopez, I wouldn't be heart broken if she was dropped. But she is getting married in early December, so she may not have actually been dropped.

Ellerton is extremely fast and people on the team say that she is the best one on one defender on the team. But fans also call her "a failed experiment." I haven't watched her enough, but I suspect like Aluko, she may have mad pace, but poor soccer skills. Sundhage has shown with her extra college player selections that she is all about implementing possession football and maybe Ellerton just doesn't live up to that. Whitehill, Rampone and Markgraf are all solid passers and good at backing each other up and remaining a cohesive unit. Lopez was called up after Mitts injured her ACL and Mitts is now back, and the four are a pretty solid unit. They may lack speed, but their ability to work together should make up for this.

I'm pretty disappointed about the goalie thing to, Scurry needs to be dropped. But I also heard that the next logical replacement, some college player, is currently injured. Also the college finals are still going on, so some players may not have made themselves available.

As for the coaches, they are staying on during camp to help out, but Sundhage will probably bring in some of her own people. I believe she has a Swedish goalie coach in mind.

The "too tired" excuse about Lilly was given by the USWNT PR guy to fairgame magazine. It's a horrible excuse considering several people on the team were injured during and post WWC and all of them are showing up. Something is definitely up. If Sundhage actually dropped her, the PR people probably would have wanted her to announce her retirement before camp to make it look all pretty. Maybe Pia told her she was welcome, but that she wouldn't be captain and would only be a bit player. That's a big insult in USWNT land, which probably is making her seriously think about retirment. But then you've got the USWNT PR machine (which is considered evil by some) who probably really wants her to stick around and sell more jerseys so they're kissing her ass behind the scenes.

Total speculation, but no one else would get away with just not showing up to camp, so something is definitely up I think on both sides of the aisle.

I think Mitts not being at the w/c definitely cost the US , it was a cruel blow for her , but I would take Ellerton over Lopez any day. But the entire defence wasn't sure in the s/f v Brazil due to the goalie choice.

There was a big thing about Ashlyn Harris once upon a time , people were building her up to be the next big thing. I think she's been hampered by a lot of injuries in her short career so far. But I'm hoping she can find form again and oust the ' over the hill Scurry '. I'm hoping Pia will look to take the team forward and not back like Ryan.

It's gonna be interesting to see how Abby's style of play changes as I'm presuming that the long ball forward will be dropped.

The Lilly aspect is interesting, I just wish the PR people would back off and let everyone know the truth. I personally would like to see her dropped but not off the team altogether , maybe brought on as a sub. It's now time she handed over to the next generation.

Ashyln Harris I think you're right there. The problem with goalie is that they take ages to develop because it's so psychological so I think Pia might be a little trapped here. Since we still lack a league, we lack options for people who have appropriate experience. They could still experiment with Barnhart a lot during the Algrave.

With the defense they seemed to have it split into the experienced unit and the future, the maybe's (which would probably include Lopez since Mitts is back) may have just been cut. Pia seemed to do this with the midfielders.

Hopefully, Pia will treat Wambach like the incredibly great option that she is rather than the center of the team. This is where Lilly would have fit in nicely, because she's good at the cross, but they'll just have to develop Tarpley and maybe start using Wagner again. There is also Lloyd who looked awful in the WWC because of the style they were playing, but if you give her a team that can play possesion ball she can do impressive things. Both her and Chalupny have great kicking ability out of the midfield, if I was Sundhage I would make them practice accuracy constantly. Then you have O'Reily up front who doesn't have international pace, but infront of the net she has amazing poise. I've seen her on numerous occasions make split second decisions to take shots that go around the goalie rather than freak out and just take a quick shot. Then you've got Kai with pace and an energy that always seems to make positive things happen, not really using her is another reason Ryan is a moron. Then of course you have all the defensive midfielders and the newbies. How Sundhage will organize this will be fascinating.

Aaron Heistfz (sp?) is the head PR guy. It's how this guy operates. I have never heard a nice word spoken about the man from the fans. But the man must be an incredible leach, because a lot of people got the ax with Ryan, including the security guy, yet he manages to hang on. It's weird, I know.

I think we all know who should of got the sack as well , you need someone with brains to run a PR machine.

I agree with everything you said there. I was completely baffled as to why Kai was never given a chance in the w/c. Like you said she can make things happen and her pace is unreal. Solo has said before that Kai has a crazy power in her shot and you never know what she can do. I think Tarpley should be used more , we never get to see what she can really do as it's all centered round Wambach.

I would like to see more of Lloyd and Chalupny shooting from distance , both of them have scored some great goals this year , but Lloyd is probably gonna be one of the future player's if Pia goes with Wagner and Boxx.

It's certainly gonna be an exciting time next year and I for one can't wait for the Four Nations tournament to see what she does for the team. One thing for sure is that Hope Solo will have her job back.

Aaron Heistfz (sp?) is the only person, who the fans talked about desperately wanting to be fired that didn't get fired. But considering he's the head of PR and therefor probably handled a lot of the complaints I don't find this shocking. But, yeah he definitely needs the sack.

Another weird thing about Ryan is that he played Tarpley constantly pre-WWC, she did very well, and then he didn't play her basically at all during the WWC, what a weirdo. She's a very smart player, I could definitely see her sliping into a similar role as Lilly and being of the same quality with more experience.

I totally agree Solo's gonna be back. Like I said before Wheddon was apparently very against the goalie change based on each players current quality, I've gotten the impression Pia's not an idiot and wants to move past the personal issues, and if all that's true Bri will be back as back up, or even possibly back up to a Barnhart back up.

The New Year will be fun.

I would like to see Barnhart as back up , she deserves her shot as number two. Scurry's time has been and gone.

Your dead right , the New Year is gonna be fun

Very interesting
From fairgame:


I had a chance to speak with new U.S. Women’s National Team head coach, Pia Sundhage, between matches at the semis of the 2007 NCAA Women’s College Cup last night. I found her to be a warm and candid interview. She hedged on a few things, mostly regarding details of how her coaching staff is shaping up, but was generally forthcoming. I’ll post the interview in Q&A format next week after I get back from College Station, but here are a few tidbits to chew on until then.

As to the mini-camp roster and the World Cup players that aren’t on it:

Stephanie Lopez is getting married next week. (As a side note, Lindsay Tarpley is also getting married next week, but will participate in some of the camp.)

Angela Hucles is on a humanitarian aid trip in Africa and will miss the mini-camp with Pia’s blessing.

Pia joked that Kristine Lilly was old and needed the extra rest. She expects her in the January camp regardless of her plans for 2008. She “absolutely” wants Lilly on this team.

Marci Jobson has taken the head-coaching job at Baylor University and has officially retired. I am scheduled to talk with her later today.

Tina Ellerston is expecting her second child. She has not retired and will attempt to come back after her child is born.

Sundhage indicated that we could see a few personnel changes from the Word Cup roster, but that there is not time for a complete overhaul.

Her perspective on the team’s play in the World Cup was that the attack was too direct and one-dimensional. She said there was discussion amongst the international coaches that shutting down Wambach would neutralize the U.S..

Greg Ryan has been very helpful in the transition and has provided insight into the player’s she has inherited. She is getting input from others more familiar with the college ranks and youth players as to who deserves a look.

Is it a good time for marriage or something?

Yes. They weren't suppose to be in camp until January. They spend most of the year in camp (in LA were most of them are only temporary residents) or at tournaments so they have to plan the rest of their lives around their soccer schedules. I think both have been engaged for awhile.

You beat me to it putting that up

So Lilly will we be back then as captain I suppose I really feel for Hope , just hope Pia has her own mind and wont listen to certain people.

First, I still think Lil is seriously thinking about retiring, but they are leaving the door wide open for her to return if she has a change of heart over the holidays. I think they may feel that she's still persuadable and they will use the camp in January into persuading her to commit, while she will use it to determine if she still has the desire -notice through all of this that their has been no definitive answer from Lilly herself, just the people associated with the program saying they want her back.

It is also possible that Pia wants Lil as a role player rather than a starter, like I think you've mentioned before, but Lilly may want all or nothing. Pia said she wants her back, but she wasn't specific about her role, she may just want her more as a teacher.

I say this because I still think her excuse is weird, especially compared to everyone elses, and considering that everyone injured during the WWC (Rampone and Markgraf also older players) are back and we all knew before the WWC that she was considering retiring. If she was definitely back on the squad they would be shouting it from the mountain tops now.

Also they will have to replace at least one defender (for Ellerston) and one middie (for Jobson) and possibly two because I could see Hucles still being dropped and even Lopez if Pia is impressed by some of the kids at the camp. Plus, the USC goalie who just won the NCAA championship with her team, who is apparently very, very good, will now be available for call up for the Jan camp if seen necessary by Pia. I know she's not going to shake it up too much, but most of these moves would affect the future rather than the present.

A new interesting article out of camp:


The U.S. women's national team is in soccer rehab.

Its collective addiction: a one-dimensional attack that relied on athleticism rather than ball possession and a penchant for playing at one speed rather than dictating tempo.



The cure: Swede Pia Sundhage, the first foreign coach in team history, who is leading her initial therapy session - make that camp - at Home Depot Center.

"The team needs change, otherwise I wouldn't be here," she said Monday. "It will be a change because I am not American."

Still, Sundhage is not unfamiliar with American soccer.

She served as a scout for the U.S. during the 2004 Olympics.

In 2003, she led the WUSA's Boston Breakers - a team that had missed the playoffs during its first two years - to the best regular-season record in the league.

And she played against the U.S. numerous times during a national team career that saw her score 71 goals in 146 games between 1975 and 1996.

Not surprisingly, with a playing record like that, Sundhage preaches a European-style "total football" approach, where Greg Ryan, her predecessor as U.S. coach, emphasized defense first .

"She's making everybody defend and everybody do the offensive side," said midfielder Shannon Boxx, the former South Torrance High star. "Greg was very much on the defensive side and Pia is very much on the offensive side."

Presumably, that will eliminate the reliance on low-percentage long balls out of the back and then hoping goal-scoring machine Abby Wambach can get on the end of them.

Finesse and tactical awareness will replace brute strength and strategic naivete.

And players will be asked to do more, rather than simply fill a niche and perform a specialized role.

Wambach, who boasts 86 goals in 105 games but was looking increasingly isolated and frustrated in attack toward the end of Ryan's reign, is looking forward to a more balanced approach.

"It brings the fun back into it for me," she said. "I do think there's going to be more responsibilities for the entire team. It's not going to be me and (veteran striker) Kristine (Lilly) responsible for winning games."

The F-word - fun - is something that was lost somewhere along the way under Ryan.

As hard as it is to recall now, this is a U.S. team that went into the World Cup unbeaten for three years under Ryan (the only loss came on penalty kicks, although it's in the record books as a tie).

Ryan's .900 winning percentage is the best among the six coaches the U.S. has had.

And the U.S. lost just one game last year.

But it was the manner of that demoralizing 4-0 loss to Brazil in the World Cup semifinal that stung.

More than just a humiliating shutout, the result served as repudiation of an American style that had outlived its usefulness. The rest of the world had caught up.

"The World Cup exploited our weaknesses," said Kate Markgraf, who played for Sundhage in Boston. "Brazil tore us apart."

It did, both tactically and emotionally, as the incendiary post-World Cup outburst of goalkeeper Hope Solo and the team's reaction to that illustrated.

"We were just trying to do the best we could, but we didn't know how to solve defenses and formations other teams were throwing at us," Wambach said.

If Ryan eventually proved out of his league, Sundhage is among the most sophisticated practitioners of the women's game.

But with a short-term contract, two overseas tournaments plus Olympic qualifying in the first four months of 2008, she doesn't have time to waste.

Yet this is no intervention, with her charges being dragged kicking and screaming into rehab.

"They really want to change," Sundhage said. "This will be fun."

"It could be," Markgraf added, "the best thing that ever happened

I'm beginning to now feel that with this new positive approach from Pia bringing back Lilly will be a foot in the past. I think a fresh start is needed and she now should call it a day , that goes for Scurry as well. If you look at the entire squad they are both the slowest player's. But I've just got this feeling that Lilly is gonna hold on for the Olympics , and this would be a mistake. But we're have to wait and see.

I know the USC goalie your talking about but I can't remember her name , there is certainly a buzz going round about her. The loss of Jobson wont effect the team that much if at all , the same with Hucles. Rodriguez I think it is has been getting some good reviews and she's been called into camp. Defence is going to be the weak link for the U.S , can't see where the next good set of player's are gonna come from. Lopez for me is just not good enough for a starting berth.

That was a good article. I will be interesting to see the U.S playing a more European style , you could see the frustration on the striker's faces as they couldn't get anywhere near the ball.

Kristin Olsen- USC gk Had to look it up, I really don't follow the college game.


-Elisabeth Leidinge has turned down Sundhage's offer to be the U.S. goalkeeper coach. Leidinge said the time just wasn't right as she already has commitments in her native Sweden.
As for the defenders, fortunately after the Olympics they have a long time to rebuild. And some people may emerge from the league.

Also a nice comment from Markgraf:

"She emphasizes making the right decision," Kate Markgraf said of Sundhage. "That's what soccer is all about." The central defender also admitted that the team's PR image has taken a hit. "I'm just happy people are still watching us and hopefully we can win them back," she told Green.

I'm glad that the PR team took a hit and hopefully it hurt them. I don't think people were gonna desert the team. I can only speak for myself I found them wanting in that w/c , not the team I'm used to watching , there was no fighting spirit which shocked me. But a lot of it was down to tactics and team selection , I was appalled at some of it , especially the tactics in the Nigeria game. But I'm really looking forward to the new era

Is Pia looking to try and get a all Swedish backroom staff I wonder!

Doubt it, but I think she like Marika Domanski-Lyfors and Sven-Göran Eriksson want to have one or two other swedes on her staff.

I was just surprised by her wanting a new goalkeeping coach. I thought Phil Wheddon did a great job.

It probably had nothing to do with him. Elisabeth Leidinge was the Swedish WNT keeper during almost all of Pia's playing career in it (20 years Pia from75 to 96, Elisabeth from 74 to 95) and have been a goalkeeping coach since. I think Pia just feelt she would be more comfortable with her.

Oh right , understandable I suppose.

Agree with janbalk. I believe she has other Swedes signed up, but I don't remember who they are or know anything about them, but all are people she's worked with in the past. The USWNT is clearly open to change right now. Now that she's worked with Wheddon during the mini-camp, and Leidinge turned her down, he may get the call back since he's certainly qualified and familiar with the team. If not he should volunteer to be gk coach for the Argentines, because I believe they have already qualified for the Olympics.