Her career trajectory shifted early in 2008, after Ryan’s contract was not renewed and Pia Sundhage became the United States coach. Sundhage made a simple calculation: nobody wins anything in soccer without a capable goalkeeper. And [Hope] Solo was ”” is ”” considered by many to be the best female keeper in the world.
“Whatever happened in 2007, I respectfully listened to the stories,” Sundhage said. “I asked them not to forget ”” because probably that’s impossible ”” but I wanted them to forgive going forward. This team is not about one player or an individual. It’s about the team.”
Read it all (my emphasis).
To the extent one can ever tell from the outside, I’ve been very impressed with the coaching skills behind this US Women’s Team. It extends beyond in-the-game tactics, but to an apparent deep insight into how the various team members work with each other in different situations. The Brazil and France games showed this very clearly.
Hope Solo played for a women’s pro soccer team here in St. Louis for a year and used to show up on morning sports talk radio shows all the time. Really engaging person. Once soccer’s over, I think she’d have a great career in the media if she wanted one.