Well it's not like she has to give up the game. She has the league which is mostly over night trips and practices close to home. She doesnt have to be away from her family for two week training camps and a month over seas for a big tournament. She has 4 Olympic Medals and a WWC. She has two small children who have more frequent flier mileage than business man. I can just see her wanting a normal life and leaving the team on her own terms.
I actually looked it up and this is what I found: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/worldcup/2011-07-16-rachel-buehler-usa-japan_n.htm
WTF?? Are you a mind reader? You are saying that you can see what she wants? Her comments in video interviews directly contradict what you think she wants.
Wow, first I've heard of that. I have heard other players say Wambach is the unofficial co-captain. I would think Boxx would stand well ahead of Buehler but that is interesting and Pia did love Buehler.
When you're up against a Paul Riley coached team, you're trying to contain Vero Boquete, and you still have DiMartino and Farrelly to contend with in midfield, and Buczkowsi getting Philly started from the DM position, what'cha gonna do? Someone's going to get chances. Best thing is hope A-Rod is A-Rod and puts them in the parking lot instead of the back of the net. And as someone said above. Engen's pretty fast. Not Rampone fast but she's fast. She was originally a forward at North Carolina. She's probably the fastest central D the US has in the pool besides Rampone.
Yes...I read minds and guess weight. Rampone has said a lot of contradictory stuff on this subject. She was planning to retire after the Olympics and USSoccer asked her to play another year which she agreed to do. That is also directly from her mouth. U hear these kind of things a lot. Sonia Bompastor weighed in on her own status at the end of last year (I think she's 33). She said she doesnt want to be doing this forever and wants to start a family. It doesnt always involve deteriorating skills. Sometimes it's just about life. Now maybe Rampone really likes what Sermanni is doing with the team and it inspires her to help bring back the world cup. Or...maybe she has made it clear to Sermanni, who she has played for before, that she wont be playing beyond this year and that's why we're seeing some serious time being given to younger CBs.
Sermanni was guilty of the same thing during the last WC. He kept Unzular in the lineup even after she was directly responsible for the goals given up against Norway and Equitorial Guinea. It's entirely possible that he would have stuck with LePeilbet as well were he the US coach then.
A-Rod carried that team in scoring the 2nd season with 12 goals, didn't have a good 3rd season because of NT commitments like a lot of players and Pia playing with her position. I highly doubt Lines was saying, stop everyone else because they are GREAT scorers but let A-Rod play freely. She torched that backline with Engen as captain but didn't put at least 1 away, which she was able to do under Riley. See Washington in double over-time the previous season and many games under Riley. Engen is ok as a reserve, but I wouldnt have her as a starter this year. Press is the only one out the new group, who upgrades the starting 11 considerably.
I was hyperbolizing. But A-Rod is A-Rod, and even under Riley she could be as wild as a March hare. With Coach Riley and the midfields he put together, there were always going to be lots of chances. (In that infamous interview where Riley accused Sundhage of destroying A-Rod's confidence, he said he wanted A-Rod putting some shots in the parking lot because that was all part and parcel of her game. It's what you get when you pay for A-Rod. So it wasn't like she was this sharpshooter for Riley that she never was anywhere else.) This came about because of Engen. Engen is fast for a central D. Period. Okay? A-Rod torching the WNY backline doesn't disprove that. They had a lot of things to contend with besides A-Rod and her speed. They can't simply sit back when it looks like Vero's getting the ball in midfield because Vero will turn it towards the area in a hurry and she'll get it to someone running with her. ** Do I have Engen pencilled in as a starter? Of course not. That's not the damn issue. It's 2-1/2 years before the World Cup. The damn issue is it would be irresponsible of Sermanni to not start giving serious playing time to Engen and a few others and see who could potentially start for the US. Rampone's amazing but she's going to be what, almost 45 by the next World Cup? Or was it 50? How old was Lilly again in her last World Cup?
8m made a post about Abby's game with Morgan as a running mate for a full year, which A-Rod never had. Abby went from 8-16 goals to 26-28 in 2012. So, before Morgan, Abby wasn't putting all of them in the back of the net. A-Rod is as much a mid-fielder as Erika was a backline defender. Pia got away with the GREATEST wealth of talent and fitness in the world of women's soccer. All she had to do was sing a song before a game to get them going, but probably wasn't much better than Lima when it came to coaching.' We'll see what she doesn't long term with Sweden Hence, A-Rod's NT failure = Pia I read where Sermanni said A-Rod was a forward, probably has a bit of Riley in him. Oh, and A-Rod was quite deadly against japan, had issues with bigger teams because of her stature. I always thought she was a situational forward, depending on the defensive lineup
The next thing I want to see from Engen is her paired with Rampone then I'll get a better idea where she is.
...and ten of the goal difference was that Morgan handed her 10 assists and actually scored, which meant teams couldn't double Abby. AROD has given Abby TWO assists in her career - none since 2008.
Abby slows the game, which makes it easier to deal with a small forward like A-Rod. What happens if A-Rod runs a full season with Morgan? Morgan is the key here, not Abby. A-Rod failure = Pia. Capless Press = Pia Dysfunctional backline minus Rampone = Pia Horrible possession mid-field = Pia 2 Olympic Golds = Singing a song to the most talented roster in the world and a lot of bad calls in the Japan game . Be gone, Pia.
Your talking about within the course of the same tournament? I wouldn't bench someone that quickly. Lepelbeit played poorly for games over the course of an entire year and inexplicably still made the Olympic team. Christen Press played outrageously good soccer for that same time period but, inexplicably, didn't get a shot.
a very curious view considering you are talking about the World player of the Year, and doesn't square with the view that AROD's speed is an asset to the team. Well, for one thing, you lose the 28 goals scored by the World Player of the Year and trade it for a player who's demonstrated skill is American Football field goals. See a pattern?
I doubt most of your conclusions. There's no evidence that A-Rod could ever be as prolific with Abby as Baby Horse has and no evidence that Abby could benefit as much from A-Rod. Even in these few games with Press, see how well Baby Horse has provided Press with opportunities. Like cliveworshipper points out, A-Rod only has two assists to Abby. And it's not like A-Rod constantly provided anyone else. Look, I like A-Rod a lot. And I'm saying that as a UCLA guy who saw her play for USC. I think she's a unique player, a player with her own personality of play. Very individual player. You can block out her face, watch her play and know it's her from her way of movement. I love that. But A-Rod's national team failure shortcomings (failure is your word not mine) is not on Pia. Without Pia, A-Rod doesn't have much success at all on the team. Riley said what he said for his own reasons and for the sake of her play for Philly. A-Rod has some limitations when it comes to the very highest levels of the game. And number one is she's wild as a March hare when it comes to shooting. Pia did NOT inherit the greatest wealth of talent when it came to forwards. Abby is great and unique, but her production seemed in danger of slipping because of ,a ) the lack of anyone as good as Baby Horse around her, b) the lack of a great creative force in midfield (still a question mark, right?), and c) lack of great free-kick service from corner kicks and closer to the box (Whitehill was great as far as long-range service but as an example, I will say with a great deal of certainty that UCLA's Lauren Barnes could give 50% to 100% better service from corner kicks and similar free kicks than anyone that's been a regular on the national team since at least 2007. How do I know? Cheney takes a lot of corner kicks for the US now. She NEVER took CKs for UCLA. Barnes was so much better. And it's not like Cheney is or was a great header of the ball either, so putting her in the box wasn't the reason) Look, newsouth, for once you're right about one thing, so why mess up now? Christen Press is really damn good. Christen Press and Alex Morgan are both much better than anyone else Pia inherited besides Abby when it came to the forward position. Cheney was the next closest thing to come along while Pia was there but for some reason Cheney, while still being an intriguing talent, hasn't been a force as a forward for the US. For one thing, I have no idea why she can't seem to put shots on frame with the consistency she did for UCLA. And I think that's true for her WPS career as well. But either Press or Morgan >> any forward not named Abby for the US in 2007 to 2010.
yes, she's very quick, changes direction very well and has great hops. She's a great athlete thru and thru