I didn't see anything that looked remotely like that. And I watched the whole game. I think you might be overreacting.
I have also noticed that Wambach has turned into a dirty player, and it's kind of disturbing. The way she gets away with it is that every time she cynically scythes someone down with a dirty tackle from behind, she immediately raises her arms as if to say "Oops, my bad!". So the ref never gives her a card, and she's free to continue the cycle of violence. Earlier this season I thought she should have been sent off for a retaliatory tackle from behind on Marta. The two were tussling for a ball, Marta won possession, Abby ended up on the ground. Ref could have called a foul on Marta (maybe should have), but Wambach took matters into her own hands and got her revenge the old-fashioned way, with a reckless tackle from behind that could have ended Marta's career. But no card was given because Wambach did the "my bad" hand gesture. I wonder if she was always like this, but we never noticed or cared because she was playing for our team (USWNT) against the enemy?
Not only that but she flops at the first sign of a slight breeze. She sure gets knocked over easily for such a big guy.
Wambach is a dirty player????? Are you serious???? Give me 11 of her!! The hardest working player in the league!!
She slide tackles people cleats up way after the ball has been stripped from her. She has flopped on the ground at the lightest touch for as long as I've watched her play. I even remember a USWNT game in Louisville in 2004 against Japan just before the Olympics. I was sitting behind the USWNT bench and Abby was falling on the ground so much I yelled out to her to get up off the ground. Some of the players on the bench turned around and laughed. I like when she plays for our USWNT and she is a great player. no doubt. I just feel she gets reckless at times.
Unfortunately Wambach's pretty much the Didier Drogba of the women's game, she goes down far too easy for how big and strong she is. There's no amount of defender's she can't fight off if she's got Mykland (sp?) open, but if not she'll just go to ground. I understand the whole not wanting to get the crap kicked out of you all the time, but what annoys the bejesus out of me is she'll dish it out all day and act like it's a big deal if people dish it back. The only reason I can stand her is she's good and happens to be on my national team, which I even find myself lame for having that attitude. Didn't last game Wambach just kind of take Engen out, like she was completely sprawled out on the pitch after Wambach shoved her down. And Engen never goes down, like ever, because she keeps her feet so well, right? Maybe I'm just fabricating a memory in my mind, or seeing Engen through rose tinted glasses. Anyway, Wambach likes to bull through a China shop a lot, and it's getting old because she's good enough not to have to pull that crap at all.
The top 6 in fouls all come from Chicago and Philly. You want to look at a team that is coached to foul look at Philly. There style is terrible. AW is tied for 7th. As much as players ride her like a horse I am surprised she hasn't put them in the stands.
Abby's flopping and ref-baiting goes back to WUSA days where she was paired up with Mia. The dangerous/reckless stuff seems to have been her own development over the past 2-3 years.
To be fair, that was not exactly her intent. The thing is, off the field, Wambach is one of the nicest players you'll ever meet - always ready to sign an autograph or talk to the kids, etc. On the field, sadly, she's reckless, cynical and a diver to be sure - but not an intentional thug. That's cold comfort for Daniela, I know. Still, until it becomes politically possible for US refs to stop letting Wambach play by her own personal set of rules, she'll keep going back to hack/dive well because THAT'S WHAT WORKS. It's nothing a few red cards won't cure in a hurry but American refs don't want to card her because she's a big star for our Nats and (presumably) a big draw for WPS. Also, we USWNT fans should be careful what we ask for because if our refs start call games fairly, international refs will feel they can do the same and that would hurt Wambach and, by extension, the USWNT.
Great post and spot on. And this wll be considered heresy, but she learned from the best ever by playing beside Mia Hamm. She got away with murder on the international level and especially in WUSA. The difference is that Abby is much more powerful physically and it stands out a lot more when contact with an opponent who is 5"3" causes Abby to fly through the air and go to ground.
And refs dont' call the hacking fouls that happen all the time to Abby. She gets hit/pushed/kicked a lot and refs don't blow the whistle b/c she's strong & big. Just b/c she's bigger does not give players carte blanche to hold/kick/push/elbow her. If refs called a cleaner game on the defense on Abby, then she'd be less likely to force them to make a call by falling when she's hit.
Sorry, I've seen her play and I don't buy this, especially with regards to WPS, which understandably wants to highlight and protect their investment. She ain't no poor shrinking violet on the field. The real shame, of course, is that when she actually plays the game instead of hacking and diving, it's obvious that she would be excellent without resorting to such nonsense. In fact, like a lot of otherwise talented players who go the easy way of falling over or just recklessly barging into other players, she'd actually be a BETTER player if she didn't go for the low hanging fruit as much as she does.
Rat you need to really watch the games and forget about the refs but hey you like the red stars. I guess you have to find some excuse why they lose all the time.