All of Wambach's teams at least finished in 3rd place. The semi-final losses in '03 and '07 were team losses. Had Hamm converted the breakaway in '03 in the 29th minute off Wambach's feed, then maybe '03 would have been different. '07 produced a fiasco in goal that was certainly not of Wambach's doing. She scored the go-ahead goal in extra time in the '11 final, a game that the USA would have won had Sauerbrunn started on defense, which was a coaching decision. Results are fair to consider but in this case the analysis produces an unduly harsh set of conclusions. Morgan has zero WWC wins without Wambach, Lloyd and Brian. Hamm has zero WWC wins without Akers (actually, until '15, every American had zero WWC wins without Akers). The sample size is too small to make those kinds of conclusions.
That was always my question, why didn't Pia use Sauerbrunn to start? Even in 2012 she was just a sub. She is probably one of the best USWNT defenders I've seen.
The team I picked was designed to be IMO the Best XI in US history not reflect the career statistics or service of the players involved.
Plus Lily and Sauerbrunn. Which makes me wonder why didn't Sauerbrunn start in most of the 2011 campaign.
Smallchief reserved judgment on Sauerbrunn and only mentioned Lloyd and Akers as locks. And someone else left out Lloyd.
So you take Markgraf over Sauerbrunn, Rampone over Whitehill and Foudy over Rapino, compared with mine. I tended to go with Sauerbrunn because of consistency and rising to the occasion in big games. Rampone is probably out of position compared with Whitehill and I think Cat gives more on offense, possession and transition. I know Foudy is a veteran with a long history with the team but in a big game I like Rapinoe's track record. Plus, she's left-footed. But, these are close choices and [I almost hesitate to say it here] reasonable minds can disagree.
By the way, though my ground rules were that Brian and Johnston are ineligible, if they were eligible, I think a formidable team would be: Scurry Fawcett Johnston Overbeck Sauerbrunn (left-footed, she could play outside back) Lilly Brian Rapinoe Akers Lloyd Hamm Can you imagine the wrecking machine that Lloyd of now would be with Akers serving her passes on attacks started either by Brian breaking up a play in midfield and turning possession around or Johnston doing the same on the back line and finding the right lead delivery?
Interesting list of players who received no mention on anyone's list: Defenders: Krieger, LePelbett (I never spell her name right) and Linda Hamilton Midfielders: Heath, Holiday, Shannon "the Cannon" MacMillan, Lindsay Tarpley (she was named to the '11 team but was injured), Shannon Higgins (assisted on first goal and sent the pass that Akers stole for the second goal in the '91 final), Heather O'Reilly Strikers: April Heinrichs, Cindy Parlow
A lot of these players would be no-brainers if they played for another country. That doesn't mean they're not as good as the common choices.
Markgraf rose to the occasion many times in her career. And while the DoD is much talked about (and deservedly so), the best defensive performance the US ever had was the gold medal match in Beijing. Put the DoD against that Brazil team and I think Brazil scores at least once. Offensively, Whitehill is better. Transition is equal between them, with Rampone's speed giving her an edge on defending a counter. Possession, Rampone wins by a country mile. It's not a coincidence that Whitehill began to fall out of favor when the US started moving away from 90 minutes of kick and chase. It depends on what you want for a big game. Do you want a player who has delivered in some big games but has also disappeared in other big games, or do you want a player that may not deliver a big moment but is less likely to disappoint? Since I already have two big game mids in Akers and Lloyd, I prefer the steady presence of Foudy over Rapinoe's occasional disappearing act. 99% of the discussion would be gone if we all agreed on everything. I'm always up for a healthy debate as long as it doesn't devolve into "Yo mama!" status.
Back in the day my absolute fav player was Tiffeny Milbrett. Would have loved to have included her but alas.
.................Morgan.....Akers Lilly.......................................................Hamm ...................Lloyd ............................................Boxx Klingenberg - Overbeck (Captain) - Sauerbrunn - Fawcett ....................................Solo This is the team with the most dynamic talent IMO (with the exception of Overbeck who makes the cut based on leadership ability) The USWNT really hasn't had a legendary left back yet. If given the choice of the entire historical player pool, I would be tempted to move Lilly there. I think that she is one of those players that could have played just about any position and been successful. I would then start Rapinoe at left wing.
Holy Moly, can you imagine an in their prime angry Akers and a P.O.'d Lloyd on the pitch at the same time.
You'd have to play Akers at d-mid and Lloyd at forward or they'd injure each other going for the same ball all the time.
I guess "legendary" wasn't the correct word. Chastain is legendary based upon circumstances. IMO she was the least talented of the 99er starters. I guess a better way of phrasing it would be "supremely talented in relation to her peers." I don't think that we have had a left back that fits that description (at least over the course of a career). Just about every other position, you could make a case that there is an American woman who is a top three player all time at that position.
I give Chastain tremendous credit for stepping up in a moment with a large amount of pressure on her shoulders and delivering big time. However I don't let that moment blind me to the fact that she was fairly mediocre for most of her career, and she stayed long past her sell-by date.