That was the case with the 10 game post-Olympic tour. In fact, the contract required that only players from the Olympics could play (plus a third goalkeeper) - which explains why there was no player development and none of the other old-timers like Fair made the tour. Imagine a promoter selecting the roster for a Men's friendly. Definitely a dual-standard.
Interesting. You're right that there was a double standard in that situation. It definitely speaks to the decreased bargining power the women have vis-a-vis the men. Sachin
Doesn't this mean the matches are not full internaitonals? To be a full international, the squad must be selected by the nation's FA (the USSF in this case) not by a league or other entity.
No, most likely officially USSF selected the team. That they where influenced by the fact that if they selected players outside the Olympic team they wouldn’t get the sponsor money for the game do not effect the status as full internationals.
This seems like a rather stupid requirement doesn't it? If the sponsor believes that only the stars draw, when what is the difference if Chalupny or Pryce plays 30 minutes here or there? And if they believe the draw is the team, won't people come to see a team that plays Le Pielbet in the second half? I can see requiring that, say, at least three of the big five appear in each game, but why require that Hucles be there instead of someone else? Surely between Mia, Brandi, and Abby any "star-drawn" sales will take place...
I think the point of the FCT tour was celebrating the Olympic gold so I am sure they would want to keep as much as the squad together. Mac and maybe TR were at one of the games. Don't remember which but it was one of the first.
The olympic squad was the reason for the tour, they could fill in as needed, but that is why for several games they has only 3 subs available... that is why Barnhart had to get her first cap as a forward. I do think they lose quite a bit with Mia gone, simply because no papers want to run any stories on any other players...
I agree with Andy as well - the greatest ever billing is no contest. Akers walks away with it without any serious competition. To me, it is far from certain that "Overbeck is certainly the best defender we've ever seen." She had a teammate named Joy Fawcett who was as good a defender, as fast and far more versatile. All those years Overbeck played in the middle, she had Fawcett on the right back. All the years Fawcett anchored the middle on defense, she never had anyone at right back as good as Fawcett. Yet, the defense was nearly as good and in the middle it was as solid with Fawcett as anchor as when Overbeck played. In fact, given her sustained greatness, her versatility (remember her great runs up the field from the right back position?) and her play in big games (remember who took Akers' place at center midfield and settled the team for the second OT session? remember who scored the winning goal off a header against Germany in the '99 WWC quarters?), Fawcett might be a fair choice as the second greatest USA player ever.
2004 WNT Results/Lineups http://www.ussoccer.com/teams/teamhome_custom.sps?iType=266&icustompageid=9471 Olympic Team 10 - Kristin Luckenbill, Christie Rampone, Cat Reddick, Heather Mitts, Brandi Chastain, Kate Markgraf, Cindy Parlow, Abby Wambach 9 - Briana Scurry, Aly Wagner, Julie Foudy, Angela Hucles, Mia Hamm, Shannon Boxx, Kristine Lilly 1 - Lindsay Tarpley, Heather O'Reilly 0 - Joy Fawcett ---- Guest Players 3 - Tiffany Roberts 2 - Shannon MacMillan 1 - Nicole Barnhart ---- Roberts and MacMillan's games came in the first three games of the FCT. Barnhart was on the roster in KC (game 5) as the backup GK (Scurry was on the presidential campaign), but she played the field in Joy Fawcett's uniform after injuries and a short bench took their toll.
there was a friendly between Germany and Canada in Canada recently, why didn't they take a bus and playing the US in Boston or somewere close to Canada, is it because of no Mia Hamm that made USSF didn't even interested of inviting them ?
And I would add Carin Jennings Gabarra to that short list. In her prime, the best player on the field. Check the awards from the 91 WWC. Maybe not the high scorer, but maybe the best overall player.
Great player but how many butts is she gonna put in the seats. If the USSF had a choice, I think that they'd rather have a 38 year old Mia on the field with diminishing skills than a 23 y.o Heather O'Reilly killing opponents on the field.
I think Mia still had a couple of more years to go. She retired too early IMO. Now, if I only had a choice between Mia or O'Reilly, it depends on what team we're talking about. If it was the National World cup Team, I might choose O'Reilly because my object would solely be to win. If it was a WUSA pro team I may choose Mia, because winning would not be my only objective, paying the bills would be the other. Ryan's job as national coach is to win not put people in the stands. Although both would be good.
Yeah. Ryan's job is to win. Agreed. And Mia does still have some years to go but now I think her main goal is to make some little Omars and Mias. But we were discussing the "downside" to Mia no longer being on the team. There is less interest in the general public now. That will translate to sponsorship dollars. Having both would be great but it just ain't so. You always play to win. That's why Ryan sent Brandi off into sunset...