Bye Bai, Hello Meier

StarCityFan · May 9, 2003

Freedom give up on Bai for 2003, sign Jennifer Meier from FFC Frankfurt

DennisM · May 10, 2003

Smart pick by the Freedom. One of the best players left in Europe. Of course, soon the entire FFC Frankfurt team will also play in the WUSA.

StarCityFan · May 10, 2003

Originally posted by DennisM
Smart pick by the Freedom. One of the best players left in Europe. Of course, soon the entire FFC Frankfurt team will also play in the WUSA.
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And most of them for the Freedom, it looks like. Remember, Minnert will be arriving in June as well.

DennisM · May 10, 2003

Right.

FearM9 · May 17, 2003

From the latest Women's Soccer Insider newsletter:

2. MEIER FOR BAI: The Washington Freedom finally gave up on bringing
Bai Jie back this season and has reached an oral agreement with
German striker Jennifer Meier to replace the Chinese star.

Meier, 22, hasn't yet signed a contract nor gone through the visa
process, but Coach Jim Gabarra expects her be in a Freedom jersey by
mid-June.

"She's a goalscorer, and she kind of gives us a little of what Bai
Jie brought: quickness and the finishing touch up front," Gabarra
said. "Our hands were tied with the timing. We didn't have a lot of
options, and this one made some sense to us. We would have liked to
have Bai Jie here. It's been an unfortunate turn of circumstances."

Bai, who totaled 11 goals and eight assists in two seasons with
Washington, was barred in March from returning to the United States
by the Chinese army, which cited the war in Iraq in its ruling
affecting all military personnel.

Bai was to be in the option year of her WUSA contract, and Gabarra
said the Freedom would seek to extend that option until next year.

Meier has scored 10 Frauen-Bundesliga goals this season with FFC
Frankfurt and four more in UEFA Women's Cup group play. She helped
the German power to league, domestic cup and UEFA Women's Cup titles
last year, scoring 15 league goals and five in European play.

She has appeared seven times for the German national team but hasn't
seen action in more than a year.

Meier will be the third FFC Frankfurt player with Washington.
Midfielder Steffi Jones arrived last spring, and German national team
defender Sandra Minnert will join the squad in early June, following
the German Cup final.

Jones recommended Meier to Gabarra, who considered several other
European players. Meier's contract in Frankfurt expires this season,
and she was interested in coming to the WUSA, Jones informed Gabarra.

Meier, a finisher, offers far different qualities than did master
improviser Bai.

"I would say [Meier is] a lot more predictable," said Gabarra. "With
Bai Jie, the biggest thing was she was so unpredictable. She's fun to
watch and have on your team, and you never know what she'll pull out
of her bag of tricks. She's dangerous, quick and technically very
good.

"Meier is technically different. She'll work off the target player
rather than be someone unpredictable [who is] playing on her own,
like Bai Jie did."
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