I thought Lilly had a great game as usual. She has to be our most under appreciated player. She plays end to end and repeatedly turns defenses. I don't know why she has never gotten the ink that other veterans get. OTOH, it seemed that Julie Foudy was hiding all day. Am I missing something? Her lack of presence combined with only three midfielders put lots of pressure on the defense. Why did we play three in the midfield? IMWTK
I guess Foudy was kind of invisible. I gave my U11 girls an assignment to watch the game and take notes. Among the things they had to note was who started the game for the US. I was going over it with a friend a few hours after the game and remembered everyone except Julie. It took us a minute or two to remember who that other midfielder was.
I agree-- Lilly was just brilliant. Had a beautiful one-time strike on the goal. And she seemed to be always getting the ball and making herself a constant threat. She showed some great skill on the ball, I thought.
Foudy's productivity has been steadily diminishing since the last World Cup. However, April does not appear have the guts to take the P.R. flack she would get if she moved her down into a sub role.
There used to be a T-shirt that read, "Midfielder: One player making the other ten better." Christine Lilly is that midfielder. Much of what she contributes shows up in other places around the field. One of the downsides of watching soccer on TV (or on the American-sized "square screen" at least) is that is that we miss a lot of important off-the-ball action and runs. It may be a reason why she's not as well-known as she should be.
Having had the opportunity to watch a few WUSA games this season I have to say that Lilly is indeed just one of those players who gets overlooked. How is beyond me. She's so talented, so fast and always seems to be able to get the cross off even when you think she's got no angle. One of the USWNT players that really impressed me with her play. She's an awesome wing midfielder.
Kristine Lilly (with a K) is the epitome of a midfielder - and consistently the USWNT's best player. Foudy has her moments, but nothing like Lil.
Re: Re: Lilly vs. Foudy Lilly's cross on Wambach's goal against Nigeria was superb -- I was really surprised that she was able to get if off, as it seemed to me that the Nigerian back had closed her down. Then she just seemed to open up enough space for herself on the endline to send in a perfect ball.
I was at the game on Thursday and was on Lilly's side the first half. I have never in all my life seen anyone play a better game that Kristine Lilly. Her work rate was incredible: she seemed to be everywhere. While Wagner was literally invisible it seemed like there were three Lillys out there. It's the combination of: 1. A fierce desire to be the best 2. Utter fearlessness 3. Instinctive knowledge of what to do and where to be 4. An ESP-like chemistry with her teammates 5. Phenomenal fitness that allows 1-4 to happen (Hartwick, so much was missed on TV. For example, after Wambach scored, Hamm sprinted all the way from the top of the box and slid right to Lilly's feet as if in homage.) Foudy is still the leader out there. Her skills are still good, just not what they once were I think. However, her leadership was unmistakable. On several occasions when a Nigerian player was down, she would wave in all the US field players for a huddle.
I was at both the Sweden and Nigeria game. No question against Sweden Lilly was the best player out there. She was a bit off on thursday nite. A few bad touches, some give aways etc. Still a good game but not a great one. Foudy was more consistent, solid contributions but not spectacular.
Exactly. Foudy is to the USWNT what Didier Deschamps was to Les Bleus. In other words, someone whose physical attributes and ball skills aren't necessarily stellar or who has a prevalent influence on the run of play -- but whose leadership and inspiration on teammates is obvious and invaluable.