If you saw the end of the US vs Nigeria; Amy elbowed a Nigerian player. In the video, it is apparent that her elbows go down, and into the players head, before she jumps. Did you all think this was intentional? If so, do you think FIFA will look at the tape and suspend Wambach? This is just my opinion, but I would have been less inclined to think it was intentional, if she haad jumped, and then gotten her elbows up in the process. I teach my players to get their arms up to protect themselves, and create space when heading. I know that if you wanted to get an advantage, then give the defender a nudge, by backing into them, just before jumping. The last part I don't tell my younger players.
There won't be any suspension. Everything is set up for the US to do well in this Women's World Cup. FIFA would face an economic disaster if the US didn't make it to the final. Wambach should have at least been yellow carded but we all know the US will be getting every break in this tourney (just look at that ridiculous penalty awarded early in the game).
The forearm up protects her space. She through her elbow back it was intentional. Will she get called on it later? Probably.
geting every break? what are you talking about? we oculd have beaten Nigeria with Barney Fife and Klem Kaddiddlehoper on the field! stop whining.
Abby had her arms up to protect herself and take up space. Had the Nigerian not jumped and charged into Abby's back on that ball she would not have sustained that cut. The Nigerians got as good as they gave. As one poster said earlier, "Wait until they get a load of Abby." I think the Nigerians now know that Abby is no blocking dummy or punching bag. Hopefully the rest of the tournament field got the message, too. This could be the best thing that could have happened for Abby in the long. No suspension, but the refs will watch her closely. BTW Merengue , the hits that Parlow took at the sixth minute were vicious and inside the penalty box. Given the fact that the Nigerians gave teh Americans a bloodbath in '99, what was the referee supposed to do? The Nigerians reputation certainly did nothing to help them hide their actions. If you are going whack someone do it OUTSIDE the box. The referee made the correct call in both cases.
I felt the referee called a decent game. But I also felt there should have been more cards given out. The hack against Sobrero - shame on Sobrero for holding the ball that long, the assault on Mia at the end, Wambach's killer elbow... The ref had plenty of opportunities to issue yellows for persistent infringement against both teams. Too bad the Nigerian squad lacks the skills to compete. They're definitely fast and fearless, but they couldn't keep their own balls in play half the night.
I really like her as a player because she plays like a guy would play. I think she may even have a mean strick in her. I would have liked to hear her conversation with those other girls while the medical trainer worked on the Nigerian. She has to be a intimidating presence out there for the opponent to contend with. ------------------------------ But that Hamm is from another planet. Technically very good, can put the ball where ever she wants to put it on corners. She has an iron will to do what has to be done. She is a winner and a team leader. Very good passer and finisher. She takes a beating in games and just keeps comming. Runs the whole game and she looks like she has not done any running at all. She is fit and a half that girl. I am not really into the womens game, but you have to admire her. Richie
Will Abby be suspended insert eyeroll here Please. Watch the tape. Was it a foul? With a wistle happy ref (see 1st half Brazil-Norway) yes. Was it a card? No. Given the nature of the game last night, it definitely was't a card and other hits of similar violence weren't fouls. Abby didn't throw a chicken wing out. The elbow is actually fairly close to her body and it doesn't really swing out. The motion of the elbow was consistent with that of jumping (she skied pretty high, btw)Both players were jumping but the Nigerian jumped more in toward Abby. The Nigerian wasn't trying to head the ball she was trying to prevent Abby from making a play. Had she jumped straight up and tried to head the ball, the elbow wouldn't have been even with her face. They would have smacked noggins, instead. Abby played the ball. [aside] Btw, in men's internatinal play, refs instruct training staff to streacher off any "injured" player much quicker that I've seen during this cup. I'm not just talking about one particular play. All cup, players have been allowed to roll around and received treatment with play stopped rather than the ref signaling for the streacher. Also, refs have stopped play rather than wait for the ball to be sent out. Why? I've seen more drop balls in this tourny than ever. That two hand motion (as though one was lifting a streacher) is one of my mother's faves. [/aside]
KA, bump on your Abby take. I was also surprised how long it took to stretcher her off, too. Heck, they even stopped play so the Norwegian goalie could change shoes the other day. If their going to do that they should at least let the players' Moms come out on to the field whenever the daughter sustains a boo-boo. While they are at it, they need to serve orange slices at halftime, too. Seriously, FIFA needs to keep these game moving.
The motion of the elbow was NOT consistent with that on typical headers--usually, the arms are up and out to the side to protect heads from colliding, and the other player would get hit with the back of the forearm in a horizontal motion, if anything. On this play, Wambach crooked her elbow and pistoned it backward and downward. That doesn't protect her head from any collision and it threatens the other player. Whether it was intentional or not is irrelevant--if everyone went up for headers by swinging a crooked elbow backwards like Wambach did, you'd have blood and concussions in almost every game. That's a yellow card in most leagues in the world and a straight red in many parts of Latin America.
I also didn't see what took them so long. She took a few steps, checked her face, and once it was blood she saw...she went down. I am not a Dr, but it would seem she didn't get a concussion. Maybe they thought an orbital bone, had been broken? Anyway, I wonder what was the issue that kept them from getting her off the field in a more timely manner.
It took so long because they stitched her up on the field. First off Nigeria is a tough, foul hungry team. Let's look back at the 1999 WWC. The fouls against the US were 29-3. They fouled us 26 more times than we fouled them. Thursday, we matched them physically. Foul for foul. They set the tone of the match with their tough play. If you can't take the heat, Nigeria, get out of the kitchen. Push us and we'll push back....harder. We knew going in it was going to be a tough game......for a week we've been saying we hope no one gets injured, it's how Nigeria plays now, and how they've played in the past. Four of the five goals we scored came off of set pieces or pk's because of stupid fouls that the Nigerians committed. The game was over in the 12th minute, because of their reckless play. Now, should Abby get tossed, no. No foul was even called. To me it didn't look like she did it on purpose. She jumped, the Nigerian had no chance of winning that ball, she should have backed off. Her loss. Collisions and contact happen in the run of play. I get up this morning to hear the Nigerians blaming the loss on a "third party" meaning the refs.....no Nigeria, you lost that game by sandwiching Parlow in the box and fouling Abby in the box. Quit your whining.
First, try jumping up in the air and trying to twist/bend your upper body to get more power and direction behind a "flick." See what your arms do. Bend your elbows and use your arms to increase the power and height of your jump. Now try that with a "friend" standing right behind you. (note, the new headgear won't help them but a football helmet/facemask might). If no one volunteers to help, try it with your back a foot or less from a wall. Don't jump away from the wall but straight up. Where do your arms end up? Does your elbow hit the wall? (hmm, perhaps this experiement needs some sort of disclaimer...wear elbow pads and if you are in cube, people will notice and maybe laugh) Second, in my experience and observations, when contesting long services, the arms (when not used for pushing )are used to protect the body from contact, not the head. I've never seen a player going for a header throw the arms around their own head to cover it for protection. Abby's arms were not flailing or swing out away from her body. I'm betting her ribs were pretty sore from previous hits. Third (since I'm counting), I don't understand what you mean by "usually that arms are up and out" To me, if arms/elbows are out it there is much more intent for contact/foul on the opposing player. For the record, I don't doubt that Abby knew there would be contact and that she didn't try to not make contact. I just don't think it was suspension worthy (or really card worthy, especially give the nature of that particular game). Autogolazo: straight red in Latin America? do you mean in the men's game or women's game? I've seen similar plays in men's games with no red. Can y'all tell I love good natured debates
The tickets are all sold The TV rights have all been sold How exactly will FIFA get ANY more money from the US reaching the finals? Let alone a "disaster" - financially the Women's World Cup pales in comparison to the World Cup and the World Cup sells out no matter who is playing.
Did you even watch the game? Yeah, FIFA set up the whole tourney so the host country wins it all.....just like they did in France in 1998..... And explain to me how the US not reaching the finals would be an economic disaster when almost all seats in the HDC have been sold ALREADY?
Yes She will escape suspension. No foul was called, contact occurred during the run of play on the ball and there was no obvious intent to injure. The ref let play get a little out of hand and the players suffered as a result. There were a fist full of fouls equally bad. Heading Hamm in the back of the head, the lunge into Sorbero (I was surprised she got up, the sidways force on her right knee looked frightening) the little shove into Scurry's gut on the high ball, two armed tackle on Foudy etc, etc. The more interesting question, at least to me, is whether this will have an impact on how other teams play the US? Will they shy away from trying to employ physical tactics. Nigeria just played so foolishly, they have a team with a lot of international experience, can they still be that naive?
Yeah, the U.S. winning the WWC is a gimme putt. Sure, why else would the U.S. be put in the strongest group?
Suspension? In what universe? Whenever Abby goes up into the air for a header let's all remember that she's going to be about a foot higher than everyone else. That being said, and as kool-aide so generously pointed out, when you go up for a header like that (assuming you do it right) your elbows are going to come down. When the person who is defending you is smaller than you are, they're more than likely going to catch a body part to the upper torso. It's how physics works. She didn't mean to hit the girl in the head. To say it was malicious and she intended to give the Nigerian a concussion is silly. There wasn't even a foul called. How would suspension even come up? Did you hear the commentators say she obviously meant to nail the girl? FIFA hasn't even made mention of punishment on it's website. Hell, they barely mentioned the incident at all. When it is mentioned it goes along with the fact that Abby was also fouled hard and drew a PK. Maybe Abby's psychic. It's quite possible she knew her defender was going to be that close, and as a result she plotted the whole thing.
Normally I don't post on this board but ... whether or not Wambach gets the yellow - it will be a long time before another woman tries to plow into her from behind to go for the ball. What she did is precisely what Anelka or Heskey or Hasselbaink do to protect themselves - GOOD FOR HER! Next time she may get called - but the other players will think twice. During the timeout I noticed Roberts laughing with Wambach about the flying elbow - she knew what she did and they all knew and it is GOOD. All players have to protect themselves out on the field. And yes - as said above - Hamm plays simply an elevated game compared to the rest of the woman. Glad that Heinrichs told her to become a little more selfish - she helps her team that way.
AB-BY, BOOOM-A-YE! AB-BY, BOOOM-A-YE! AB-BY, BOOOM-A-YE! AB-BY, BOOOM-A-YE! AB-BY, BOOOM-A-YE! Go rent "When We Were Kings" if you don't know where this comes from. Frankly, it was nice to see a team that gave as good as it took! Guy
Sorry, but to jump up, your elbows do not go down first. Not to get the maximuim vertical lift. I didn't question it, until I saw the replay. Now, an advanced player will give the defender a little nudge before they jump, to throw them off. You back into them just before you are both jumping up. She might not have elbowed her on purpose, or maybe we missed something that took place before, or off camera, and she was paying her back.
Also used in "The Greatest" a 1977 movie about Muhammad Ali in which he played himself. Of course thay was "Ali Boom-a-ye"