The loss of Hope...
Forgot to post this the other day. This was last Friday, right after Brazil stomped us in the World Cup...
Take a bow, Greg Ryan. You just cost the United States the Women’s World Cup.
That may be a little over the top, since Brazil played so brilliantly in a 4-0 demolition of the favored American side Thursday in Hangzhou, China.
I give credit to Marta, who must be Ronaldinho’s little sister with her deft ball skills and her laser-like accuracy around the net.
The better team won Thursday, so my hat is off to Brazil.
And now I’m going to throw it at U.S. coach Greg Ryan.
Ryan, riding a 50-game winning streak with a star-studded U.S. side, announced Tuesday that he was benching starting keeper Hope Solo in favor of Briana Scurry for Thursday’s semifinal match.
Scurry is a legend, and possibly the best keeper the women’s game has ever seen. But she’s 36 and she’s only been in the box seven times since 2004, and none in this World Cup.
I can’t understand it. And I’m not alone.
“It was the wrong decision, and I think anybody that knows anything about the game knows that,” Solo said. “There’s no doubt in my mind I would have made those saves. ... You have to live in the present. And you can’t live by big names. You can’t live in the past.”
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
Scurry is a heroine. She’s dedicated her adult life to playing for her country, and she gave it her all out there Thursday.
But Ryan put her — and indeed, his whole squad — in a position to fail against a team that played like they smelled disention in the ranks.
Or blood in the water.
The first goal was unlucky, an own goal headed in by Leslie Osborne off a corner — a play that might have been averted with better communication between the keeper and her defenders on the near post.
Goal No. 2 was a solid strike from Marta that I think could have been saved. Goals three and four were a little tougher, since they occured after the unfair send-off of midfielder Shannon Boxx after a phantom second yellow card.
Still, it’s sad to think that this team trained together for two years, ripped through 50 straight matches without a loss and never trailed by more than a goal in that span — only to have its coach undermine all that hard work and dominance with a chemistry killing decision.
Was hiring a guy who’s coaching résumé includes stops at soccer hotbeds Colorado College and SMU really the best we could do?
Sunil Gulati, president of the United States Soccer Federation, put on a brave front after the crushing defeat, saying “we are not where we were 10 years ago. It’s not because we are not better, it’s because everyone else is investing in the game.”
Now, we should invest in a new head coach for our women’s soccer team.
Contact the writer at
rcapps@hendersondispatch.com.
Take a bow, Greg Ryan. You just cost the United States the Women’s World Cup.
That may be a little over the top, since Brazil played so brilliantly in a 4-0 demolition of the favored American side Thursday in Hangzhou, China.
I give credit to Marta, who must be Ronaldinho’s little sister with her deft ball skills and her laser-like accuracy around the net.
The better team won Thursday, so my hat is off to Brazil.
And now I’m going to throw it at U.S. coach Greg Ryan.
Ryan, riding a 50-game winning streak with a star-studded U.S. side, announced Tuesday that he was benching starting keeper Hope Solo in favor of Briana Scurry for Thursday’s semifinal match.
Scurry is a legend, and possibly the best keeper the women’s game has ever seen. But she’s 36 and she’s only been in the box seven times since 2004, and none in this World Cup.
I can’t understand it. And I’m not alone.
“It was the wrong decision, and I think anybody that knows anything about the game knows that,” Solo said. “There’s no doubt in my mind I would have made those saves. ... You have to live in the present. And you can’t live by big names. You can’t live in the past.”
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
Scurry is a heroine. She’s dedicated her adult life to playing for her country, and she gave it her all out there Thursday.
But Ryan put her — and indeed, his whole squad — in a position to fail against a team that played like they smelled disention in the ranks.
Or blood in the water.
The first goal was unlucky, an own goal headed in by Leslie Osborne off a corner — a play that might have been averted with better communication between the keeper and her defenders on the near post.
Goal No. 2 was a solid strike from Marta that I think could have been saved. Goals three and four were a little tougher, since they occured after the unfair send-off of midfielder Shannon Boxx after a phantom second yellow card.
Still, it’s sad to think that this team trained together for two years, ripped through 50 straight matches without a loss and never trailed by more than a goal in that span — only to have its coach undermine all that hard work and dominance with a chemistry killing decision.
Was hiring a guy who’s coaching résumé includes stops at soccer hotbeds Colorado College and SMU really the best we could do?
Sunil Gulati, president of the United States Soccer Federation, put on a brave front after the crushing defeat, saying “we are not where we were 10 years ago. It’s not because we are not better, it’s because everyone else is investing in the game.”
Now, we should invest in a new head coach for our women’s soccer team.
Contact the writer at
rcapps@hendersondispatch.com.
posted by Randy Capps at 6:27 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home