It was proof Brazilians can hold a grudge with local fans responding to comments made by Solo about Zika virus on social media before the 2016 Rio Olympic games.
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Fans watching U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo chanted “Zika, Zika” while watching her play in the football game against New Zealand at the Olympics on Wednesday night.
Solo also apologized for her tweets when she arrived in Brazil. With almost every touch of the ball, the Nike-sponsored athlete was greeted with loud boos from the crowd, and by the end of the match, the Brazilian crowd continually shouted “Zika” in unison whenever Solo released the ball from her possession. While the team was cooling down in the end zone area, the crowd could be heard chanting “Hope!”.
Solo made history with her 200th global appearance against France on Saturday, making her one of the greats in worldwide soccer, among both men and women. She took heat – from her teammates and others – for criticizing her coach’s decision to bench her in favour of Brianna Scurry for the 2007 World Cup semifinals, which the USA lost.
Other highlights from Solo’s essay include facts like players who are not allowed to practice on the field which they are about to play on, the showers being unsanitary, and the fact that league hasn’t adopted Federation Internationale de Football Association regulations (so when it comes to calls, there isn’t much regulation, at all.) The list goes on and Solo doesn’t hesitate to bring up all of these issues.
She also studies hours of video, not just of her competition but of herself. And the 35-year-old goalie created it with her Twitter account, posting photographs of so much mosquito repellant it made it seem her mission in Brazil was to attack Zika with shock and awe.
Solo didn’t take the chants too seriously, saying she was glad the fans were “having fun”.
The USWNT went on to defeat New Zealand 2 to 0.
“Never forget that the U.S.is the world champion”, France coach Philippe Bergeroo said.
The players said this week that the boos were not a distraction as the team was focused on becoming the first to win at an Olympics following a World Cup title.
Given the team’s successful track record, Solo will be in Brazil for a while. “I think in that regards we put our best foot forward and got that goal and I think that helped propel us throughout the game”.
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“I think the crowd only gets going when Hope has the ball”, Lloyd said about the atmosphere.
