Wambach retires just months after finally adding a World Cup winner’s medal to her collection, even if she only came on as a substitute late in the final against Japan.
Advertisement
Abby Wambach created a stir on Wednesday prior to her farewell match when answering a question on Bill Simmons’s podcast regarding the US men’s national team, and two with ties to the squad have responded.
The 35-year-old announced her retirement in October after a 14-year career for the women’s national team.
Wambach said her teammates apologized profusely to her afterward, but she told them, “There’s nothing to be sorry about”.
The U.S. spent most of the 71 minutes Wambach was on the pitch Wednesday feeding her crosses through the air and on the ground, in hopes that the all-time leading scorer in men’s or women’s worldwide soccer netted one more goal. “The reality is, I think symbolically, the way that this game went, I’m walking away, but the future is so bright”. Wambach’s team, too, spoke about their admiration for the star player, fighting back tears while describing the massive impact she’s had on their lives and as a role model for girls and soccer fans everywhere. I love Jermaine (Jones), really nice kids and they’re good teammates and I like having them on the team. “You know, when you get into those big-time tournaments people have to step up and play their part and play their role”. The U.S. scurried for the final minutes of the second half to try to erase that lead, but for Wambach, the fairytale ended without a chariot ride around the Superdome.
The U.S., which won the women’s World Cup this summer, had gone 104 home games without losing since falling to Denmark in 2004.
Her team may have lost, Wednesday may have been an ending, but not a final chapter.
It is apparent Wambach’s American teammates will miss the stout, 5-foot-11 forward known for her passionate speeches and playing style, often highlighted by headed goals that are as exquisite as they are determined and powerful. “Although he says he has, I don’t think he has”.
However, despite her scathing criticism of Klinsmann and U.S. Soccer, she does still believe the USMNT can one day win a World Cup.
But she was quick to return to what needs fixing by her male counterparts.
China scored in the 58th minute, when forward Wang Shuang volleyed in a bounding cross from Wang Shanshan.
Klinsmann won the World Cup with Germany as a player in 1990 and also coached his country before being hired by U.S. Soccer in 2011.
Official US Soccer banners lining field-level walls and covering the tunnels to the locker rooms read, “Only one Abby”.
Advertisement
She edged Brazilian Marta and teammate Alex Morgan for the honor after scoring five goals in the 2012 London Games. “And everybody tried to make her the superstar of the match”. It’s not just about her, the player. The values I have really correlated to the values that this team have been about, ” Wambach said, adding: “I know things that Mia and Kristine Lilly and Brandi (Chastain) and Julie (Foudy) and April Heinrichs and what all those women taught me is the culture of this team.
