| Accent on change for women's soccer |
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| on 19 May 2008 | |
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Accent on change for women's soccer CHICAGO – Call it Bob Dylan-inspired therapy. Pia Sundhage, a Swede and the new U.S. women's national soccer coach, couldn't quite find the English words she needed during her first meeting with the team after being hired in November. The squad she faced was coming off a controversial and divisive third-place finish in the World Cup. The ensuing discontent led to the dismissal of Greg Ryan, a Dallas native and former SMU women's coach. Sundhage (pronounced Soond-HAGH-eh) surprised the players by turning to Dylan for help. "The times, they are a-changin'," Sundhage crooned in her heavy accent. She sang about three-fourths of the song, which has the same title and includes appropriate lyrics: "If your time to you, Is worth savin', Then you better start swimmin', Or you'll sink like a stone." Sundhage isn't scared to sing a quick verse in front of a banquet hall full of reporters, as she did here during the U.S. Olympic Committee Media Summit in April. The anecdote has become the best way for her to explain her approach to reuniting a fractured team looking to repeat as Olympic gold medalists. 'Embrace the change' "First of all, if they accept and embrace the change, everything takes time," Sundhage said. "I need their hearts. I need their passion in order to make this happen." Star forward Abby Wambach said Sundhage won over the U.S. players quickly. "Somebody who is a stranger to many became vulnerable in a moment where we were anxiously awaiting her first words," said Wambach, who is learning to play the guitar and is a Dylan fan. "For those words to be sung – and from a Bob Dylan song – speaks right to me." But will it lead to gold? The U.S. women still play some of the best soccer in the world. But Germany is the reigning world champion. Brazil embarrassed the U.S. in the semifinals at the World Cup last year in China. Before that, the U.S. hadn't lost in regulation since 2004. Loss rocks team It took a loss for the U.S., attempting to rebrand its players after the age of Mia, Julie and Brandi, to get major attention. Ryan benched goalkeeper Hope Solo in favor of veteran Briana Scurry before the Brazil match. After the drubbing, Solo publicly questioned the decision and was ostracized by the rest of the team. Her teammates voted to send her home before the third-place match. Ryan received blame for the uproar, along with what critics have charged as an impatient, predictable style of play. Sundhage reinstated Solo. "We got a lot of publicity out of it," said veteran defender Kate Markgraf. "You know there's no such thing as bad press. It may not be the way we wanted it out there – it was a difficult time. We stuck together as a team, even though it came off as fractured. We worked really hard to get back to a place where the old and new can mix. "We are a stronger team now because of it, and hopefully that change will show in the Olympics." Legendary Sundhage is 48, a Swedish legend and the first foreign coach in the program's history. She was an assistant for China last year, scouted for the U.S. during the2004 Athens Olympics and coached in the doomed WUSA. She has introduced a new zone defense, a possession-oriented style of play that takes some of the pressure off Wambach to produce goals. The U.S. is 13-0-1 this year, including tournament titles at the Four Nations in China, the Algarve Cup in Portugal and the CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Mexico. The U.S. notched a 6-0 win last week over Canada in which players such as Natasha Kai, Lindsay Tarpley and Carli Lloyd scored. Wambach had three assists. "My major feeling about it is relief," Wambach said in Chicago. "I need the help of other players. It's taught me to look outside myself and to rely on other people, and I think it has really brought the team together." Wambach said the Americans need to earn the kind of respect enjoyed by the legends, who captured the nation's devotion with their success in the 1999 World Cup and with the help of heavy marketing by Nike and Gatorade. "This team needs to earn the right to be media darlings," Wambach said. "Does it feel daunting sometimes to undertake such a task? The expectation is very high, and it's put on us not just by ourselves but the past players. We want to make them proud and make our country proud." Meanwhile, Wambach was searching for a Sundhage treasure. "She actually has a CD in Sweden," Wambach said. "We're trying to locate it right now so we have some ammunition on her." |
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