Ogged blogs about the Hope Solo situation. For those following along at home, the US soccer team made a slightly bizarre decision to switch goalies against Brazil in the Women's World Cup, after which they got crushed. Hope Solo, who was replaced by Briana Scurry, then went public claiming she'da made those saves. Whereupon, apparently, the team ditched her.
Now, I don't know how the rest of the world works, but while criticizing teammates is frowned up on men's sports in the US, people still do it all the time, but no one gets banished for it. They take some shots at each other, they might even fight in practice, and then they go out and play. I'm probably supposed to be valuing the different model of women's sports in which team unity is even more important than fielding the best team, but to my mind, this just makes the women seem weak and unprepared for serious competition. And it's worth noting that "team chemistry" is generally bunk as far as game performance is concerned: many, many championship teams in various sports have hated each other's guts, and there are teams with great chemistry that go nowhere. But when a team with good chemistry wins, it's easy to say that they're winning because they're all buddies.
I'm of two minds about this. In general, I'm not a big fan of the sorority-girl, we-all-have-to-be-each-others-best-friends atmosphere that large groups of women tend to assume. Plus, the manager seems to be exploiting the phenomenon in order to save his job after an apparently awful decision. So I'm not exactly ready to applaud anyone who caters to either the stereotype that women can't function unless they're all holding each other's hands and singing, or the reality that groups of women generally do demand a level of comity and conformity that can be incredibly brutal on anyone who is too outspoken or otherwise violates the group norms.
But the reality is that groups of women do act like this, and if I were the coach, I'd not be nearly so sanguine that this group will work well with a goalie who basically publicly accused her teammates of losing a game she could have won had she been allowed to play. Maybe I'm just hypersensitive to these group dynamics after too many years at all-girl's camps and all-female sports teams, but I don't think so. Perhaps those things really don't matter on men's teams; obviously I've never played on one. But they certainly did on all the girls teams I've played on, and the dynamic has been markedly present in the female dominated workplaces I've been in. The job of the manager is not to advance the cause of feminism; it's to win soccer games.
On the third hand, it's also to advance the cause of women's soccer, which is probably not best done by acting as if the female players are all fourteen year old girls debating who gets to join the homecoming dance committee. So I just don't know.
Megan,
Where is that quoted text coming from?
You do not need a scapegoat when you get crushed by Brazil in soccer. Nobody was ever fired for buying IBM? Nobody was ever humiliated for losing against Roger Federer? And the goalie is certainly not the make-it-or-break it factor against Brazil?
In fact - it is rather dangerous when the goalie or the team truly believe the game depends on only one player (unless you are by chance called Pele, Maradona, Zidane, Ronaldinho). It's happened 2 Word Cups ago to the men's game when Germany depended or thought to depend on their goalie, Oliver Kahn, to act as Atlas..
I like how Megan sees both sides of the coin but I do not think that it is a "female" issue per se? There are only few women who can act as girly as male soccer players when they pretend to have been fauled?
I barely know how to spell soccer so I can't say which woman is the better goalkeeper. I can say it would seem odd in any sport to win all season with a group of players and then make changes in the game prior to the championship just because... well just because.
In this situation Solo didn't need to say one word, especially after the game. If she could have held her tongue almost all her points would have been made by the reporters or others with knowledge of women's soccer. Now she's a "terrible teammate".
She's young, she was frustrated and she learned a lesson. In my opinion - the sooner she plays, the better.
She was wrong to say it, even if she was correct in her assessment. The Brazilians probably would've won anyway -- they're an incredibly skilled team -- but you don't put in a goalie who has only played one full game in the last few years, especially to replace one coming off three straight shutouts.
The team -- not just the coach -- voted not to have her play in the consolation match, so they clearly did not like it either. I agree that chemistry is overrated, but when you do something like this it allows the media to invade the near-sacred space of the us-against-the-world mentality that good teams foster. Surely they give these players media training?
Oh, please.
In the 1998 (mens) World Cup, USA coach Steve Sampson threatened to send home four players for attitude problems.
And in the 2002 (mens) World Cup, the Ireland coach actually did send home captain Roy Keane - one of the best players in the world (he was the Manchester United captain for more than a decade) - for attitude problems.
To think this is a female-only issue is pure ignorance.
Oh, and BTW, the coach ought to be fired immediately - and he probably will be fired after the end of the WC. And Solo was absolutely right in her comments. But that really has no bearing on whether she should still be with the team for the Norway game.
When the USA lost to Brazil....I immediately said if I was the governing board of USA Women's Soccer, I would have benched the coach for the game against Norway.
Isn't convenient that now he's talking about "Team Chemistry" after he blew his team up.... pulling the #1 keeper in the world.... that had only given up 2 goals in 4 games and no goals in the last 300 minutes.
World Championships are won by building MOMENTUM and the USA was building. After a slow start against N.K. they started rolling .....They were getting stronger every game....right up to the time when the coach completely screwed up and made the worst coaching decision since the 1980 Russian coach which produced Miracle On Ice. Then to say in his post game news conference that he didn't think the change had much of an affect on the outcome of the game.....YOU ARE AN IDIOT COACH.....and hopefully soon to be an unemployed idiot.....and by the way (Nice God Complex)
With this latest "Kick Hope Off The Team" controversy....you have single handedly done more to hurt women's soccer than any other person in the history of the sport.
I have an 8 year old that got up at 5:00 AM every morning to watch "our girls"....but when she heard the "TEAM" had voted Hope out ....she has chosen to do what almost all of the rest of America already did....boycott watching the world cup.
To bad the "TEAM' didn't take this position against the coach and refuse to play without Hope in the goal against Brazil....if they had....they would be playing Germany for another world cup title......instead....Brazil is talking about their Miracle On Grass.
The USA will finish 4th ....I'm sure they will pin their next loss on Hope also.....no worries Hope....soon you will have a new coach.....and most of your "TEAM MATES" who stabbed you in the back will be working kids camps in the summer!
People watch women's sports?
The coach's decision was unconscionable. I realize Brianna Scurry is a big-name star but you can't mess with the chemistry like that just to get your big-name star back in the lineup. Especially after she's been injured, so hey her first game back in months let's throw her out there against the '27 Yankees, see what she can do. I realize my current 26-year-old healthy goalkeeper has been part of a long scoreless streak and we're winning game after game, but I just have a feeling here that my 36-year-old injured big name star is gonna be the best choice today. Like the Sonic commercial said, "WHAT A DOOFUS!"
From TFA:
And it's worth noting that "team chemistry" is generally bunk as far as game performance is concerned: many, many championship teams in various sports have hated each other's guts
That's not chemistry though, that's the "clubhouse atmosphere." Chemistry is how the individuals cover for each others' weaknesses, anticipate what they'll do and gel as a team to win games. Once a group of players get used to playing with each other, there's always a dropoff when you swap out players. That's why you stick with Rex Grossman all year in 2006 when he's obviously not a good NFL quarterback; he's the guy everyone's used to playing with, and swapping him out in midseason is taking a chance at ruining that chemistry that is winning you games. This year, at 0-3 you can make that change because things can't get any worse.
US SOCCER.......Is Run by Morons and Losers !
Let's not forget that we scored no goals in this game. I have to agree horrible decision by the coach. Hope should have kept quiet though and let the coach be let go rather than herself.
Here's Scurry after Siri played:
IRAKLION, Greece (AP) _ There's no doubt in Briana Scurry's mind. If she had been the starting goalkeeper four years ago in Sydney, the U.S. women's soccer team would have won the gold medal.
``I put myself into that entire game,'' she said. ``And I've always felt -- and I still feel -- that if I were playing, we would have won.''
Instead, one of the heroes of the 1999 World Cup was an out-of-shape bench-warmer, having enjoyed too much the fruits of sudden fame. The torch had passed to Siri Mullinix, who played every minute of the 2000 Olympic tournament, and whose left hand couldn't quite get all of Dagny Mellgren's shot in sudden death overtime of the gold-medal game against Norway.
One Olympiad later, Scurry is ready to make amends, starting Wednesday when the U.S. team kicks off the 2004 Games against host Greece on the island of Crete.
``I took the torch back,'' Scurry said. ``It started with a change in my attitude. I decided I didn't want to end my career like that. I wanted to end it on a higher note. I changed my training. I changed my eating. I changed the overall way I saw life in general.''
If redemption weren't enough, Scurry has even more motivation for these Olympics. She is playing in memory of her father, Ernest, who died on Father's Day after a long illness.
``I definitely feel my dad's presence inside of me right now,'' said Scurry, who has allowed just nine goals in 13 starts with five shutouts this year. ``I'm playing really well since he passed away, and I really attribute that to him being out there with me helping me.''
What a bunch of hypocrites. I won't watch this gutless team again. And you know what? Solo was wrong, but everything she said was RIGHT ON THE MONEY!
No matter who was the goalie for the U.S. on that day, the scoreline may have been different but we would have been defeated. Marta is not called the best player in the world for nothing. With Marta and Christianne playing as though they were possessed, we didn't stand a chance. For those who believe that Hope would have made a difference, I can only refer to the two goals scored against her in the North Korea game. And North Korea is no Brazil, not even close. So if she was this person who could not be scored against perhaps she should have proven it against them.
I think it is not good sport to begin attacking fellow teammates and coaches after a defeat, especially so when the tournament is still in progress. I agree with others who say it was a bad idea for Coach Ryan to sub Hope but it was even worse for her to go public attacking him and poor Briana who did not make the decision.
I believe that once you begin criticizing your boss and your coworkers, you better be prepared to quit your job. It is in adversity that one's true character is shown. She had won 56 (?) games straight and had no complaint about the coach being an idiot. All of a sudden she is benched and the team loses to Brazil, a team packed with star power, Ryan is an idiot.
I think we were led to think the FIFA ranking means anything meaningful. I remember our men's team was also highly ranked in the last World Cup and they did not win a single game. So we should have learned from that and knew they we were over-rated.
I believe Brazil is the best soccer team in the World, followed by the U.S., and then Germany. Germany is perhaps the most disciplined and technical team but they aren't as talented as Brazil. At times technical skills tend to outdo talent so I wouldn't be surprise if Germany wins with Brazil playing Marta and Christianne who are arguably the two best players in the world.
u all can say well it didn't matter if she was in there they lost 4-0... well it does matter big time... look at the own goal... if hope was in there she would of been calling off players like she always does so there for that goal would of never happen b/c she would of ran up and grabed the ball unlike bri did.... the second goal hope would of saved easy.. bri just waited to long to make her move... then boxx going out on a crappy call was bull... so at half time my take would of been 0-0... which would of had the U.S. pumped even more to go out there and give it all... i really think if hope was in there it prob. would of been a 1-0 or 2-1 win for brazil and not a 4-0 blow out.... yeah hope should of never called out her team mate but but i understood fully what she said... basically she said bri did good stuff in the pass but this is now and hope had played almost the whole year as the starting goalie and hadn't lost yet.. and bri hadn't played in over 3 months... everyone of u that roots for some kind of team has had a star player for ur team speak out about their team or a player yet u still root for them... so dont cry that she was horrible for doing and all this bull crap... she was speaking the truth and u all know she was in the right but not in the right how she let it out....
I'm sorry.....I rarely blog....but I'm not going to sit here and listen to uninformed opinions about how Brazil would have won the game anyway.
Bottom line....the coach blew up his team and Solo has now been made the scapegoat.....classic CYA by Johnson.
I wrestled in college under the 1988 olympic coach Jimmy Humphrey.....he instilled in us this.....put yourself in a position to win then create the opportunity to win!
These girls were building MOMENTUM....they knew Brazil would be tough and Marta ia probably the best player in the world.....but they were ready and up for the challenge..... had the the coach not blown his team up and out before the game ever started.....the own goal would have never happened (better communication in the box) and the Red card wouldn't of happened....The USA would have been playing with confidence and poise.....instead of desperation and fear.
Bottom Line.....the coach lost that game for them....before it ever started and cost them the world cup.
As PC incorrect as this statement is.....women are different than men......team Chemistry does matter and women are more emotional....which is a good thing as the greatest college coach in history of athletics once said(Dan Gable 9 straight NCAA Tittles) we need to wrestle with emotion be passionate out on the mat.
I know this isn't wrestling but sport is sport and in women's sport passion and emotion trump everything....period! Marta played with emotion.....unfortunately our girls walked out on the field defeated.... His decision not to start Solo changed everything....and cost our girls the world cup tittle....THANKS COACH!
Re: Goalkeeps (especially at the highest level of play)
1) There has never been a goal scored that you couldn't have saved. Ever.
1a) That being the case you forget it and focus on the next one; if you don't you are done.
2) Every shot you've ever saved was an incidious Warp5 photon blast with a screen and from an illegal stick (or in soccer after pushing off a tackler).
3) These thoughts are to be internal, sharing them is fatal; motivates the shooters, demoralizes the defense.
4) We are not objective self-evaluators.
5) 1-4 are not gender specific.
nb: Hope Solo is the greatest name for a goalie I have ever heard.
The "Stefford Wives" older players who endured abuse from their college coach just to have playing time are reacting as they have been trained for years-"Don't speak the truth or get benched".Some of the "supposed very best" even married their coach after he divorced his wife and family.They now speak out against Hope Solo, because they sold their souls and honor long ago to the coach.The Brazil and German teams play with skill and have passion on the field. They are not robots or toys of certain coachs or company sponserships. The poor decision by the coach was not just this one on the goalies.He based many team decisions on US Soccer politics and his own loyality to old player friends.He failed, not Hope Solo, who was probably tired after a year of watching the politics and other coach-player decisions.Bri didn't lose the game she just couldn't save it with only nine players in front of her either--another critical error.Who was Shannon's replacement when she got the first yellow card?The coach played the team chosen by him, US Soccer,the company sponcers and he coached the game poorly.
I wonder if some of you who are commenting even know anything about "soccer". A keeper alone is NOT going to keep balls out of the net. The keeper relies heavily on a sold, intelligent defense in front of the goal. The defense, in turn, relies on midfield players getting back to help whenever appropriate and not allowing the opposing team to come past into the final third of the field with a good "shape".
Now, Hope may well have watched closely and decided that each of the allowed goals was defensible by her alone given the same buildup scenario. Maybe her original positioning would have been much better, maybe she would have challenged earlier or even later on certain runs...who knows. The point is that she is either saying this, that she believes she COULD have done it and that she thinks it was wrong to pull her or she's not really analyzing it at all and she's just talking from the gut and therefore challenging Brianna and hopefully reminding her that Hope will be challenging for that job EVERY day and is going to have it.
Either way, there is NO WRONG in what she said. Anyone who thinks this team needs to be some ridiculous slumber party BFF club is a fool. Guys would not hesitate to do this, they have to FIGHT every week for their spot. Some guys say it out loud, others don't. What difference does it make? You don't need to love me, just respect me and my ability and if my saying that I could have done better makes everyone cry and run away from me then you are all a bunch of losers in my book.
Rock on, Hope!
Marylin Rouse...do you have a link (or at least a more complete source) for that article?
Brazil was a better team. The point was that the coach didn't make the best decision on that day by not playing Solo. He failed to make the game more competitive. It was okay to lose to a better team, but it was horrible to know that we have a coach who choked.
To make matter worse, after the comments from Solo, the coach didn't come forward to work out any issues among Scurry, Solo and the team. Instead, he added fuel to the fire by benching Solo for her comments. I thought a coach is suposed to be a mentor, leader, and the most trusted person on the team. I think, in this case, the coach displayed little leadership, no skill, and, not to mention, a lack of class, to the players, and fans like us who supported our team. I felt sad!
Fire the coach. He should have smoothed over Solo's comments. This was his mistake, not hers, no matter how poorly she handled it.