WOMEN'S WORLD CUP
Overcoming The Mia Factor
Published: Sep 10, 2007
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TAMPA - Just in case you haven't heard, a World Cup starts today. We'll forgive you if you were oblivious. It's got some competition for attention, most notably the start of the NFL and college football seasons. And then there's the fact it's soccer, and it's being played 12 time zones away in China.
But the toughest public relations hurdle for the U.S. women's squad seems to be the fact no one on the roster is named Mia, or even Brandi. Those two icons - Hamm and Chastain - have retired, along with two other U.S. stars that helped bring home two World Cup titles and two Olympic gold medals - Julie Foudy and Joy Fawcett.
With only Kristine Lilly remaining from that "Fab Five," it's little wonder Nike ads promoting the 2007 World Cup squad have gone with the slogan "The Greatest Team You've Never Heard Of."
No one expects this World Cup to receive the type of coverage it enjoyed in the summer of 1999. That lightning bolt of exposure was captured in a bottle of national attention when the Americans defeated China in a penalty shootout at the Rose Bowl and Chastain performed her famous sports bra celebration.
But the lack of media attention was painfully obvious to veterans such as Kate Markgraf, formerly Kate Sobrero, and Abby Wambach, the former University of Florida star, as they headed off to China.
"We kind of have gone quiet in the media," Markgraf said.
"They call it 'The Mia Factor,'" Wambach said. "When you focus all of your energy on one person for so many years, a lot of people can be left in the shadows."
Wambach is quick to point out she isn't complaining about the attention players such as Hamm and Chastain brought to women's soccer.
"I live in the house I live in and drive the car that I drive every single day because these women afforded me that opportunity," said Wambach, who during her pro career has won three cars, two for being U.S. Soccer's player of the year and another for being the MVP of a WUSA title game. "They paved the way. They are the pioneers.
"They'd probably be the first to say that there were many women that came before them, but for me, in my life, they were very instrumental and inspirational."
So now, it's up to the "Greatest Team You've Never Heard Of" to make some noise. Whether another Mia or Brandi emerges from this group remains to be seen. But it certainly has a good chance of doing better than the U.S. squad that crashed out of the 2003 World Cup. That tournament was played in the United States, and despite the Fab Five's presence, the U.S. was knocked out of the semifinals with a humbling 3-0 loss to eventual champion Germany.
In that defeat, former coach April Heinrichs, a member of the winning 1991 World Cup team, was criticized for her tactics and inability to deal better with the technically sound Germans. Even though Heinrichs coached the U.S. to the gold medal in the 2004 Athens Games, U.S. players presented her a letter that asked her to step down. Two weeks later, she resigned.
Greg Ryan, an assistant under Heinrichs during the Athens Olympics, was named her replacement. With the retirement of the big-name stars, Ryan took over a squad in transition. He quickly put his mark on the team by dropping Chastain - the player who scored the winning PK against China in 1999 - bringing in new players, and changing tactics and formations.
It would have been easy for the U.S team to slump as it searched for its identity. But since Ryan has taken over, the Americans are 39-0-7 and head to China with the No. 1 spot in the world rankings.
"I think, based on our performance over the past two years, we're definitely one of the favorites," said Ryan, who was an All-American at Southern Methodist and later coached women's teams at SMU, Colorado College and Wisconsin. "But I think there's greater parity than there's ever been before in any past World Cup."
For a versatile striker like Wambach, the coaching change and new players have been positives.
"These younger players, regardless of whether you know their names or not, I think they're becoming fast veterans in terms of how long they've been in this [national team] program," Wambach said. "The major thing, I think, is we're at a place where we can play more freely."
SCHEDULE
FIRST ROUND GROUP A
| No. | Date | Teams | ET |
| 1 | Sept. 10 | Germany vs. Argentina | 8 a.m. |
| 2 | Sept. 11 | Japan vs. England | 8 a.m. |
| 9 | Sept. 14 | Argentina vs. Japan | 5 a.m. |
| 10 | Sept. 14 | England vs. Germany | 5 a.m. |
| 17 | Sept. 17 | Germany vs. Japan | 8 a.m. |
| 18 | Sept. 17 | England vs. Argentina | 8 a.m. |
GROUP B
| No. | Date | Teams | ET |
| 3 | Sept. 11 | USA vs. North Korea | 5 a.m. |
| 4 | Sept. 11 | Nigeria vs. Sweden | 8 a.m. |
| 11 | Sept. 14 | Sweden vs. USA | 5 a.m. |
| 12 | Sept. 14 | North Korea vs. Nigeria | 8 a.m. |
| 19 | Sept. 18 | Nigeria vs. USA | 8 a.m. |
| 20 | Sept. 18 | North Korea vs. Sweden | 8 a.m. |
GROUP C
| No. | Date | Teams | ET |
| 5 | Sept. 12 | Ghana vs. Australia | 5 a.m. |
| 6 | Sept. 12 | Norway vs. Canada | 8 a.m. |
| 13 | Sept. 15 | Canada vs. Ghana | 5 a.m. |
| 14 | Sept. 15 | Australia vs. Norway | 8 a.m. |
| 21 | Sept. 19 | Norway vs. Ghana | 5 a.m. |
| 22 | Sept. 19 | Australia vs. Canada | 5 a.m. |
GROUP D
| No. | Date | Teams | ET |
| 7 | Sept. 12 | New Zealand vs. Brazil | 5 a.m. |
| 8 | Sept. 12 | China vs. Denmark | 8 a.m. |
| 15 | Sept. 15 | Denmark vs. New Zealand | 5 a.m. |
| 16 | Sept. 15 | Brazil vs. China | 8 a.m. |
| 23 | Sept. 19 | China vs. New Zealand | 8 a.m. |
| 24 | Sept. 19 | Brazil vs. Denmark | 8 a.m. |
QUARTERFINALS
| No. | Date | Teams | ET |
| 25 | Sept. 22 | 1st A vs. 2nd B | 5 a.m. |
| 26 | Sept. 22 | 1st B vs. 2nd A | 8 a.m. |
| 27 | Sept. 23 | 1st C vs. 2nd D | 5 a.m. |
| 28 | Sept. 23 | 1st D vs. 2nd C | 8 a.m. |
SEMIFINALS
| No. | Date | Teams | ET |
| 29 | Sept. 26 | W 25 vs. W 27 | 8 a.m. |
| 30 | Sept. 27 | W 26 vs. W 28 | 8 a.m. |
THIRD PLACE MATCH
| No. | Date | Teams | ET |
| 31 | Sept. 30 | L 29 vs. L 30 | 5 a.m. |
FINAL
| No. | Date | Teams | ET |
| 32 | Sept. 30 | W 29 vs. W 30 | 8 a.m. |
U.S. WOMEN'S ROSTER
| No. | Player | Pos. | Ht. | DOB | Hometown | College | Caps/Goals |
| 1 | Briana Scurry | GK | 5-8 | 9/7/1971 | Dayton, Minn. | UMass | 162/0 |
| 2 | Marian Dalmy | D | 5-10 | 11/25/1984 | Lakewood, Colo. | Santa Clara | 2/0 |
| 3 | Christie Rampone | D | 5-6 | 6/24/1975 | Point Pleasant, N.J. | Monmouth | 165/4 |
| 4 | Cat Whitehill | D | 5-5 | 2/10/1982 | Birmingham, Ala. | UNC | 111/11 |
| 5 | Lindsey Tarpley | F | 5-6 | 9/22/1983 | Kalamazoo, Mich. | UNC | 70/15 |
| 6 | Natasha Kai | F | 5-8 | 5/22/1983 | Kahuku, Hawaii | Hawaii | 26/7 |
| 7 | Shannon Boxx | M | 5-8 | 6/29/1977 | Redondo Beach, Calif. | Notre Dame | 66/14 |
| 8 | Tina Ellertson | D | 5-9 | 5/20/1982 | Vancouver, Wash. | Washington | 22/0 |
| 9 | Heather O'Reilly | F | 5-5 | 1/2/1985 | East Brunswick, N.J. | UNC | 61/10 |
| 10 | Aly Wagner | M | 5-5 | 8/10/1980 | San Jose, Calif. | Santa Clara | 112/21 |
| 11 | Carli Lloyd | M | 5-8 | 7/16/1982 | Delran, N.J. | Rutgers | 33/6 |
| 12 | Leslie Osborne | M | 5-8 | 5/27/1983 | Brookfield, Wis. | Santa Clara | 41/2 |
| 13 | Kristine Lilly | F | 5-4 | 7/22/1971 | Wilton, Conn. | UNC | 328/123 |
| 14 | Stephanie Lopez | D | 5-6 | 4/3/1986 | Elk Grove, Calif. | Portland | 21/0 |
| 15 | Kate Markgraf | D | 5-7 | 8/23/1976 | Bloomfield Hills, Mich. | Notre Dame | 160/0 |
| 16 | Angela Hucles | M | 5-7 | 7/5/1978 | Virginia Beach, Va. | Virginia | 66/5 |
| 17 | Lori Chalupny | M | 5-4 | 1/29/1984 | St. Louis, Mo. | UNC | 41/4 |
| 18 | Hope Solo | GK | 5-9 | 7/30/1981 | Richland, Wash. | Washington | 45/0 |
| 19 | Marci Jobson | M | 5-7 | 12/4/1975 | St. Charles, Ill. | SMU | 14/0 |
| 20 | Abby Wambach | F | 5-11 | 6/2/1980 | Rochester, N.Y. | Florida | 93/74 |
| 21 | Nicole Barnhart | GK | 5-10 | 10/10/1981 | Gilbertsville, Pa. | Stanford | 3/0 |
Head coach: Greg Ryan (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Assistant coaches: Bret Hall (St. Charles, Ill.), Phil Wheddon (Monroe, Conn.), Billy McNicol (Huntington Beach, Calif.)
Games televised on ESPN and Univision
TOP WORLD TEAMS
USA is ranked No. 1 in the FIFA world rankings. Here are five teams that could challenge for the title:
Germany: The reigning world and European champion arrives in China with high expectations of defending its World Cup crown. The Germans boast world-class talent such as midfielder Renate Lingor and striker Birgit Prinz and arguably the best depth of any side in the tournament.
Sweden: The Swedes have qualified for every Women's World Cup and nearly upset Germany in the 2003 final for their first title. The key players are returning members from the 2003 squad, including forwards Hanna Ljungberg and Victoria Svensson, defender Hanna Marklund and midfielder Therese Sjogran. All four have more than 100 caps. During qualifying, Sweden scored 32 goals in eight matches - one more than Germany - and surrendered only six.
Norway: A perennial power, Norway isn't flashy and usually doesn't score a lot of goals. But the Norwegians know how to control a match's pace and, led by veteran goalkeeper Bente Nordby, are exceptional defenders. Bjarne Berntsen was named coach in 2004 and that was a surprise because he had no prior experience coaching women's soccer. But after he brought in some new players and led Norway to the UEFA Euro 2005 final, no one is questioning his appointment.
North Korea: The Americans' opening opponent is a formidable one. North Korea pulled off a major upset when it swept past several major powers to win the nation's first soccer world title, the 2006 U-20 Women's World Championship. With an influx of players off the under-20 team, the North Koreans could end up in the final.
Denmark: Another solid Scandinavian team with plenty of World Cup experience and technical ability. The Danes are making their fourth appearance in the WWC and three veteran players - defender Katrine Pedersen, midfielder Anne Dot Eggers Nielsen and forward Merete Pedersen - form the nucleus of a team capable of beating anyone.
5 TOP U.S. PLAYERS
Forward: Kristine Lilly
The lone holdover from the inaugural Women's World Cup in 1991, Lilly, 36, enters her fifth World Cup and will captain the American side. She is the most capped player in the world (329) and with 126 goals and 100 assists is second only to Mia Hamm among the Americans' all-time scorers.
Forward: Abby Wambach
Averaging a goal a game for the U.S., Wambach, 27, will be the player other teams will be marking closely. A former Gators star, Wambach is arguably the most powerful and dynamic striker in women's soccer. She was the leading scorer for the USA in the last World Cup with three goals, and reached 50 career goals in fewer matches than any woman except the legendary Michelle Akers.
Goalkeeper: Hope Solo
The former University of Washington All-American has started 34 of 44 matches in goal for Coach Greg Ryan, including the final three World Cup tuneups. During that time, she has recorded 14 shutouts and has supplanted 36-year-old Briana Scurry as the No. 1 goalie.
Defender: Kate Markgraf
With Brandi Chastain and Joy Fawcett retired, Markgraf (formerly Sobrero) assumes the leadership role of the defense. She was a starter in the last two World Cups and Olympics and was the least capped player on the historic 1999 World Cup squad.
Midfielder: Shannon Boxx
In 2003, Boxx made headlines when she became the first U.S. woman to make the World Cup squad without previously earning a full national team cap. A series of hip and leg injuries last summer forced her to miss 10 months of play and put her spot in jeopardy.
TOP WORLD PLAYERS
Midfielder:
Marta Vieira da Silva, Brazil
At the recent Pan Am Games in her native Brazil, Vieira da Silva - aka "Marta" - showed why she earned FIFA's World Player of the Year Award for 2006. The 21-year-old netted a tournament-best 12 goals, led the Auriverdes' spotless gold medal-winning campaign and displayed a dazzling array of moves, passes and finishing touches.
Midfielder:
Renate Lingor, Germany
Lingor can split defenses with precision passing or juke past almost anyone with deft moves and feints. She's particularly effective on set pieces. It was Lingor's corner kick that was headed home by Kerstin Garefrekes for the winning goal against the USA in the 2003 World Cup semifinals, and her free kick in the final against Sweden was nodded in by Nia Kunzer for the winning golden goal.
Forward:
Ma Xiaoxu, China
At just 19, Ma has already earned several accolades, including the adidas Golden Ball and Golden Shoe at last year's FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup and the Asian Football Confederation's Player of the Year award. She scored 10 times in the qualifying stages for the U-20s and, in the tournament itself, led China to the final with another five goals.
Midfielder:
Solveig Gulbrandsen, Norway
After taking a year off for the birth of her first son, Theodor, the standout playmaker appears to be returning to form just in time. At 26, she already has appeared in 105 matches for the national team and has scored 33 goals. This will be her third World Cup campaign.
Forward:
Perpetua Nkwocha, Nigeria
The Super Eagles kept their monopoly on the continental championships when Nkwocha led them to their fifth consecutive African title. She was the 2006 African Women's Player of the Year.
AND ONE LOCAL PLAYER TO WATCH
Defender:
Siri Nordby, Norway/
University of South Florida
The former Bulls star has become a regular fixture on the Norwegian squad. A member of USF squads between 1997-2000, Nordby still holds school records for points (110), goals (41), assists (28), shots (252) and games started (70). She led USF to three straight winning seasons and earned all-conference honors all four years.
Reporter Bill Ward can be reached at (813) 259-7456 or wward@tampatrib.com
