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USA: SOCCER/FOOTBALL - US women soccer squad ...
Duration: 4:21Source: ITN Source
After suffering an embarrassing 4-0 loss to Brazil during last year's World Cup, the US women's soccer team is preparing a return to form for the Olympic Games in Beijing. The loss has motivated many of the veteran players who were unaccustomed to losing, much less being shutout in international competition. "We didn't play our best soccer in the World Cup and I think that is more disappointing than getting the bronze. We didn't reach our potential in that tournament and that's what hurts the most but that's our quest. Winning the gold back this summer. I've got a terse of what gold feels like and I've got a taste of what bronze feels like and and I'll tell you what. The gold was a lot nicer," forward Heather O"Reilly said during the team's appearance at the Olympic Media Summit in Chicago. Coach Pia Sundhage, a former Swedish national team star, has emphasized possession and a more methodical style as opposed to the attacking style the team has employed in the past. In addition to her attempt to change the team's approach to the game, Sundhage's unorthodox style of coaching took many of the players by surprise. According her players, their first team meeting consisted of nothing but Sundhage singing the team some favourite songs. "I think the very first thing I heard come out of her mouth was Bob Dylan's "Times they are a changing" and I think it was her way to really express it. Sometimes there's a language barrier. She's Swedish. She expresses herself through music a lot. Which is really neat and I think it says a lot about her confidence as a person," O"Reilly said. Sundhage knows the Chinese team very well. She spent last year as an assistant with the squad and knows that they will be difficult for anyone to beat at home. "I think the hardest part of playing against China is the crowd. It's like they have the 12th player out there. On the other hand I can see and I can feel that the US team are prepared for that. They love loud crowds no matter if they are rooting for you or not," Sundhage said. The loss of retired veteran's like Mia Hamm and Kristine Lily who is pregnant have caused a significant turnover of elite players. Others like veteran defender Kate Markgraf are returning to the team after having children and are managing motherhood and an Olympic soccer campaign. "Having a baby has definitely changed my performance. I used to be very regimented. I needed to eat at this time and I needed eight hours sleep. I think the best game I had last year I didn't sleep the entire night because my son was teething and we played Brazil beat them 2-0 and I played the best game I'd played the entire year. It doesn't really matter. All that stuff does not matter. What matters is what you want to mentally want to do each day," Markgraf said. The team ended a three game domestic tour on Saturday with a 6-0 victory over Canada. Next up for the Americans are games in Norway on July 2 and Sweden on July 5th.
Rating: (0 ratings) Views: 110 Added: May 20, 2008
Category: Sports
Copyright: GRAPHIC / REUTERS
Tags: Sports
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