Now, just when this country could certainly stand some refreshment, our girls of summer are back in business. The United States will start its defense of the World Cup title this Sunday in Washington, D.C.–an unexpected home-field curtain call after the SARS epidemic spurred organizers to move the tourney from China. But while the U.S. lineup remains largely intact from four years ago, nobody is expecting deja vu all over again. The last World Cup was a carefully planned pageant that turned into a fairy tale. “One of the most wonderful things was how unexpected it all was,” says Mia Hamm, the game’s reigning superstar. But back then the ladies had the summer sports calendar pretty much to themselves. This time they will go up against the fall glut of baseball and football.
This World Cup, followed by next summer’s Olympics in Athens, is the farewell tour for Hamm and a handful of her thirtysomething teammates who have played together on the national team since the late ’80s. Against all odds, this pioneering group of women has somehow come to define old-fashioned virtue in sports: the rewards of hard work, discipline, selflessness and camaraderie. “I never dreamed I’d get a chance to play with these women, let alone in a World Cup here in the U.S.,” says Cat Reddick, who watched the ‘99 final from the stands and now, at 21, is a likely starting defender. “At my first practice I’m pinching myself when a player walks up to me and says, ‘Hi, I’m Julie Foudy.’ Like I didn’t know who she was.”
There is more than just winning at stake in this World Cup. After ‘99, the players parlayed their success into a new pro soccer league, the WUSA. Now, after three seasons, the league is shaky, buffeted by a weakened economy and challenged to transform those “soccer moms” and their families into paying customers. “We know every time we go out we’re still fighting for the future of women’s soccer,” says defender Joy Fawcett, at 37 the team’s oldest performer. The players hope they can use this showcase to grab fans’ attention and rejuvenate their franchise.
Winning, of course, is usually the best attention grabber, even though new rules forbid players to remove their shirts. But victory didn’t come easy four years ago–a shoot-out squeaker after 120 scoreless minutes with China–and could be even tougher this time. Women’s soccer has made huge strides globally, a collective improvement reflected in the U.S. team’s recent performance. Since the last Cup, its record includes 14 losses and 15 ties, compared with just six losses and five ties in the run-up to ‘99. The United States has drawn the toughest of the opening-round groups in the 16-team field: longtime powerhouse Sweden, African champ Nigeria and Asian titlist North Korea.
Still, the United States boasts not only its formidable veteran core, but an infusion of young talent just out of the college ranks. “I think we’re far superior to four years ago, with more versatility and depth at all positions,” says head coach April Heinrichs, a former team captain and college coach who took over shortly after the ‘99 triumph. Team captain Foudy credits Heinrichs with developing a more flexible approach. “April has backed off some of her college philosophies,” says Foudy. “You don’t want to turn us players into robots. Now she’s saying, ‘Within the overall structure, be creative, feel free to do your own thing’.” Two players who didn’t figure to be doing their own thing, indeed anything, in the World Cup could prove critical to U.S. hopes. Shannon MacMillan, 29, the team’s leading goal scorer last year, was expected to miss the entire tournament after knee surgery in May. Her return more than two months ahead of normal recovery schedule gives the U.S. team firepower off the bench.
The other critical returnee is goalkeeper Briana Scurry, whose diving, fingertip save set the stage for Chastain’s Cup-winning goal. After the ‘99 season, Scurry admits, she was more interested in eating dessert than playing soccer. Her fitness suffered, and she drifted off the national team for most of two seasons. But after a WUSA game she bumped into Kristine Lilly, the workaholic midfielder whose 255 U.S. team appearances ranks No. 1. “She pulled me aside and said, ‘We miss you’,” recalls Scurry. “I almost broke down.” Instead, Scurry hit the gym, and regained her unrivaled mobility while bulking up to a more powerful 153 pounds. “My arms never looked like this,” says Scurry, now 32 and once again the team’s top keeper. “I had to get used to my new toys.”
With Scurry’s new toys, the team’s reservoir of talent and experience, and the home-field advantage, America remains the pre-Cup favorite. But as far as the love affair goes, well… the players hope they can rekindle that spark. After all, some say love can be even better the second time around.
