Solo, U.S. women look for redemption in gold-medal game

August 20, 9:13 PMSoccer ExaminerJesse Baumgartner

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Soccer Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

CHECK THURSDAY MORNING FOR LIVE POSTS ON THIS OLYMPIC FINAL.

GAME STARTS AT 9 A.M. ET

The U.S. women have dreamed of, longed for and coveted the chance to play this game. In fact, they even made a commercial about it. Because you see, Brazil didn’t just beat them in the 2007 World Cup semifinals – they embarrassed them. There aren’t many lucky 4-0 score lines, and there wasn’t one smiling U.S. player after the devastating defeat in China last September.

Now in the Olympics, the U.S. has the ultimate chance, an opportunity to claim both revenge and a gold medal in one 90-minute span. It certainly won’t be easy, as the usual Brazilian suspects are back in action. Marta and Christiane accounted for three of the goals in that 4-0 rout, and they were responsible for destroying Germany (the team that beat them in the 2007 World Cup final) with another combined three goals in the Olympic semifinals to reach this game. Check out this goal from Marta during the 2007 WC game between the two squads….sick.

And while this game means a lot to the entire team, it perhaps represents even more to U.S. keeper Hope Solo. For it was after the Brazil game that she criticized coach Greg Ryan’s decision to replace her with veteran Brianna Scurry and claimed she would have made the saves. That was followed by an exile period for Solo before she rebounded and came back strong to reclaim her starting spot. She said she could make the saves, and now she gets her chance – like they say, talk is cheap. It’s time to deliver.

(Check out this article in Sports Illustrated by Grant Wahl about Solo)

The real tactical question figures to be whether the U.S. defense can handle the firepower of Marta and Christiane, and whether they can spring their own offense off of that defensive work.

But perhaps even more important might be the mental aspect - can the U.S. handle its emotions as it enters this intense rematch? Because while the storyline right now leans toward the romanticized, revenge-fulfilled ending, these things don’t always work out like that – especially when the joga bonito-oriented Brazilians are in the building.