Coach: U.S. women’s team at 'competitive disadvantage’

Search

Banned
Joined
Sep 21, 2004
Messages
496
Tokens
The U.S. is already starting with the whinning and excuses (Pathetic)

Schedule quirk could cost team its top scorerThe Associated Press
Updated: 4:38 p.m. ET Aug. 12, 2004THESSALONIKI, Greece - The U.S. women’s soccer team could lose its best scorer for an important game because of the Olympic tournament’s quirky rules, and the coach wants something done about it.

advertisement

“We’re at a competitive disadvantage,” coach April Heinrichs said following her team’s opening game, a 3-0 victory over Greece.

The problem stems from an Olympic format that never seemed even-handed from the start. Simply put, the organizers threw elementary math out the window when drawing up the schedule, leaving the Americans and three other teams caught in the middle.

There are 10 women’s teams in the Olympic tournament. The teams could have been split into two equal groups of five. Instead, they are split into three groups — one with four teams and the other two with just three teams. The United States happens to be drawn into the group with four teams.

That means the Americans must play three first-round games — against fellow group members Greece, Brazil and Australia — in just seven days in the stifling heat of a Greek August. The teams in the other groups play just twice over seven days.

To compound matters, the usual tournament rules regarding yellow card fouls remained the same. If a player gets two yellow cards in the first round, she is suspended for the next game.

Sure enough, U.S. forward Abby Wambach received a yellow card in the 49th minute Wednesday against Greece. If she gets another yellow card in the Americans’ third game — a game that teams in other groups don’t even have to play — then Wambach will be on the bench for the do-or-die quarterfinals.

Wambach, by the way, has scored 15 goals in her last 16 games. She’s scored twice as many goals as any U.S. player this year except for Mia Hamm. She is an indispensable cog in the American attack.

Heinrichs has been tactfully grumbling about the rules since the format was announced, but Wambach’s yellow card prompted the coach’s strongest words to date. While it’s too late to change the size of the groups, Heinrichs publicly called on FIFA, the world governing body of soccer, to change the yellow card rule for these Olympics.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
1,106,766
Messages
13,438,780
Members
99,337
Latest member
hbs_solutions
The RX is the sports betting industry's leading information portal for bonuses, picks, and sportsbook reviews. Find the best deals offered by a sportsbook in your state and browse our free picks section.FacebookTwitterInstagramContact Usforum@therx.com