Benched keeper Hope Solo blasts US coach Ryan
Published 9/27/2007 10:54:10 AM by Shane Barrow from soccermogul
Team USA goalkeeper Hope Solo was benched before today's 4-0 loss to Brazil in the World Cup semifinals, and she isn't going to hold back on either her coach, Greg Ryan, or the more experienced goalie she was benched for, Briana Scurry.
"It was the wrong decision and anyone who knows anything about the game knows that," Solo said in a TV interview after the game. "There's no doubt in my mind I would have made those saves."
Solo went on to say it didnt matter what Scurry did in the Olympics in 2004 that the decision should have been made for today not based on performances of years ago. Solo gave up two goals in the first match but was unscored on for the following 300 minutes. Scurry, meanwhile, hadn't played a full game in three months.
Obviously, we'll never know if that's true or not, and even if she would have made those saves, Team USA might have lost anyway. But Ryan's job is to get his team ready to play, and his team wasn't ready to play today. Solo had tears in her eyes as she was speaking and might regret her emotional comments tomorrow. But that doesn't make them wrong.
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