Thu, Aug 12th 2010, 15:00
Olympic gold medal. Two FIFA Women’s World Cup bronze medals. WUSA Founders Cup MVP.
Abby Wambach’s tough style and goal-scoring abilities earned her a spot on the women’s national team at 21. She won gold at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, alongside several of her soccer idols. Wambach was unstoppable on the field and is among the top-scoring players in history. She was expected to help lead the team to gold at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, but her teammates would have to do it without her after Wambach broke her leg in a collision with a Brazilian player in the final game before the start of the Beijing Games. She has made a full recovery and is a wiser, more mature player as she eyes a second gold medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Down and Dirty with the Boys
Mary Abigail ‘Abby’ Wambach grew up in Rochester, N.Y., where she started playing youth soccer when she was 4. In the first soccer youth league she played in, Wambach scored an impressive 27 goals in just three games.
Her mom decided she needed to be challenged and transferred her to a boys’ league.
“My mom was pretty imperative that I had good coaches and that I was challenged,” Wambach said. “And back then, the girls youth programs just weren’t up to the standards. Of course, boys are more physical and a lot of the better coaches were with the boys teams.”
Playing with the boys immensely improved Wambach’s skills.
“It definitely played a role in why I’m more physical than most female soccer players,” Wambach said. “I like to get dirty. I like to get on the ground. I like to use my body to my full advantage.”
In 2001, when Wambach was 21, she was named to the U.S. Soccer women’s national team for the first time.
The following year, she was the second overall pick in the Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA) draft and played alongside Mia Hamm for the Washington Freedom. Her knowledge of the sport increased thanks to Hamm, but even so, she wasn’t sure if she would achieve her dream of making the Olympic team.
“At that point, I didn’t know because I was so new and still learning so much,” Wambach said. “When I made the jump to the professional level, I learned a lot. I had a lot of potential and I started to reach my potential in my first couple years on the national team.”
By 2003, she was playing a much more regular role on the national team. She played on the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup team and helped Team USA earn a bronze medal.