<a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/abbywambach.png"></a><div><figure class="image"><a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/abbywambach.png"><img loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-160048" src="https:\/\/ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https:\/\/images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20151217_WST_160043_abbywambach-600x300.webp&amp;width=600&amp;height=300" alt="abbywambach" width="600" height="300" srcset="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/12/abbywambach.png 600w, https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/12/abbywambach-150x75.png 150w, https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/12/abbywambach-300x150.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"></a></figure></div>
You might have heard, Abby Wambach is retiring today. So that means one last media circus. One last round of interviews. One last word cloud of sound bites.
Wambach deleted her Twitter account as part of a Gatorade campaign. She was <a href="https:\/\/soundcloud.com/the-bill-simmons-podcast/ep-40-abby-wambach">on Bill Simmons’ podcast</a>. US Soccer busted out one last T-shirt to grab that cash. She had <a href="http:\/\/espn.go.com/espnw/news-commentary/article/14377817/as-abby-wambach-retires-us-women-national-team-find-new-voice">one last pre-game press conference</a>.
She’s certainly going out talking. You could probably push her off a cliff and it would be nothing but words all the way down. That has always been one of Wambach’s strengths — she will say what she wants, when she wants, to achieve the goal she wants — but it has also been one of her drawbacks.
Just look at the World Cup this past summer. She <a href="http:\/\/ftw.usatoday.com/2015/07/abby-wambach-uswnt-world-cup-fina-psychic">called herself clairvoyant</a>, a seer; she suggested her teammates Lauren Holiday and Megan Rapinoe <a href="http:\/\/www.usatoday.com/story/sports/soccer/2015/06/23/abby-wambach-complain-referee-world-cup/29144577/">were intentionally carded out</a>; she said <a href="http:\/\/www.nytimes.com/2015/05/24/sports/soccer/abby-wambach-unconcerned-with-broken-records-or-nose-craves-world-cup-title.html">her teammates might be scared</a> compared to her; she referred to herself as <a href="http:\/\/espn.go.com/espnw/news-commentary/2015worldcup/article/13209390/united-states-coach-jill-ellis-made-all-right-moves-world-cup-run">“one of the most decorated goal scorers in the world.”</a>
On Simmons’ show, she said Jurgen Klinsmann should get fired, said there are too many big egos in the men’s program right now, doesn’t think a bunch of “foreign guys” should have been brought in to the men’s national team as opposed to youth development, and made her peace with the idea of permanent injury from repeated concussions as the price of her fantastic career.
<div class="ck-youtube"><iframe loading="lazy" title="#ChasingAbby: Wambach Sets Record with Goal #159" width="500" height="281" src="https:\/\/www.youtube.com/embed/a2mPbM1OS9w?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>
But on the flipside, she has been tirelessly pushing her latest raison d’etre: gender equality in the game. She was relentless on the topic on Simmons’ podcast, lamenting the fact that women have to go where the money is in order to just make a living, blasting FIFA and federations for not having the guts to decide that women deserve equal consideration, citing <a href="https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2014/10/09/is-there-a-link-between-artificial-turf-and-cancer-in-soccer-goalies/">an article that tries to link field turf to cancer in young goalkeepers</a>, and calling playing the World Cup on turf “pathetic.”
SEE MORE: <a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/2015/12/10/sunil-gulati-had-a-bad-2015-2016-needs-to-be-better/">Sunil Gulati had a bad 2015; 2016 needs to be better.</a>
At one point, she lamented losing the 2011 World Cup, telling Simmons that after the epic quarterfinal against Brazil she had envisioned herself becoming player of the tournament, then player of the year. The kind of single-minded self-aggrandizing visualization that the greatest athletes have to use to achieve, or just a regular fantasy that anyone would indulge in based on their hopes and dreams? Maybe a bit of both, because Abby Wambach is both a pinnacle athlete and a regular human woman with regular human emotions.
They talked about her coming out, her biggest disappointments and her most cherished professional memories, her family and her hopes for other young athletes out there. She was game for any topic at all.
So today has been Abby as usual, just with the volume turned up. She’s retiring and doesn’t have to keep such a tight hold on her tongue anymore. She does have to stay on #brand, because even though President Obama himself singled her out as the GOAT, she’s still a female athlete in a world that doesn’t quite value female athletes like it should. She has to hustle pretty hard to make sure she’s set financially.
<div class="ck-twitter"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Congrats on a great career, Abby Wambach. For the goals you’ve scored &amp; the kids you’ve inspired, you’re the GOAT! <a href="https:\/\/t.co/Kud56ChsBO">pic.twitter.com/Kud56ChsBO</a>
— President Obama (@POTUS44) <a href="https:\/\/twitter.com/POTUS44/status/677222716303364098?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 16, 2015</a></blockquote></div>
<script async="" src="https:\/\/platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
But other than that, she obviously feels free to ramble as she sees fit. She’s not someone’s iconic cash cow. She’s not the hype machine who has to absorb media scrutiny and do her best to amplify it for the sake of her team and her sport. She’s not the big game pressure player carrying the burden of being the focal point of all the goalscoring. She’s retiring. She’s just Abby now.
SEE MORE: <a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/2015/10/27/abby-wambach-retirement-uswnt/">Why now’s the right time for Abby Wambach to retire.</a>
Can you say that someone whose impact will echo down the line for at least a couple of generations is ever “just” anything? Can you separate Abby Wambach from her legacy? Maybe she might prefer that you did. Everything she’s done this year has been placed under a magnifying lens of speculation and opinion, turning this Victory Tour into a spectacle that US Soccer has been determined to mine for every last drop of nostalgia (and cash).
At some point, you have to imagine that she would like it to be about 11 players against 11 players. But that’s not the reality of her life, or of women’s soccer. So for one more day she picks up the microphone and smiles into the camera. After all, she’s pretty good at talking.

On her final day, Abby Wambach was at full volume - World Soccer Talk

On her final day, Abby Wambach was at full volume

<div id="attachment_160058" style="width: 610px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/abby-wambach.jpg"><div><figure class="image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-160058" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-160058" src="https:\/\/ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https:\/\/images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20151217_WST_160057_abby-wambach-600x399.webp&amp;width=600&amp;height=399" alt="Photo credit: AFP." width="600" height="399" srcset="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/12/abby-wambach-600x399.jpg 600w, https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/12/abby-wambach-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/12/abby-wambach-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/12/abby-wambach.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"></figure></div></a>Photo credit: AFP.</div>
American Abby Wambach, whose 184 goals make her the top scorer in international soccer history, retired with a bang on Wednesday, saying the US Soccer Federation should fire men’s coach Jurgen Klinsmann.
The 35-year-old striker helped the Americans win this year’s Women’s World Cup and was set to make her farewell as a player in a US friendly against China on Wednesday at New Orleans.
“Congrats on a great career, Abby Wambach,” US President Barack Obama tweeted. “For the goals you’ve scored and the kids you’ve inspired, you’re the GOAT (Greatest of All Time)!”
Wambach made her controversial comments on a podcast, even apologizing to US Soccer president Sunil Gulati as she blasted his key employee, the one charged with getting the US squad to the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
“I would definitely fire Jurgen,” Wambach said. “Sorry Sunil. Sorry US Soccer, but I don’t think Jurgen and this litmus test on him has worked. He hasn’t really focused, I feel, enough attention on the youth programs. Although he says he has, I don’t think that he has.”
Wambach also took issue with many of the dual citizens that Klinsmann has recruited to the American team, many of them with American and German citizenship.
“The way that he has brought in a bunch of these foreign guys is not something I believe in wholeheartedly,” she said.
“And I love (German-born American) Jermaine Jones, I love watching him play, and I love (German-born American) Fabian Johnson, and he plays in Germany (Borussia Monchengladbach) and is actually killing it right now after being sent home for ‘faking an injury’. But I just think that this experiment that US Soccer has given Jurgen isn’t one that personally I’m into. It has got to be interesting for those guys to see their coach take off in a helicopter and fly home to his home and then back to training.
“It seems to me there are too many egos in our men’s program right now and the bigger ego of all of them is the one who is leading the charge,” she said.
Gulati told ESPN: “Abby has never been shy of speaking her mind, but today it’s best to celebrate a wonderful career and character.”
SEE MORE: <a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/2015/12/16/on-her-final-day-abby-wambach-was-at-full-volume/">On her final day, Wambach was at full volume.</a>
Klinsmann has been under pressure lately despite a strong US run to the knockout stages at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The Americans were semifinal losers to Jamaica in the Gold Cup and lost to Mexico when playing for a berth in the Confederations Cup.
Wambach, who has won two Olympic gold medals and was named FIFA 2012 Women’s Player of the Year, argued for women to be paid as well as men for their efforts on the pitch.
“The men get paid way more than the women in soccer, yeah, I understand logically the argument about the ratings and that is more global,” she said.
“But that doesn’t mean that it makes it right. Equality isn’t something that actually costs anything.”

Abby Wambach thinks US Soccer should fire Jurgen Klinsmann - World Soccer Talk

Abby Wambach thinks US Soccer should fire Jurgen Klinsmann

<a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/wambach.png"></a><div><figure class="image"><a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/wambach.png"><img loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-155565" src="https:\/\/ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https:\/\/images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20151027_WST_155529_wambach-600x300.webp&amp;width=600&amp;height=300" alt="wambach" width="600" height="300" srcset="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/10/wambach.png 600w, https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/10/wambach-150x75.png 150w, https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/10/wambach-300x150.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"></a></figure></div>
She’ll retire as women’s international soccer’s all-time leading scorer, but unlike the regret fans expressed as teammate Lauren Holiday brought her career to an end on Sunday in Orlando, Abby Wambach, long the figurehead of the U.S. women’s national team, faces a more mixed response&nbsp;with her announcement. According to <a href="http:\/\/www.ussoccer.com/stories/2015/10/27/18/45/151027-wnt-abby-wambach-announces-retirement">today’s release&nbsp;from U.S. Soccer</a>, the 35-year-old will retire from soccer at the end of 2015, concluding a year of uncertainty&nbsp;about her place with the women’s national team.
From U.S. Soccer:
<blockquote>Abby Wambach, the leading scorer in the history of international soccer and one of the world’s all-time greatest players, has announced her retirement.
Wambach, 35, will end a spectacular 15-year international career that began in September of 2001 at the age of 21 when she debuted against Germany …
Wambach will be with the team for all four of its December matches, but her final game for the USA will come on Dec. 16 against China PR in New Orleans …</blockquote>
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Wambach’s resume is beyond reproach. With 252 international appearances, 184 goals, a World Cup and two&nbsp;Olympic gold medals, the Rochester-born forward is as accomplished as any soccer player the United States has ever produced. In an exposure vacuum that remained after the U.S.’s famed “99ers” faded from the competition scene, Wambach became the face of U.S. women’s soccer, and through her recent place at the front of issues&nbsp;such as <a href="http:\/\/espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/11655083/us-women-soccer-star-abby-wambach-lives-extreme">gay rights</a>&nbsp;and <a href="https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2015/01/14/abby-wambach-says-womens-world-cup-players-are-still-fighting-the-turf-war-but-they-wont-boycott-event/">the equality battle that emanated around the 2015 World Cup</a>, Wambach exhibited a leadership that transcended her role on the field.
U.S. head coach Jill Ellis:
<blockquote>“Abby is a player who has transcended our sport and her legacy as one of the world’s greatest players is set forever.&nbsp;What she has done for women’s soccer and women’s sports overall with her amazing talents on the field and her personality off it has been inspiring to watch. I am just extremely happy that she could end her career with that elusive World Cup title and go out on top, right where she deserves to be.”</blockquote>
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But Wambach’s&nbsp;role on the field had become a point of uncertainty. Before the 2015 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) season, Wambach announced <a href="http:\/\/www.nwslsoccer.com/News/2015Q1/867642.html">she would not play club soccer in preparation for the World Cup</a>. In the lead up to that tournament, Wambach brought on controversy by <a href="http:\/\/www.nytimes.com/2015/05/24/sports/soccer/abby-wambach-unconcerned-with-broken-records-or-nose-craves-world-cup-title.html?_r=0">calling her teammates “scared”</a> and <a href="http:\/\/www.usatoday.com/story/sports/soccer/2015/06/23/abby-wambach-referee-yellow-card/29184477/">questioning the motives of a referee in Canada</a>. Come the end of the competition, her role had been reduced to late match cameos, with her ineffectiveness at the start of the tournament costing her a starting spot.
In the wake of Canada, Wambach’s future had remained an open question. Participating in the U.S.’s Victory Tour, Wambach left it unclear whether she’d return to the NWSL or seek a spot at next summer’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. With roster sizes reduced from 23 to 18 between the two back-to-back major tournaments, Wambach’s potential inclusion was already a point of debate.
With today’s announcement, however, that debate&nbsp;recedes, and fans can again focus on Wambach’s positive contributions. As `99er&nbsp;Mia Hamm faded from the public eye, and the controversy surrounding Hope Solo at the 2007 World Cup became the most notable thing about the U.S. program, Wambach’s dominance on the field provided a much-needed focal point for the program’s public face. That focal point became absurd at times, as it did in the relentless “#ChasingMia” promotions as Wambach sought the all-time scoring record, but the path she took to that point was a singular one. While&nbsp;a generation of stars faded away before a true second coming could emerge, Abby Wambach was U.S. women’s soccer.
Wambach:
<blockquote>“After much deliberation and talking with my friends, family, teammates and our coaching staff, I’ve decided to finally bring my soccer career to an end.&nbsp;While we still have more work to do for women’s soccer, after bringing the World Cup back to the United States this summer, I’m feeling extremely optimistic about the future of our sport. It’s been an amazing, wonderful ride and I can’t wait to see what the next chapter of my life brings.”</blockquote>
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On Dec. 16 in New Orleans, when the United States faces China, Wambach’s&nbsp;path finally comes to an end. She&nbsp;will not be at the Olympics or in the NWSL in 2016, but after 15 years with the national team, 14 in professional soccer, three different club teams and the most enviable statistical record in soccer history, there was nothing another year could accomplish.
Two months from now, Wambach will leave all the glory and controversies behind and get the sendoff she deserves. And with it, the most&nbsp;prolific striker the game has ever known will say goodbye to her sport.

On her final day, Abby Wambach was at full volume

Abby Wambach

On her final day, Abby Wambach was at full volume

Abby Wambach

Abby Wambach thinks US Soccer should fire Jurgen Klinsmann

Abby Wambach

2015 was the right time for Abby Wambach to retire from USWNT