Abby Wambach appeared on The Bill Simmons Podcast before playing in her final game with the USWNT Wednesday in New Orleans. During the podcast, Wambach talked with Simmons about her farewell to the game that she has been dominating for years.
The hottest tidbit coming from their interview was regarding Wambach’s opinions regarding the U.S. men’s national team, which concluded with her supporting Jurgen Klinsmann’s firing as head coach.
Simmons asked her if she could fix one thing about the team, what it would be, to which she replied:
“Oh man, I would definitely fire Jurgen. Sorry Sunil, sorry U.S. Soccer.”
Wambach explained that she felt that Klinsmann hasn’t given the proper attention to the youth programs, and how he has just brought in foreign players. She did not pull any punches in her discussion with Simmons.
You can hear Wambach discuss Klinsmann at the 37-minute mark:
https://soundcloud.com/the-bill-simmons-podcast/ep-40-abby-wambach
Klinsmann is the 35th coach in the history of the U.S. men’s soccer. He got off to a notably rocky start, as the team lost four of its first six games of his tenure.
He received a ton of criticism back in 2014 when he left Landon Donovan, one of the few faces recognizable by the casual soccer fan, off of the roster for the 2014 World Cup. The U.S. advanced to the knockout stage after finishing second to eventual champions Germany in the group of death. The U.S. would ultimately get knocked out by Belgium in the round of 16, 2-1 in extra time.
But, everything else aside, Nike Soccer released this amazing video tribute to Wambach, featuring a number of Wambach’s teammates who let her know how much of an impact that she has had on them. Good luck holding back the tears while watching this one:
https://youtu.be/KXh-E92mUN8
The video starts off with her teammates holding back emotion as they describe just what she provided for each of them, between goals that she scored, her spirit, and just playing with a legend.
Abby Wambach has been great for American sports, and to see her wrapping up her illustrious career is not easy. But it has been a pleasure for everyone to watch, and at least she went out with a World Cup triumph this summer.
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