USWNT Head Coach Pia Sundhage Will Be Missed

On September 1, Pia Sundhage, the head coach of US Soccer’s Women’s National Team, announced her intention to return home to pursue opportunities in Sweden (i.e. the head coaching position with their WNT). Like many, I was caught by surprise by this. While I begrudge her none of her opportunities, I can’t help but selfishly worry about the USWNT.

In 2007, the USWNT was in the midst of some turmoil. Then head coach Paul Ryan arguably sabotaged the US’s chances in the 2007 Women’s World Cup when he inexplicably benched his #1 goalkeeper, Hope Solo, for storied goalkeeper Brianna Scurry who hadn’t racked many minutes in goal. The USWNT lost the game, prompting Solo to speak out about the change. Ryan then suspended her from the team. Team members had their own opinions about the events, which caused some internal tensions. Then came Pia.

It didn’t take long for US Soccer to take action. Ryan was out in favor of Sundhage. Hope Solo soon also found her way back onto the team. Since Sundhage became the head coach, the USWNT has won two Olympic gold medals and was runner up (via penalty kicks) in the 2011 Women’s World Cup. Pia took a team who had been, frankly, self-destructing and restored it to past swagger.

Starting with April Heinricks in 2000, the USWNT slowly lost its identity. What had once been a disciplined, flexible, sometimes creative style of play that emphasized winning by both goal scoring and solid defense under Tony DiCicco, moved into a more cautious style under Heinricks. The USWNT grew increasing predictable and beatable as the Heinricks era moved to the Ryan era. The creativity was lacking. The fun was gone. The USWNT was an aging shadow of past glory.

I worry that the next head coach will be more like Heinricks or Ryan. Sundhage’s style is more geared to scoring goals than to stopping them, though defense isn’t neglected. It’s exciting for the fans, but more importantly, it’s engaging for the players. They are constantly playing to win (ideally, to win convincingly) instead of not to lose. Too many coaches try to protect that one goal lead. They are afraid to take the risk of being great and prefer to settle for being just-good-enough. Pia wants greatness and USWNT deserves to retain it.

The next USWNT head coach needs to have that same thirst for greatness. Ey needs to be confident enough in eir ability and the team’s talent that most of the coaching is done on the practice field. Ey also needs to be great at spotting talent. In 2007, the USWNT was filled with stars that would be aging out of the roster…too many. The current team is a solid mix of experience and youth. The next head coach needs to continue that.

I hope for Pia Sundhage to have a successful return to her native Sweden. She’s earned the respect of the world for how skillfully she guided the United States to five years of success following some surprising turmoil. As long as Sweden doesn’t beat the US in international play, I’ll be rooting for her.

Photo: kandschwar (CC BY 3.0)