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that-soccer-guru · 3 years

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I remember watching the semi finals and finals of the 2019 WC but I didn't really get invested into woso until mid january 2020 so I'm kinda confused on how the qualifying process works (both for WC and olympics) Over quarantine I spent a lot of time watching uswnt games from mid/late 2018 leading up to the WC, and late 2019 games leading up to olympics but I'm still confused because there's like 3 training camps, a believing tournament thingy (?) and then a qualifying tournament. I guess with all the games and rosters moving around I get confused. How does the qualifying process work and is She Believes a part of the process or...?

Hey there, this is a great question. Everytime I say that you should expect a long ass post, so buckle up.

The number of camps and stuff does not really make a difference. Every national team can hold as many camps as they want, provided their players are released by the clubs. For players in the international market, teams usually won't release them except for FIFA dates (friendly games or qualifying events), because they don't want their players risking unnecessary injuries or strains. This is why for the US at least it's good that a chunk of their NT core plays in the nwsl, since the NT allocated players aren't paid or under contract by their league teams and can therefore be called up whenever USSF/the USWNT feels like it—horrible for the health of the league and a big reason why NT players do whatever the hell they want with their trades and make it miserable for their teams when it comes to trading season—but I digress.

Olympics qualifiers work like this: There's 12 teams in total. The hosts of the Olympics automatically qualify for a spot and the other 11 spots are up for grabs and they qualify through tournaments in their continental confederations:

1 goes to CONMEBOL (South America): the spot is decided with the winner of Copa America—more later on the runner up

2 to CONCACAF (Central and North America): through Olympic qualifier tournament.

1 to the CAF (Africa): with Olympic qualifier tournament—more later on the runner up

1 to OFC(Oceania): with the Nations Cup

2 to the AFC (Asia ft Australia): Olympic Qualifier Tournament, top 2 teams qualify—they also have one representative already with Japan being the host

3 go to UEFA: these spots are decided by who made it the furthest in the world cup. The current Olympic Gold Champions, Germany, won't be able to defend their medal since they got knocked out by Sweden. There's also a little part where Britain secured their spot BUT according to IOC rules of membership Britain doesn't qualify as a country, its the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Therefore, Scottish, Irish and Welsh players are available for the GB Olympic Roster, not just the Lionesses roster.

That leaves us with:

UEFA: the UK, Sweden and the Netherlands are qualified for the Olympics and gold medal winners Germany will have to watch from home.

CONMEBOL: Brazil won Copa América and therefore qualified for the CONMEBOL spot. The runner up, Chile, will go to a playoff game with the runner up of the CAF qualifying tournament.

CONCACAF: No surprises here, the US and Canada qualified through the Olympic tournament. This is NOT Shebelieves which is just a tournament the US hosts that has no bearing on Olympic standings.

CAF: Zambia placed first in the Olympic qualifier and earned their spot right away. The runner up, Cameroon, will move on to a playoff game with Chile.

OFC: New Zealand won the Nation's cup and therefore qualified for the Olympics.

AFC: Again no surprises, Australia qualified for the Olympics by placing first in the qualifying tournament. The 2nd spot will be a tie-breaking game between South Korea and China, and whoever wins will be the runner up for the AFC qualifiers and therefore the 2nd qualified for this confederation (third if you count Japan which, again, qualified automatically since they're hosting the Olympics)

CONMEBOL-CAF PLAYOFF: Chile and Cameroon are scheduled to play mid/late February to decide which team gets to go to the Olympics from these two confederations.

This thing is already getting long but every confederation has its own rules to qualify and certain number of spots, the host nation doesn't count towards the spots, and it works the same way for the World Cup Qualifiers which I know you kind of asked about but this seemed more pressing? if you want me to break that one down (and it's more extensive bc there's 32 spots, not 12) I Def can! Thanks for the question

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fawsldaily · 4 years

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Fears of a stop-start return to action has left many Women’s Super League players mentally “checked out” and desperate for the season to be ended, according to a leading women’s football agent.

A&V Sports’ Alan Naigeon believes not knowing the future of the season and mixed messages from clubs have compounded the problems facing the game. “We’re getting to a point where a lot of players are just losing their motivation,” said Naigeon, whose agency represents Ada Hegerberg and Sam Kerr.

“A lot of WSL players don’t want to restart because they’ve checked out mentally. They don’t want to go through another pre-season. And if they are going to go through one they just want it to be meaningful, not to just go and play two games and get stopped again. It’s hard on them.”

Concern for the welfare of the players he represents and over their lack of input in the decision-making process has been extremely frustrating. “Every morning I receive texts from players, like Sam Kerr, who Chelsea are being very patient with, asking when they are going to resume. Then I have a player at Brighton who is telling me that her club wants her back in two weeks,” Naigeon said.

“The players do not want to restart, 100%. We see some of the messages clubs send to their players trying to pressure them into coming back to the UK to get ready to train and it’s like: at what point do we realise that this is just football? Yes, it’s a job but it’s also just football.”

It is not only players in WSL who are suffering. The Guardian’s 2018 footballer of the year, Khadija “Bunny” Shaw, is also represented by Naigeon. “This is a crazy example,” he said of the Bordeaux forward. “Bunny Shaw is in Jamaica, the situation there is good but they are being careful. Bunny is in quarantine, a week ago the club wanted her to return.

“That means we had to find a flight that would leave from Jamaica – impossible. When she arrived in France she would have to quarantine for two weeks, when she was done with the quarantine if for any reason France were to cancel the league, which they then did, she would have had to return to Jamaica and quarantine again.

“Her club were ready for her to return even though there was the chance she would have to quarantine for 28 days and take two long flights at great risk with the league unlikely to restart. In my head I’m wondering whether the person on the phone asking her to do that would do it themselves.”

A lack of alignment between the leagues globally is a problem unique to professional women’s football. A number of players piece an income together by, say, playing a season in the NWSL in the United States or a European league and then the W-League in Australia. However new start and end dates to seasons, with some cancelled and others in limbo, are pushing them out of sync. “Players are being impacted,” Naigeon said.

One player represented by Naigeon now finds herself stuck between leagues and is back in England without a club. “She was in Australia until March then the season was cancelled,” he explained. In the space of two months she has gone from expecting to be able to play across back-to-back leagues, to being back home and unable to sign for a club in Europe until August or possibly even later. She is having to get through the period from March onwards with no pay.”

#fawsl #fa wsl

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whydoiwrite · 3 years

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I agree with you but all pride players are testing negative daily and strawberry picking is something you do isolated as a group and you go off into your own corner to eat them. Where I live rn all indoor and outdoor eating is banned but fruit fields are open because they’re safe to do. I agree with you everyone should wear a mask and on the picnic table you can see a mask. There are 100% players that need to be chastised regarding their safety around covid but This is not one of those instances.

I go strawberry picking every year; I’m aware of how it works.

Safe is relative. What % chance of transmission is safe for you when it comes to the possibility of someone ending up with a lifelong health condition? Or death? Is there an acceptable number?

COVID spreads outdoors.

Sure the risk is mitigated, but if it still exists, why risk it when you could just... keep your mask on? I don’t give a shit if you care about your own life, but who gives you the right to risk anyone else’s life, even if that’s like a 1% chance that picking strawberries or having teammates over could spread the virus?

They’re screened for symptoms daily, but I’m almost certain they are not tested daily considering the NWSL protocols state twice weekly. Besides, if they were tested daily, the league would be conducting more than 840 tests in a week, correct? Not worth me doing the math, but seems if they’re testing all players, staff, coaches, etc 5-6 days a week across 10 teams, that number would be higher. But no matter. You can test negative today and test positive a few days later, meaning you’ve been carrying it and spreading it during that time. Again, why take a chance when you could just wear a mask (two really according the CDC, but whatever).

Again, I don’t care about what’s banned, what’s legal, etc. It’s about the fact that we know better, therefore we should do better. And like I previously stated, it’s about normalizing wearing masks, not taking advantage of the stupidity of anti-science lawmakers. It’s about not taking a chance, no matter how small that chance is, around a newborn. Fucking double mask if a baby is in play, because we don’t know what long-term impact catching covid will have on children who seemingly fight it off easily.

By the way, two cloth masks are only about 75% effective. But a medical-grade paper mask, plus a cloth mask, is around 96.5% effective. If I were going around other people, I’d be double-masking around my own infant until I got the vaccination.

And for the record, this isn’t just about the Pride players or babies. I could rant about almost the entire national team, the Chelsea players celebrating their win today, the Spirit and Dash players going out to public places that they don’t need to but want to. The list goes on and on.

#I’m not going to get any peace

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nwslwiki · 4 years

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Covid Tourney 2020!

What is it? There is an NWSL tournament happening next month.

When? The tournament would run from June 29th through July 22nd. (source)

Where? It is expected to be held in Utah. Stadiums will be Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy and Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, the former being where the Utah Royals play during a normal season. Both are owned by Real Salt Lake, the MLS partner to the Utah Royals. (source)

Is it confirmed? The language in varying articles is a bit unclear and the league itself hasn’t announced it, but according to at least one source, yes. (source)

Will there be fans? As of now, it’s unclear. Rumors are that “a group of previously selected fans will be able to attend the first set of games” but that isn’t confirmed in any capacity. (source) A more recent article says that fans will not be allowed. (source)

Where will the players stay? As of now it is theorized that they will stay in dorms near the RLS facilities. Another possibility that’s been floated is nearby hotels with bare-bones staff. (source)

What about international players that aren’t with their teams yet? I haven’t seen any information about international players. I assume they would have to quarantine for two weeks before being allowed to train with the team, if they are allowed through immigrations. I will update if I find any further information. Yuka Momiki, a Japanese International recently signed by OL Reign, is scheduled to arrive in Tacoma this weekend, which could provide an example for how other players will travel in. (source)

Will it be safe? This is the real question. This tournament is still largely in the proposal stages, so nothing is verified or determined yet, but there are real concerns. The buzzwords “regular testing” and “controlled environment” are being used, but without any real details, it’s hard to make that determination. (source)

When will teams get there? An official date hasn’t been announced yet, but three teams with stricter guidelines for practicing in their own stadiums are expected to arrive earlier to allow adequate training time. (source)

What will the tournament format be? It seems like it will be three groups of three, playing each team in their groups twice. Eight teams would move on to a single-elimination quarterfinal-style tournament and the 9th place team would be left behind. (source)

Do we know what the groups are yet? Nope. Some people theorize breaking it up by location or by last year’s standings, but it’s unknown as of now. If it ends up being announced, I will update the post.

After the tournament, will the season continue or will that be it? The current intention is that a regular season in teams’ home markets could continue after the tournament, if the health situation allows for it. (source)

Is everyone onboard? The owners have all voted in favor. (source) However, at least a few USWNT players are supposedly not in agreement. The NWSL Players Association is reported to have an active voice in the process, but it is unknown how much weight that voice holds. (source)

Can players opt out if they’re uncomfortable? The current rumor is yes, they can. However, it is unclear what that means for their financial compensation. (source)

I have another question about this, where can I ask? You can reply to this post, send me an ask, or send me a dm and I will do my best to answer with any sources I can find.

I have a question about something else women’s soccer/football related, can I ask it? Yep! Send me an ask or a dm with your question and I will answer it as soon as I can.

Disclaimer: All of this information is accurate to the best of my knowledge at the time I posted it, May 22nd, 10:00pm EST. Please click the links to check my sources for yourself, as well as to show news sources that articles about women’s soccer garner attention and get clicks.

#nwsl #uswnt #portland thorns #christen press #tobin heath #sky blue fc #alex morgan #kelley o'hara #utah royals fc #orlando pride #mine #covid tourney 2020 #nwslwiki

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alwaysthesidecharacter · 4 years

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Okay so, let me get this straight. According to the viewing schedule I found online, literally every match (from here on out) of the NWSL challenge cup (besides the final match) will be streamed on CBS All Access??? Which is a service you have to pay for??? If that's true, can someone explain how that encourages an increase of league viewership and engagement following a world cup year???? Guys, I am confusion and I'm hoping there's another way to watch. Like is the twitch streaming route still a thing?? I need some answers guys so hit me up if you got em

#nwsl #challenge cup #what's going on???#i just wanna watch soccer :'(

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the-necessary-unnecessary · 4 years

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Wait so in the NWSL a team can get rid of one of their players and ship them off to another team without their consent so they can get the best player coming out of college? So in that case Portland got rid of Sonnett to get Sophia Smith on their team? This system baffles me. Do players coming out of college get to pick their team? Sorry I think this is a long winded way for me to ask how do transfers/NWSL draft work together? What's your take on it? Sorry if you've been asked this before

yup you got it in one! Sorry for taking so long to reply, I just needed to set it all out properly and try to get my own facts in order. Also, if anyone else wants to jump in with corrections/more info then that would be very welcomed too!

So as an outline no, no one actually gets to pick where they end up, especially if you’re fresh out of college. So basically, for the college draft, teams get assigned a certain number of ‘picks’ they can have to chose from all the registered and eligible players coming out of elite sport environments (mostly NCAA but also NAIA and NJCAA - I recommend looking up overviews of these but basically they’re just levels of intercollegiate sports). With the college draft as a standalone, each team would get 4 picks (there’s 4 rounds with 9 players chosen in each). Although note: this will change next year when Louisville comes onto the picture but that will require an expansion draft which I’ll try to go into more detail about later. The system works so that each team is assigned a pick in the reverse order of the position they came in the league, eg. last year Orlando was initially given the first overall pick and NCC was given the ninth overall pick, which is called the Distribution Ranking Order. And basically these teams can chose any college-coming player that has registered to take part in the draft, with them having no decision-making influence over where they end up.

There is also a thing where undrafted players can still get into a team if they like them enough. Basically they can invite players that weren’t part of the 36 draft picks to a preseason camp and select others from here too, eg. Reign’s Bethany Balcer who went on to be named rookie of the year last season. But again, no real choice in where you end up, you literally put your entire future in the hands of these clubs.

Now obviously this is just the easier theory, in practice the nwsl draft works alongside the trades, waivers and agreements that take place at the start of each natural year changing up the picking order as one of these can be traded for a player or for some other benefit like the rights to a pick the year after. So in the Sonnett case, the number one overall pick which ended up being Smith was traded to Portland in return for Sonnett, Caitlin Foord’s rights (she escaped Orlando by going to Europe but if she went back now she’d have to go to the Pride), and the seventh and 14th overall picks in the 2020 draft. However, each club must always have at least one spot for a pick and any trade where a spot is given must result in the team giving the better spot being given one in return (so in this case portland got the no1 pick and in return not only gave players to Orlando but also two lesser picks). To me it all just seems like an elaborate card games where the players really are no more than mere cards.

The college draft doesn’t have to feature in every trade and agreement, trades can be done according to a simple exchange of players. However, financial agreements can never be involved and the league has to be fully aware to sort out the salary cap agreements etc. Note: financial agreements can never be involved in domestic transfers, however for international ones transfer fees were allowed for the first time last year to try and up the international standard in the league. This also differs with national team players who are considered allocated since they’re fees are paid by a Federation (namely the uswnt players who are paid by ussf rather than their nwsl club), and there are also a limited number of international players you can have on your team (last year it was four).

For more understanding on what the expansion draft will mean with the incorporation of Louisville for the 2021 season, I’d recommend checking out this post. But in short this new team will most likely be allowed to pick players from different teams for free as well as under trades later on (with certain rules and regulations in place of course) which once again don’t have much of a say unless they’re really established and high profile players (mostly but not only some of the uswnt squad) who have more of a leverage to refuse to move. But yeah, not much of a choice allround and all very messily intertwined.

I’d recommend having a look at what went down in last year’s draft/trading season to get more of an idea of how everything is put into practise. And also the NWSL’s official rooster rules which covers everything in its basis from different definitions of terms, to the salary cap, to this whole mess about the trades and college draft. It’s even more longwinded than this (sorry about that lol) but well worth a read if my attempted explanation still hasn’t cleared thing up or if you just want to read more!

As for my actual take, well I understand how this whole elaborate process is important to maintain what already is a fragile league alive. It ensures a certain amount of equity between teams, it ensures that no team will suffer enough to fold and so that the league itself doesn’t crumble again. But for me these foundations are very wobbly still, it’s not a terribly sustainable league when it’s limited by so many different factors. I don’t think it’s great for the players either, not being able to chose where they play to me is so weird. And to an extent I get that it’s just the ‘American way’ and all elite sporting leagues function to some extent this way, but I genuinely don’t think you’re going to get the best out of players when you force them to go somewhere they don’t like. When you have to give up family and home for football and just having a total lack of liberty. Also there are examples of players flat out refusing to join teams (see Christen Press’ Houston Dash trade) and prefer to go abroad. Although again that’s a whole other kettle of fish that has already been discussed in the last few posts on this tag.

#hope some of that was understandable at least #because my goodness i feel like i just wrote a book #ahxjcjdhs #the asks #nwsl #uswnt #futfem salaries #og

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dimitrescus-bitch · 5 years

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Rivals (Christine Sinclair x Reader)

America and Canada had always had a long standing rivalry when it came to soccer. It wasn’t a secret the two teams had quite a bit of animosity between them. You had witnessed and been a part of it nearly your entire career. When you made the switch, things got a bit worse for you. You had started your career as a 16 year old playing for Canada. Two years, a marriage, and a move later, you found yourself wearing not only red and white, but now blue as well. You had been welcomed into the American team, they had played against you and knew what you could do. However, that had left some strain between you and your former teammates. Luckily, despite your sexual awakening and subsequent divorce literally six months later, you got to keep your new national team.

You became a great part of that team, even when you went to Europe to play professionally. By the time that you’d come back from Europe, the NWSL had just gotten onto its feet and you were signed to Seattle. Literally a day after you’d landed in Seattle, you were traded over to Portland. There, you found your footing in the American league once again. You had also reconnected with one of your former Canadian teammates, Christine. By the end of the season, you were beginning to wonder why you hadn’t stayed in Canada and told your ex-husband to just fuck off when you met him.

Those good feelings went away when once again, the NWSL decided to fuck with you for shits and giggles. This time when you found yourself in Seattle, it was permanent. You still kept in touch with Christine, the two of you weren’t all that far away from each other and feelings had begun to develop. You remembered meeting her 7 years ago then, before you realized what you were able to want in life. There had always been a crush on her, but you assumed every rookie on the team looked up to her in some way. Another season at Seattle and you had finally pulled your head out of your ass and asked her out on a date. Now, three years strong and over a decade of knowing each other, you were playing against each other for the NWSL title, something you hoped would be happening for the last time.

The game was close and Christine had been more focused on comforting you on your loss than she was celebrating with her own team. She brought you to your home, unknowing that it would be the last season you lived in it. Next year, if your contract went through with the Thorns, you’d be back in Portland with her. If she accepted your marriage proposal, after the Olympics, you’d both be playing on Team Canada once more. You knew they’d accept you back, even if you would get shit for playing for the other team. All you had to do was shoot your shot, something you had been pretty good at in regards to Christine.

“Ahem,” you cleared your throat and Christine looked down at you in her arms.

“Yes?” She seemed amused by your action, smiling even. That was good for you because it meant she wasn’t feeling nearly as guilty as you had originally thought for beating you. Christine liked winning, but she liked it much less when it caused you to get upset in any way shape or for. You sat up and straddled her waist.

“So, two things,” you began, pausing to take her hands in yours. “First, I want to congratulate you on winning, you really deserve it. Second, I love you, like a lot. I am so in love with you it’s almost pathetic sometimes. Megan told me so, like twice today. Anyways, that being said, I would love it if you would marry me after next season. I think it’d be a nice way for me to end my return season with the Thorns given that things go according to plan. Vlatko won’t be happy to see me go, but I trust he’s a reasonable man who will let me be with my fiance.”

“You want to marry me?” Christine asked in disbelief.

“Yes and not just to make it easier for me to move,” you promised. “I really love you and I want us to be together and maybe even start a family. I’m ready for that big step with you. Not being your rival is a nice perk to everything.”

“There’s still international,” Christine pointed out and you had thought of everything.

“After the Olympics, we get married, and then I pop back up to Canada to see if they’ll take me back. I mean, I do have that dual citizenship,” you said and Christen let you slip the ring onto her finger. “One more year.”

“One more,” Christine said, pulling you in for a very passionate kiss.

#christine sinclair x reader #christine sinclair imagines #christine sinclair imagine #ptfc imagine #christine sinclair #ptfc imagines #portland thorns imagines #portland thorns imagine #canwnt imagine #canwnt imagines #woso imagine #women's soccer imagines #women's soccer imagine

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imaginesforyourfandom · 5 years

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An Opportunity - Julie Ertz Imagine

(Y/N)’s POV:

I had just got off my phone with my manager who was telling me about an offer that I had got from FC Barcelona. Apparently, they were extremely interested in signing me for their upcoming season. It was an incredible offer, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to take it.

Currently, I play on the Chicago Red Stars as a forward. It’s incredible because I get to play with my amazing girlfriend Julie. I love playing for Chicago, but it has always been my dream to go play in Europe. If I went to Barcelona, then I would get to play at the same club as Messi, Pique, and all of those guys. If I stay, then I get to stay with Julie and play my other teammates on the regular.

Gosh, everyone will no doubt flip out when they find out that I am even considering leaving the NWSL. It’s one thing to go out on loan, but to leave completely will cause some issues. According to my manager, I have played in the NWSL long enough that my position on the national team shouldn’t be compromised so that won’t be an issue at least.

“Are you in there?” I turned my head towards Julie who gave me an odd look. I nodded my head as she smiled at me.

“Yeah, sorry I just zoned out for a second.” I said as she kissed my cheek earning a wide smile from me.

“A second? We’ve been talking to you for a few minutes” Kelley said as I sighed. Her statement caused everyone around us to let out laughs. “I was asking you how you feel about starting, but I don’t know if I care now.”

“I feel good about it. Thank you for caring.” I joked as she shook her head at me. This got a few smiles from everyone at the table. I was sat at breakfast with JJ, Crystal, Kelley, Allie, Christen, Tobin, Alex, Ash, and Ali. It was a big table full of personalities and no shortages of jokes.

“Who was that on the phone?” I turned towards JJ with an unsure expression. I didn’t necessarily want to tell them right now that I was thinking of leaving the NWSL.

“My manager.” I said deciding that it was better to be honest than to lie about it. “Just wanted to tell me about a potential transfer.”

“Which team is after you this week?” Christen joked as an uneasy look crossed Julie’s face. I let out a little laugh knowing that there was truth in the question. This wasn’t the first time that a team had tried to take me from Chicago.

“Barcelona.” I said closing my eyes immediately as everyone fell silent. I opened to see everyone staring at me in shock. This was the first time that it was a non-NWSL team after me, so I guess I could understand the surprise on their faces. “Don’t all speak at once.”

“You’re kidding right?” Crystal asked giving me a doubtful look. I smiled slightly and shook my head at her. “Barcelona is actually after you?”

“Barcelona is actually after me.” I said as I turned to look at Julie who had an unreadable look on her face. “It’s not a big deal.”

“It is a big deal. (Y/N) you’re talking about going to Europe.” Kelley said with wide eyes. “Like is it a loan deal? Or is it like an actual transfer?”

“A transfer. I would no longer be a NWSL player.” I said leaning on the table resting my head on my hand.

“So, you’re going to say yes then?” Alex asked with a frown on her face.

“I didn’t say that.”

“You’re thinking about it though?” Ash asked me with an angered look on her face.

“I didn’t say that either.” I said giving them all looks. “I don’t know what I want to do. I have a lot to think about.”

I jumped slightly when Julie abruptly stood up. She didn’t say a word as she turned and walked out of the room. I watched her leave as I sighed debating whether or not I should go after her. On one hand, she’s mad and/or upset and I should definitely comfort her. On the other hand, its all directed at me which means she might not want to talk to me. I went to stand when Crystal stood and gave me a small smile.

“I got it. Let her cool off.” She said walking off to find Julie. I leaned back in my chair running my hands over my face.

“Have you thought this through?” Allie asked giving me a look. I groaned at the question trying to find patience.

“You guys, I just got the call like not even 10 minutes ago. Nothing is set in stone. He was just telling me that it was a possibility. I haven’t made any decisions yet.”

“Have you thought about your place on this team? What’s going to happen when you are playing in Spain?” Ash looked around at everyone at the table. Everyone seemed to agree that this was a bad decision.

“I don’t know. I haven’t even had time to fully process everything. What part of this just happened do you not get?”

I stood up and walked out of the room. I headed back to my room where I found JJ and Crystal sitting. Julie’s eyes were slightly puffy which indicated that she had been crying. Crystal stood and gave me a pat on the back as she exited the room.

“Can I just say-?”

“No.” she said standing up and going into the bathroom. I stood there dumbfounded at her completely dismissing me. I stood for a moment before changing into my pre-game clothes. We were supposed to leave in about 15 minutes, so I needed to get my stuff ready. The bathroom door opened, and JJ came out grabbing her stuff.

“Are we going to talk before we leave?”

She didn’t say a word as she left the room. I closed my eyes and took a breath. I grabbed my phone from my pocket and dialed my managers number. I waited for a moment while it rang.

“Hey (Y/N), you already come to a decision?” he joked

“I have actually.” I said trying to get this over with. “If you could let the guys from Barcelona know that I really appreciate the opportunity and I am so honored that they were even considering me, but I am going to have to decline.”

“Okay hang on…” he said and I could tell he wasn’t fully expecting me to have an answer already. “Have you thought about this? I mean…this is a huge opportunity. This could easily put you up as the highest paid player in the world.”

“I know, but my life is in Chicago and my friends are in the NWSL. I need to stay here.”

“Okay listen…I want you to think about this. I understand that your life is in Chicago, but one of the first things that you said to me when we agreed to work together was that you wanted to get to Europe eventually. This is it. This is your opportunity to fulfill a dream. I will call you in a few days and if you still want to say no then I will honor your wishes.” I bit my lip trying to fight back tears.

“Okay.” I said as he said his goodbyes. I put my phone away and grabbed my stuff before walking out of the room. I headed downstairs and walked out of the hotel and onto the bus. I ignored everyone as I moved to sit by myself.

I looked up when Pinoe sat next to me. I gave her a confused look which caused her to laugh. She gave me a small smile.

“Are you sitting with me out of pity?” I asked as the winger shrugged her shoulders.

“No not really…I did feel bad. Everyone’s kind of mad at you right now.” I shook my head

“I didn’t even do anything. It’s not my fault that a team in Europe wants to sign me. I didn’t ask for this.” I looked over where JJ was sitting talking quietly with Crystal. She caught my eye and then turned to face the window away from me.

“I think that….you know this team is a family. We all love each other and care deeply for each other. I think that everyone is thinking in terms of what would it be like if you were in Europe.”

“Literally half of the team has gone to Europe on loan…the only difference for me is I would play there for a whole season instead of half a season.”

“You would also play during our offseason…so no vacations with all of us. No traveling with your girlfriend. You wouldn’t arrive the same days and you would most likely have to leave immediately instead of getting to hangout with us. There are quite a few things that would change.”

“I guess I didn’t think about all of that.” I said looking down as she put an arm around me.

“Kid, you’re going places. If going to Europe is what you want, then go to Europe.” She said as I looked to her. “You should do what feels best for you.”

I nodded my head as we then switched the subject and talked about the upcoming game. Once we got to the stadium, we immediately moved to get ready and warmed up. Everything seemed to go by as we quickly were standing in the tunnel. I stood in between JJ and Alex waiting for us to exit the tunnel.

“If it makes you feel any better, my first thought was you.” I said knowing JJ could hear me. “I told my manager to decline the offer because I couldn’t imagine a fate worse than being away from you.”

She turned to look at me with a serious look. Before she could say anything, we had to walk out which meant that there was no time to talk about the situation any further. The game quickly started, and I could already tell that it was going to be a rough one.

We went up during the first half thanks to a goal from Alex which JJ was able to assist on. That was about the only good thing to be appreciated though. I wasn’t playing well at all and I knew it was because I wasn’t completely focused. That and I had at least two players on me at all times. I rolled my eyes a little when Jill started talking to me about how I was playing.

“No, she’s doing good. As long as you keep your passes pinpoint, then just keep doing what you’re doing. You’re drawing in all the players which is giving the rest of us more space to work in.” Pinoe said as I nodded my head.

“Got it” I said giving her a little salute as we got ready to head out of the locker room. I could tell that almost everyone was still upset with me. They were still refusing to make any kind of eye contact with me, but JJ gave me a slight smile. I count that as a win.

When we got back out there, something felt like it had shifted in the air. The other team was playing way more aggressively. I started getting frustrated at the amount of times I was being fouled and the amount of times it wasn’t being called. Everything seemed to come to a head in the 71st minute when me and two other players went for the ball. I jumped to head it to JJ when the one of the opposing players jumped and her elbow knocked into my forehead, while the other player smacked into me as well, but she hit my lower half. I landed awkwardly on my leg and immediately felt a searing pain in my leg.

I hit the ground and barely registered the whistle being blown. All I could focus on was my leg and head. Both of them were in extreme pain, I could already feel the tears coming to my eyes.

“It’s okay. Just breath. Focus on my voice baby.” JJ said as she ran her fingers through my hair. I had my eyes shut tight as I tried to pull myself together. “I got you. You’re okay.”

I laid there with silent tears streaming down my face as the medical staff motioned for a stretcher. They were telling me that they needed to check me for a concussion and check out my leg. I nodded listening to them, but I was starting to feel numb. I was cleared for a concussion in the locker room, but they wanted to check out my leg further. Though, they were leaning towards it being my ACL. I was given crutches and strict rules to stay off of my leg. I hadn’t really seen any of my teammates, but from what I had heard we had won the game. Everyone started making their way into the locker room and checking on me.

“Are you okay?” Ash asked taking my head in her heads and kissing my forehead. “What’s going on?”

“ACL most likely” I said looking to my leg with a frown. She gave me pat on the shoulder as Alex entered and beelined it for me. Also, giving me a hug and checking on me. I shrugged my shoulders at all their questions not really in the mood. Though, I smiled slightly when JJ walked in and moved towards me. Ash moved aside so she could stand next to me. She pulled my face into her hands and kissed my lips.

“Are you okay? I’m sorry” she said pulling me in and holding me close. I wrapped an arm around her waist as everyone walked away to give us a moment. “What did they say?”

“I don’t have a concussion, but they want to do some tests to make sure. As for my leg, most likely an ACL tear.” I nodded my head looking down at my leg not wanting to meet the eyes of my girlfriend. She pulled my head to look at her and I couldn’t fight back the tears at that point.

“It’s okay. We will figure it out together.” She gave me another kiss and started running her fingers through my hair. “I love you. I’m sorry for earlier by the way. I guess I was just super upset at the idea of losing you. I should have let you talk about it with me before freaking out.”

“I should have talked to you about it privately and not in front of everyone.”

“Did you really turn it down?” she asked looking into my eyes as I stared at her.

“I did. He’s going to call me in a few days, because he wants me to really think about it before he gives them an answer, but yeah I really turned it down.”

“You don’t have to.” She said as I looked at her. “If you want to go, then you should go. We will work it out together. I know how much you want to go to Europe.”

“It doesn’t mean anything if you’re not there.” I said looking at her. She smiled and kissed my forehead.

“God, I love you.” She said pulling me in for a kiss. “I mean it though, you should go.”

“I’ll think about it, and I love you too.” She grinned at me as I moved to stand up. I leaned on her for support. “It doesn’t really matter right now though. I won’t be playing anytime soon.”

“You’ll be back before you know it” Pinoe said slapping my shoulder which in turn made me groan. “Maybe in a Barcelona kit…who knows?”

“Stop…” I groaned again causing her to laugh. “Let me just say…I don’t know if I am going to leave the NWSL, but for now just assume I am staying at Chicago. I’ll let you know if I decide to leave. It’s a decision that I have to make though, and I hope you can all respect it.”

“I respect it.” Alex said causing everyone to nod. “I think it was the initial shock and stuff that had most of us upset. Besides, if you go to Spain then I have a new vacation spot.”

“I’m going to get such a nice tan.” JJ joked as I looked at her and kissed her forehead.

Everyone laughed and moved in to give me hugs. I don’t know what the future holds in terms of where I will play, but I know that the support system I have is going to have my back no matter what.

The End.

#julie ertz #julie ertz imagine #julie ertz imagines #megan rapinoe #megan rapinoe imagine #uswnt imagines #uswnt imagine #uswnt #Alex Morgan #alex morgan imagine #alex morgan imagines #ashlyn harris #ashlyn harris imagine #ashlyin harris imagines #kelley o'hara imagines #kelley o'hara #kelley o'hara imagine

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mazpacheco · 4 years

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What’s the best woso league?

Buckle up, kids it’s going to be a long one

This is a hard question to answer tbh because I think the answer is very subjective. Personally, I only watch nwsl, liga iberdrola, and fawsl. I don’t watch french,german,swedish,australian etc leagues so I can’t have an opinion on them. Out of the three leagues I do watch, i think its hard to say which one is better because like better at what? And according to whom? ya know? Like for example, the nwsl gets more fan turnout, there are more people who show up to watch the games. I read someone say its because the US has more people (over triple the population of some of these countries) and that’s fair and probably a contributing factor but also there have been games in these other leagues where 40k or more people showed up, and also a higher number of people show up to the mens teams in these other leagues than they do to the mls so i don’t think the population disparity is really making much of a difference. I think it comes down to the immense success of the uswnt and maybe investing more in marketing these teams? idk.

If we are looking at pay, from what i know the fawsl and liga iberdrola pay players better in general so they’re doing better there.

If it in terms of competitiveness, how do you measure that? With the nwsl, ncc and portland have been wining over and over. The same four teams keep being the ones going into the championship so its not really that competitive, although to be fair the other teams kind of came close this past season. The fawsl is no different, the past three or so seasons the top three spots have been held by arsenal, chelsea, and city (arsenal have also been winners or runner-ups pretty consistently in the fa cup and continental cup although there’s more of a variation on who makes it to the finals in these comps). When it comes to liga iberdrola same thing barça, atletico madrid, and bilboa have been top three, although last season levante came third, and valencia and espanyol have also come third once each. So like you can’t really say one is more competitive than others.

I think its all subjective and depends on who you ask. I think that’s ok though, its football. People are allowed to think their leagues and teams are world best. It doesn’t matter tbh i think constructive criticism is good to help the leagues grow but like i think its completely ok to be passionate about the team you love even if others disagree

So for me personally i’ll tell you my thoughts on my fave teams from each league.

Fawsl: I grew up an arsenal fan (been a fan since i was like 5 but just watched the mens team until i found out about the women’s team lol). Its the only team I watch both mens and womens games. I love arsenal with all my heart. I enjoy watching them play I think they have a lot of individual talent, every single player is capable of so much and its amazing.

Liga Ibedrola: i also really really love barça’s style of play (Spain’s in general) they play so beautifully, it draws me in and makes me want to keep watching, i can never have enough.

Nwsl: Utah royals my dear flops lmaoooooo i love how with them, the highs are high and the lows are low. They bring out the passionate side in me where one week im celebrating, the other i want to scream at my tv. It’s great lol i miss them

#nwsl #primera iberdrola #fawsl

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wosouswntpride · 5 years

Text

In an attempt to itemize the positive aspects of being removed from the United States women's national team from August 2017 through March 2019, Ali Krieger mentioned she was able to spend more time with her dog. Twice.

Yes, dogs are awesome, but those were two long years.

Krieger was a world champion, started every game in the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup and was on the field for all but 10 minutes. She had appeared 98 times for the U.S. and been a stabilizing force at right back. She was still a top player in the National Women's Soccer League. She was 32 years old, reaching the final stage of her career, but nowhere near finished. And the phone did not ring.

Until it did. She was called into the team in April for a couple of friendlies and made her 99th career appearance as a starter against Belgium, playing 90 minutes in a comfortable U.S. victory. She then became one of the surprising inclusions in coach Jill Ellis' 23-player roster for the 2019 World Cup.

As the team prepared for that tournament in its three-game Send-Off Series, Krieger then joined 37 other American women - and 274 in the history of world soccer - to reach 100 caps by entering as a substitute last Thursday in a 5-0 victory against New Zealand at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

"It was really hard for me to not have a reason and then go through a two-year period without a lot of communication and just kind of, I guess, start thinking about the next steps," Krieger told reporters following the New Zealand game. "When you play at this level for a certain amount of time, then you have to shift gears a little bit without really knowing … and keeping it in the back of your mind because I always thought, the door is still cracked, and I can't lose hope with that."

Krieger, now 34, could have taken that silence as a suggestion it was time to focus on her club career with the Orlando Pride and, perhaps, what she'll want to be doing when she finishes playing for good.

She almost certainly will become a coach, having spent part of the past offseason earning the U.S. Soccer "C" license. She started a string of soccer camps last year under the label AKFC (Ali Krieger Football Camps). She is engaged to Ashlyn Harris, a goalkeeper for Orlando who serves as a backup to starter Alyssa Naeher with the USWNT.

The next chapters will come soon enough, though. Krieger was convinced she still could help the national team.

"I know how good I am, and I know my value, and I don't think anyone's going to tell me what my value is. Because I already know that," Krieger said. "I think I just needed to keep that in mind, keep training to my ability because no matter what, I'm always going to be who I am both on and off the field. And that's always taking the high road and busting my ass every single day.

"I had a very good season in the NWSL and felt very confident. I hired coaches in the offseason … and I really went every single day - and not many people saw, except the closest ones to me - and got up every single day and trained my ass off. Just wanted to stay ready."

Krieger always has been a popular player with her teammates. In 2012, when Krieger might have been at the peak of her performance, she tore an ACL in advance of the Olympic Games and was unable to participate. The national team played Colombia in its second group match in Scotland on what happened to be Krieger's birthday.

According to Caitlin Murray's book, "The National Team," winger Megan Rapinoe celebrated a goal by pulling a banner from her sock that said, "Happy B-Day Kreigy." Earlier, during the Olympic qualifying tournament, the entire team had stenciled "Liebe" - the German word for love - on the inside of their forearms, identical to a tattoo Krieger has.

"Players were constantly texting me, even if I wasn't in camp," Krieger said. "I would be wishing them luck, and they're always checking in on me, which meant the world. I try not to get emotional, because it was a really tough two years. I'm not going to lie. But without their support, I wouldn't be standing here."

Krieger may not have an enormous role for this team. Honestly, most everyone probably would prefer she isn't needed. Kelley O'Hara is the starter at right back, four years younger and closer to her peak as a player. O'Hara is also coming off a nagging ankle injury that vexed her for too long. She was sharp in the New Zealand game, though, playing 60 minutes before giving way to Krieger for the 100th cap.

"I always think of this quote - that everything will be OK in the end; if it's not OK, then it's not the end," Krieger said. "I was able to get to a point where I said, 'Look, if she needs me and the team needs me, I will be there, and I'll show up because I love my country and I love this team and the coaching staff and I'll do anything in my power to help this team win.'

"But if not, I will be front row and center cheering them on, either in France having a croissant and some wine, or being on the field or on the bench cheering the loudest that I can cheer."

The United States has one more game before departing for France, Sunday against Mexico at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. The team will open the World Cup against Thailand in Reims on June 11. Whether or not she plays, Krieger will remain an inspiration for her teammates.

"It was extremely hard for her, but her professionalism and just staying ready was keeping her in a position to get back to making the World Cup team," Rapinoe told reporters after the New Zealand game. "The league is growing, but to go from the national team to only playing in the league, it's very difficult to keep that same drive and passion and level of fitness. To keep her game where it is, is extremely difficult.

"I don't know how she did it."

#ali krieger #uswnt

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that-soccer-guru · 3 years

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Hi! Draft anon here! I would love to better understand how the draft works, and also what the new draft rule is where you don’t have to declare? I really just want to know everything!

Anon? You're my new best friend, these are the BEST words to read.

OKAY I'm going to assume a base level knowledge about the draft, aka it's teams picking people, and work from there. BUCKLE UP BRO, IT'LL BE A RIDE. I'm gonna hide this under a break too because it's a long one and it includes a moment where I raged against the league. Have fun!

Okay so, let's do the basics. College athletes, for the most part, are under the NCAA umbrella, which gives athletes opportunities for scholarships, aid and support and sets up championships between schools. Colleges are divided in 3 divisions (conveniently named the D1, D2 and D3), with the first division being the top schools in their sports, players in those teams are the ones that usually turn professional in their sport just because their schools have more money and therefore better resources for their athletes.

Every athlete in a D1 school has 5 years to play 4 seasons of their sport, and most of them are expected to run their eligibility by the time they graduate (the eligibility rules are a little different for D2 and D3 schools but more or less aims for the same thing) SOME of those players forfeit their remaining eligibility before graduation to turn "pro", and enter their sport's draft, although it's not necessary and players who've run their eligibility usually enter the draft before they graduate so they can start playing for their team right after college. The draft is when whatever national league they expect to play for (the MLB, NHL, NFL, NWSL, etc) pick from a pool of players leaving their college teams to play professionally, these are "prospects".

For the NWSL, the teams are assigned a pick number. The worst team in the league picks first, and so on until the top team selects their pick and that signals the end of the round, for expansion years the expansion team picks first, then the worst team in the league, and so on. The league creates a pool of 40 players that can sign up to be drafted, and the draftees are set up in 4 rounds of 10 players each.

The players aren't put in any particular order in the draft pool of picks but they are "prospected" to be picked by a certain numbered team based on their skill and acollades. For this upcoming draft pool, Catarina Macario is expected to be the first pick of the first round. It's not a great vibe to go to the worst team of a league but draft picks are the future of a team, and coaches that pick first are, usually, desperate and will begin to build their team formations around their draftee.

In other leagues draft pick trading is, I think, way funnier. Because the team that originally had the picks, let's say for example Sky Blue trades up for the 4th pick in the first round from Washington. If it were another league, let's say the NHL, Washington gets a little note from Sky Blue saying "we want Jane Doe for the 4th pick", Washington would have to pick her with all the fanfare that goes with it, and then watch her go to sky blue because they traded the pick away. In the NWSL the team that gets a pick in a trade does the picking themselves. Which is less "lol" and more "business as usual".

NOW THE NEW RULE: the NWSL obtained a waiver from the NCAA to draft D1 players who, in any other year might not have an option between entering the draft and forfeiting their last college season, which would suck for people who've put their hearts and souls into their teams, or skipping the draft for one more year and have to be out of the game for nearly a year once their season is over. Which, like, is awesome on the NCAA's part! These players get a last chance at college sports and can report to the teams that drafted them once the season is over.

The part where the NWSL went and took a wonderful thing and fucked it all up is with the rule that anyone who has exhausted their 3yr eligibility is draft eligible, REGARDLESS of them signing up for the draft. The logic is that it will expand the talent pool and give teams more talent to work with.

Let me tell you what this does in NOT PG13 words—children cover your eyes. This just about fuuuucks player rights up their hindquarters with no warning and no lube.

Players that are eligible, even if they don't enter the draft (read as: don't want to be drafted yet or maybe ever) can be picked by teams and their rights will be held until the 2022 season. It means that drafted players can have their rights traded away and, if they ever expect to enter the league, will be sent to whatever fucking team their rights were drafted by or traded to without their input. ESPECIALLY BECAUSE, AND HERE'S THE CATCH 22, THE NCAA WAIVER MEANS PLAYERS CANT SIGN AGENTS TO QUALIFY FOR IT.

What does that mean for my point, you may ask? It means that, let's say:

Jane Doe is a player in a D1 school. She doesn't want to be drafted to the league so she doesn't sign up. However, she is a college senior with 3 years of NCAA eligibility behind her, and is therefore draft eligible. She doesn't want her rights to be held by whomever the hell to do with as they please before she's ready so she thinks about hiring an agent. However, if she hires an agent she, as far as I know, would have to forfeit her remaining college eligibility and "go pro". If she does, she won't be eligible for the draft according to these rules, but she also can't play for her college team, AND she won't have a team once the college season is over because she wasn't picked up in the draft. So now, she's out of game shape, she has to find a team to sign her and maybe her best odd was going to be being drafted in the 3rd or 4th round of the nwsl draft, now she has to look for a team to sign her. Or have to not play professionally. But she will want to play professionally. So, her only option is to be picked up by some team in this draft, even though let's say she expected to have better odds for a higher pick in the next draft, and have her rights done away with for a whole season and have to report to a random team after maybe having had her rights used as a bargaining chip for trades.

Now, obviously, this is hella fatalistic. And looking at it in the worst possible light. But we know that the NWSL is not a stranger to doing all kinds of willy nilly shit with players who are not federation allocated, and this is just one more open door into fucking with players rights, this time with prospects.

It was such a good idea to begin with, to take up this Waiver and give their prospects one more year of college soccer where they can push for their last championship, before coming in fired up to the league, knowing for an entire year what team they would play for, probably having off season training with their new teammates. This was, in no uncertain words, a good thing. But then the league had to stomp on it.

It's trial and error and the NWSL is a newish league, and hopefully no one will get their playing rights messed with. But in case they do, I'm gonna hate to have to say I told you so.

I hope that answers your questions?

I WELCOME ANY OPINIONS ON MY VIEW OF THIS. I'M VERY FATALISTIC ABOUT IT BUT I KNOW SOME OF Y'ALL HAVE BETTER VIBES!

#nwsl draft #nwsl rules #nwsl draft rules #nwsl 2021 draft #college draft #nwsl college draft #NCAA woso #NCAA eligibility #woso #nwsl #thanks anon #anon asks #answering asks #sonnett side up answers

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