Even before the United States had finished their 5-2 rout of Japan in the 2015 World Cup, the comparisons between this team and the group who beat China in 1999 began. That team featured Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, Michelle Akers and a collection of talent greater than any other on earth at the time. Sixteen years later, this newest World Cup champion is different, but no less significant.
The team in 1999 set off a revolution in women’s soccer around the globe. At the turn of the century, the U.S. women were dominant. Tony DiCicco had assembled a dedicated core of players who had been developing for the better part of a decade to overpower the rest of the world. And they did overpower everyone. Because of the U.S.’s performance in 1999, countries like Germany, France, Japan, and England began to invest in the women’s game and begin to compete – and at times surpass – the U.S.
The game as a whole was made stronger by the U.S. in 1999.
(USA TODAY Sports)
The legacy created by the 2015 U.S. team will not have the same ramifications globally, but should be even more resonant nationally. This team blended old and new talent, relying on the youngest player in the tournament to power midfield and a defense anchored by a player who wasn’t even a serious consideration for the 23-woman roster a year ago.
Carli Lloyd will deservedly receive heaps of praise this morning and for years to come following her 16-minute hat trick to start Sunday’s final. Lloyd made history, won the tournament’s golden ball, and was without question the best player on the pitch. However, without the presence of Morgan Brian in midfield, Lloyd remains shackled to her defensive responsibilities and never gets an opportunity to move forward. It was through Brian that coach Jill Ellis was able to rehabilitate her starting lineup ahead of the team’s quarterfinal match against China. Though the role of a holding midfielder is often thankless and relatively unobserved by the casual eye, Brian played it to perfection.
She’s 22.
Brian was the youngest player at the World Cup, a recent graduate of the University of Virginia, and a shining example of what might be if the U.S. decides to invest in its youth.
(AFP)
Brian isn’t alone in her youth. Julie Johnston is 23, and anchored a stoic U.S. backline with veteran consistency she shouldn’t have possessed. Where Brian saved Lloyd’s legs, Johnston saved the rest of the team’s, well, she saved the rest of the team. It was on the backs of youth the U.S. rode to a a third World Cup title, and it’s through that youth the U.S. will continue grow.
The women’s game has yet to fully tap into the potential it has in the youth and collegiate levels. Where players like John Brooks or Jordan Morris have a path to emerge from the men’s ranks onto the international stage, the same can’t be said in the same way for the women’s side of the game. Where the U.S. has an Under-17 year-round residency program devoted to their men’s team, with the objective of developing the next generation of senior national team players, the women’s team operates through invitational camps and a reliance on the college game.
It’s a bad system, and one not conducive to developing premier talent. The U.S. is losing hundreds of Morgan Brians and Julie Johnstons from age 17 to 22 due to a lack of consistent development. There are mechanisms in place on the men’s side of the game, like the U.S. Soccer Federation and MLS academies to identify and cultivate talent that don’t exist in the same capacity in the women’s game. Sure, there are competitive leagues and academy-like structures (Elite Clubs National League comes to mind), but none have the streamlined approach the men’s USSF Academy into professional clubs or the national team, and all come at a significant expense to the player.
If there is anything to take away from the 2015 World Cup, it’s that the rest of the world is closing the talent gap on the U.S. The greatest way to combat the rise in global talent is to focus on developing the youth side of the game. 1999 marked the first revolution in women’s soccer. 2015 should mark its second.
It won’t be the first revolution. It won’t be as pronounced, and it probably won’t even be appreciated when it happens. But it’s no less important and vital should the U.S. hope to not wait 16 more years for another World Cup.
