Not that Lloyd was ever happy about being any kind of backup. No coach ever wanted to be the one to take the chance of going without what she could provide, of not having Lloyd under glass somewhere to be broken in case of emergency. She was the square peg who made it worth the effort to fit her into a round hole. (She needs two to tie Kristine Lilly in fourth.) She scored the winning goals in the 2008 Olympic final, the 2012 Olympic final, and the quarterfinals and semifinals of the 2015 World Cup. And because of this skill set she will exit with the second-most appearances in the history of international soccer and either the fifth- or fourth-most goals, depending on how many she scores during her four-game farewell tour planned for this fall. She was an expert at anticipating the bounce of loose balls in the box and dispatching them with cool efficiency. She could make something happen when nothing seemed to be going right. She was its capstone.Īll of this conspired to make her the perfect plan B for the USWNT for more than 15 years. With the Author's Note and Prologue read by the AuthorLloyd’s canvas was the national team that’s the one she ground through injury rehabilitations to get ready for. This candid reflection on a remarkable turnaround will take listeners inside the women's national team and inside the head of an athlete who willed herself to perform at the highest levels of competition. Despite all the naysayers, the times she was benched, moments when her self-confidence took a nosedive, she succeeded in becoming one of the best players in the world. And no one believed in her more than James. Together they set to work, training day and night, fighting, grinding it out. What Carli lacked were fitness, mental toughness, and character. Then she found a trusted trainer, James Galanis, who saw in Carli a player with raw talent, skill, and a great dedication to the game. In 2003 she was struggling, her soccer career at a crossroads. It featured a gutsy, brilliant performance by team captain and midfielder Carli Lloyd, who made history that day, scoring a hat trick-three goals in one game-during the first sixteen minutes.īut there was a time when Carli almost quit the sport. Women’s National Soccer Team won its first FIFA championship in sixteen years, culminating in an epic final game that electrified soccer fans around the world. Women’s National Soccer Team, an inspiring, uplifting, and candid memoir of how she got there

Science Fiction & Fantasy - Available Nowįrom the celebrated star of the U.S.Armchair Explorers for Children and Teens.

Carli lloyd when nobody was watching