What had been rumored for a long time, came to fruition this morning as U.S. women's national team head coach Pia Sundhage has stepped down and she is returning to her native Sweden.
Before the London Olympics, I had read multiple reports saying that she was done after that tournament so what better way (other than a World Cup title of course) to go out on top with the U.S.?
From ussoccer.com
“After the Olympics we had discussions and early in the process it became clear that Pia was very interested in returning home to Sweden,” said U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati. “It certainly wasn’t an easy decision for U.S. Soccer or Pia. She deserves a tremendous amount of credit for the amazing success the U.S. Women’s National Team had during the past five years. On behalf of U.S. Soccer, we sincerely appreciate Pia’s hard work, dedication and commitment to the organization. We wish her all the best in the future.”
Gulati and U.S. Soccer CEO/Secretary General Dan Flynn will begin the search process for a new coach immediately, but there is no set timetable for when a decision will be determined.
“It was an honor to be able to coach these players for five years and I learned a tremendous amount from them,” said Sundhage. “I want to thank all the players and all of my assistant coaches for making me better. Before I took this job, I always admired the spirit and character of the U.S. team, but to experience that first-hand on the training field and from the bench as their coach was truly special and something I will treasure for the rest of my life. Although it is time to move on, I’d like to thank U.S. Soccer for this wonderful opportunity and I wish this team and the players all the best in the future.”
I don't want this to come out the wrong way but I've said for a while that Sundhage is a goof and the U.S. women would be better served with an American (don't ask me exactly who) in charge. My whole non-jingoistic thinking is that the U.S. men are middle of the road so they need a foreigner to show them what to do better. Conversely, the U.S. women are the best so why look elsewhere? There was an obvious language barrier with Pia and even though it was clear that the players enjoyed playing for her, who knows how much work she actually did in training and on gamedays? I'm going to assume that her assistants did more than most outside U.S. soccer actually know.
Give Sundhage her proper respect: in her nearly five years (she started in November 2007) on the job, her squad compiled an insane 88-6-10 record. She won 11 total tournament titles including three Algrave Cup titles, two Olympic qualifying tournaments and two Olympic gold medals. The big asterisk on her resume is the lack of a World Cup title. The U.S. famously lost to Japan in penalty kicks in the 2011 Women's World Cup final.
It'll be fascinating to see which way U.S. soccer goes this time: looking within the United States or once again, heading to Europe.
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