D10 EZ SU THE WASHINGTON POST.TUESDAY, OCTOBER 26 , 2021
the nice guy,” Andonovski said,
laughing. So he told her of course,
he supported her. “It kicked off a
good relationship,” he said.
Lloyd said she will find new
ways to channel her energy.
There are sure to be regular trips
to the links; her husband is a golf
pro.
Soccer, she maintained, will
remain a big part of her life,
though not on the field.
“I don ’t think that love and
passion will just go away,” she
said. “I don’t think anything can
fill what this journey has been all
about, and that’s oka y.... I c an’t
leave the game altogether. This is
a goodbye on the field, but this is
not a goodbye for me in the
soccer world. I want to continue
help grow the game.”
[email protected]“I know I’ve probably been
misunderstood throughout the
years by teammates, coaches,
fans and just about everybody,”
she said. “But I’ve just tried to be
my most authentic self —
truthful, honest, raw.”
Andonovski experienced her
fixation shortly after being
named head coach in late 2019.
Lloyd asked if he would be okay
with her training on her own
outside of team practices. She
planned, Andonovski said, to
check Google Maps for nearby
parks to use.
No matter how he responded,
Andonovski knew Lloyd was
going to do it anyway. To avoid
turning an ankle on a rutty path,
he told her to use the team’s
facilities.
“In my mind, I might as well bepursuit of perfection, letting no
one stand in her way, including
family.
“Sure, there were times where
maybe my focus was too intense,”
she said.
She spoke her mind. She was
close friends with Solo, the
brilliant but belligerent
goalkeeper. She kept a perpetual
chip on her shoulder.
“I don ’t think there [are] many
who understand what it actually
takes,” she said. “It’s a lot. It’s very
tiring to continue to prove people
wrong.”
Instead of expressing
unbridled joy after the 2019
World Cup final in France, she
grumbled about playing time in
the tournament.
Her mind-set rubbed some the
wrong way.“It was an eye-opener,” Lloyd
said. “I knew I had a long way to
go and this was the best of the
best. It’s a w eird thing. You put all
your chips in, you take a risk, you
do all this for the unknown, not
knowing how many years you are
going to have with this team, not
knowing if you’re going to make
World Cup and Olympic teams.”
She went on to make four
apiece and has appeared in more
matches in those major
tournaments than anyone else in
program history.
Lloyd debuted with the senior
squad in 2005 and broke her
wrist in her second appearance.
She remained in the match;
postgame X-rays revealed the
severit y.
Along her career’s path, Lloyd
was known for her obsessiveSouth Jersey, not Southern
California. She played at Rutgers,
not an NCAA superpower such as
North Carolina or Stanford.
Her first senior training camp
came in 2004 as one of a few
under-21 team members invited
to work out with a Hamm-led
squad preparing for the Olympics
in Athens.
Lloyd called it “a pretty big
wake-up call.”
“I remember playing five
versus five, which are often
bloodbaths with these teams,”
she said. “The standard was just
so high, the demands.”
Goalkeeper Briana Scurry was
screaming at her to get back on
defense, at a t ime when “I didn’t
really defend,” Lloyd said. Hamm
was adamant about where she
wanted the ball played to her feet.continue rebuilding a
relationship with her parents and
siblings that, until the
coronavirus pandemic, had been
fractured for 12 years.
Essentially, she wants to see
the Rolling Stones without
having to worry about the next
morning’s workout.
So, no, she is not second-
guessing her decision in August
to retire from international
soccer after 16 years and some of
the greatest performances in
program history. (She will
continue playing for Gotham FC
in the National Women’s Soccer
League until the season ends next
month.)
“Throughout my career, I have
just wanted to be the best soccer
player I could be,” she said. “I
have often missed out on going to
do things for fun. I am not
missing out on anything now.”
Lloyd will end her U.S. career
second in appearances behind
Kristine Lilly (354), third in goals
behind Abby Wambach (184) and
Mia Hamm (158), and fifth in
assists (64). She won two World
Cups and two Olympic gold
medals.
She was the 2015 FIFA player
of the year after recording the
first hat trick in a World Cup final
since England’s Geoff Hurst in
- (It took her 16 minutes.)
Lloyd’s endurance,
Andonovski said, has sent a
message to U.S. players of all ages
that, “Oh, we have a lot more
years in us.”
“It’s not just two or three now,”
he said. “She extended the life
span of professional athletes.”
Quality matched quantity. The
U.S. program’s Mount Rushmore
would include, first and
foremost, Hamm and Wambach.
The last two slots? Strong cases
would be made for Lloyd, Lilly,
Michelle Akers, Hope Solo and
Megan Rapinoe.
“If she was a male soccer
player in Europe, we would have
statues of Carli Lloyd all over the
country,” said Andonovski, a
native of North Macedonia.
“Streets would be named after
her — complexes, stadiums,
everything.”
Lloyd did not take a traditional
path to stardom. She was from
ON SOCCER FROM D1
ON SOCCER
Lloyd, forever fixated on greatness, arrives at the end of a legendary U .S. career
ALESSANDRA TARANTINO/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Since her debut in 20 05 , Carli Lloyd has won two World Cups and three Olympic medals, becoming one of the most decorated players in U.S. women’s national team history.FREEESTIMATESCall Now! 87 7-445-LONGLongRoofing.comFor over7decades, Long has been helpinghomeowners bring quality and beauty to theirhomes. Protect your home and family today!ie DePaola,GenerationLicensed, Bonded, Insured. MHIC 51346, VA 2705048183A, DC 67006785. Expires 12/1/21. Valid initial visit only. Min. purchase required. Cannot be combined
with other offers. Subject to credit approval. Interest is billed during the promotional period but all interest is waived if the purchase amount is paid in full within 12 months. There are no required minimum
monthly payments during the promotional period. Financing for GreenSky consumer loan programs is provided by federally insured, equal opportunity lender banks. NMLS #1416362WINDOWS g DOORS g BATHSKati4 thYoucan trust us to replace your roofthe right way – TheLong Way!FOR1YEAR!PAYMENTSNO INTEREST
Evenatiny leak in yourroof can causethousands of dollarsin structural damageand create hazardous mold! Youdon’twant this in yourhome!