Hope Solo has a well-documented history of not getting along with former US women’s soccer players. She continued that trend this week when she called out Julie Foudy.
Foudy, a former midfielder and team captain who was part of the US women’s gold medal team at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, appeared on ESPN Tuesday to discuss her selections for the honorary US Soccer’s All-Time Best XI team. The entire team will be revealed later this month, but Foudy mentioned that she had chosen Briana Scurry as the team’s goalkeeper. Solo took it personally.
@JulieFoudy i think you were confused of the question. It wasn't to name your top IX friends. This isn't the ponytail posse days anymore.
— Hope Solo (@hopesolo) December 10, 2013
Despite Solo’s snarky attitude, Foudy stuck to her decision and fired back.
@hopesolo Actually, not confused at all.
— Julie Foudy (@JulieFoudy) December 11, 2013
A few hours later, Solo took another not-so-subtle shot at Foudy.
Ignorance is bliss???? Or just dumb…
— Hope Solo (@hopesolo) December 11, 2013
She then added this explanation:
The game has grown from15 years ago. Ihave no disrespect,but the facts are that the game HAS evolved.Players are better and so are the teams
— Hope Solo (@hopesolo) December 11, 2013
Solo recorded three shutouts during the 2007 World Cup before she was benched in the semifinals in favor of Scurry. US women’s soccer coach Greg Ryan chose to go with Scurry because of her history against Brazil, and the US ended up losing 4-0. Solo was critical of Ryan after the game and said he made the “wrong decision,” which was the first time she became known for being so outspoken. The veterans on the team were not pleased with Hope at the time.
Those of you who are dedicated LBS readers know about the friction that exists between Solo and some of her predecessors. In her book, Solo confirmed that a pre-Olympics interview Chastain did with Larry Brown Sports bothered her. During that interview, Chastain said she believed Hope’s positive drug test was a distraction the women’s national team didn’t need. Chastain later said she felt her commentary was “fair and objective” and that she had not spoken with Solo since.
You can understand Solo being upset over the drug chatter, but Foudy’s decision to pick Scurry as her best all-time goalie should not have been a surprise. That team won a gold medal, and Foudy and Scurry were teammates.
