SOBRERO FOR THE DEFENSE; EX-NOTRE DAME STAR REGAINS CONFIDENCE AFTER EARLY INJURY.Byline: Nicholas J. Cotsonika Detroit Free Press The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep". Some still refer to it locally as "The Friendly" -- a slogan from an ad campaign in the '70s. Blood soaked everything - her shirt, her hair, the hands of teammate Michelle Akers Michelle Akers (born February 1, 1966 in Santa Clara, California) was a leading American soccer player and played on the historic 1999 Women's World Cup victory by the U.S.. She is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. , who cradled her head that day and assured her that all was well. The Detroit area's biggest soccer star since Alexi Lalas Panayotis Alexander (Alexi) Lalas (born June 1 1970, Birmingham, Michigan) is a former Greek-American soccer defender, who became one of the most famous soccer players in the United States after he played in the 1994 FIFA World Cup. was down, and the prognosis wasn't good. No one knew then how many good times were ahead for defender Kate Sobrero, a Bloomfield Hills, Mich., resident, who will start for the Americans against China in the Women's World Cup The Women's World Cup could refer to either the:
Having been invited to U.S. training camp in San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. in January 1998, Sobrero was playing with reckless abandon Reckless Abandon is an episode of The WB drama series, Charmed. Synopsis Detective Morris puts his job on the line when he allows Phoebe to take a seemingly abandoned baby home so the Charmed Ones can protect him from a vengeful ghost Phoebe has seen in a during a scrimmage, hoping to make an impression. She charged. Goalkeeper Tracy Ducar charged, too. Suddenly, in a scene that became a blur for Sobrero, Ducar's knee struck Sobrero squarely in the jaw, and everything went dark. For 45 seconds or so, Sobrero sat on the pitch, dripping redness, out cold. Her jaw was broken and surgery was necessary, as was having her jaw wired shut for seven weeks. Drinking milkshakes daily and unable to work out because of dizziness, she gained 15 pounds. ``I've got to be the only person in history to have her jaw wired shut and still gain weight,'' Sobrero said. U.S. coach Tony DiCicco Tony DiCicco (born August 5, 1948, Wethersfield, Connecticut) is an American soccer player, coach, and commentator. He is best known as the coach of the United States women's national soccer team from 1994-1999, during which time the team won an Olympic gold medal in 1996 and the didn't allow Sobrero to feel sorry for herself. The moment she was ready to play again, he challenged her, beginning her rapid rise. She played her first game for the national team that April. She started for the first time a month later. By June, she was starting consistently. Sobrero always has been a champion, even in backyard soccer Backyard Soccer is a series in the Backyard Sports franchise, developed and published by Atari. It was first released in 1998 for the Mac and PC and was released for the PlayStation in 2001. Synopsis You start by picking a team and its players. games when she was a bit of a tomboy tomboy Psychology A popular term for a girl whose developmental gender-identity/role is discordant with her genotype. Cf Sissy. playing with the family dog and three older brothers. Her youth club team, the Michigan Hawks, won three state titles. Her high school, Birmingham Detroit Country Day, won a state title with her in 1991. And Notre Dame won a national title with her in 1995. At Notre Dame, she switched from forward to defense, refined her raw athletic game and earned a degree in 1998 in business. She has been named All-State and All-American. Still, lack of confidence nearly crippled her as much as injury, as it had early in her college career. ``There were times when I shouldn't have been starting,'' Sobrero said. ``I wasn't good enough. I was definitely the weakest link on that starting 11.'' But DiCicco stuck with her, and nine months after her first start, Sobrero finally stepped out of her shell. She began slide-tackling, using her speed and bashing into forwards. DiCicco's vision was being realized at just the right time. ``She can be the best defender in the world,'' DiCicco said. ``I recognized that right away. It was just a matter of building up her confidence all the time, all the time, all the time.'' ``I'm a very aggressive defender,'' said Sobrero. That's what makes me good. That's why I'm here. I'm not a finesse player out there. I'm not trying to be. What I'm good at is just nailing people and taking the ball away from them. I'm a brute, a clean one. I admit that. ``But I didn't show that for many, many months, because I was so scared to go after somebody. I wasn't concentrating on the game. I was just concentrating on not messing up, and you can't play well when you do that.'' FIFA FIFA International Association Football Federation [French Fédération Internationale de Football Association] FIFA n abbr (= Fédération Internationale de Football Association) → FIFA f WOMEN`S WORLD CUP CHAMPIONSHIP GAME U.S. vs. China Saturday, 12:50 p.m. Channel 7 CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO (Color) U.S. defender and All-American Kate Sobrero is considered one of the world's best defenders. Associated Press |
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