SOUL OF TEAM NEEDS A GOOD NIGHT'S REST.Byline: KEVIN MODESTI I've watched soccer players separate shoulders, break legs, split lips, sprain sprain, stretching or wrenching of the ligaments and tendons of a joint, often with rupture of the tissues but without dislocation. Sprains occur most commonly at the ankle, knee, or wrist joints, causing pain, swelling, and difficulty in moving the involved joint. ankles and crack skulls. I've also watched soccer players pretend to suffer any number of grievous injuries. Pain - real or put-on - is part of the game. Before Saturday, though, I'd never watched a soccer player careen head-on into a retaining wall and burst into flames. OK, 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. didn't quite go up in smoke when she sailed grille-first into a Hyundai ad board while chasing a Chinese pass beyond the U.S. goal early in the Women's World Cup The Women's World Cup could refer to either the:
But the scene - patched-up chassis tumbling fender over tailpipe tail·pipe n. The pipe through which exhaust gases from an engine are discharged. Also called exhaust pipe. tailpipe Noun a pipe from which exhaust gases are discharged, esp. into the boards - showed the biggest audience of Akers' 14-year international career why she's the no-brakes jalopy of the U.S. team and why that's a high compliment. ``The girl,'' said young teammate Kate Sobero, ``is just out of control.'' By the end of the U.S. victory, in a penalty-kicks-shootout following 120 minutes of scoreless yet gripping soccer, the 88-degree afternoon of crashes, bangs and headers had taken a terrible toll on the player known as the heart, soul and sinew sinew /sin·ew/ (sin´u) a tendon of a muscle. weeping sinew an encysted ganglion, chiefly on the back of the hand, containing synovial fluid. sin·ew n. of the American team. Akers, 33, was in the locker room when it ended, having collapsed from exhaustion and dehydration after colliding with another player leaping for a Chinese corner kick in the last minute of regulation play. Missing a final whistle was nothing new for the woman who single-handedly keeps business booming for the manufacturers of intravenous-fluid bags. But what a shame Michelle Akers wasn't on the field for this one, that she wasn't part of the wild on-field celebration, that she needed support from a U.S. staffer at each elbow simply to walk to the medal stand, that she was flat on her back on the floor of another room when President Clinton stopped by the locker room to tell the champs congratulations. She wasn't able to take a kick in the shootout Shootout Venture capital jargon. Refers to two or more venture capital firms fighting for the startup. . Yet this was her victory as much as anybody's. She didn't make it to the interview room either. So we'll have to wait to ask if this also was her last game. She sure played as if it were. She wasn't faking for a second. ``She left it all on the field,'' 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 . ``The fans today were treated to one of the greatest women's athletes of all time.'' This might not have been Akers at her best. It's been eight years since she scored a tournament-high 10 goals in the first Women's World Cup, and since then she has battled Chronic Fatigue Syndrome chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), collection of persistent, debilitating symptoms, the most notable of which is severe, lasting fatigue. In other countries it is known variously as myalgic encephalomyelitis, chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome, and to a draw, undergone most of her estimated 12 knee surgeries, and wondered aloud why opponents' elbows and knees and toes always seem to land upside her head. But this was Akers at her most. She was all over the field, lobbing shots from outside the penalty area, winning balls in the air at midfield, stifling Chinese playmakers Playmakers is a TV series on ESPN that depicted the lives of the players on a fictional professional football team. The show starred Omar Gooding, Marcello Thedford, Christopher Wiehl, Jason Matthew Smith, Russell Hornsby and Tony Denison. in their own end. ``She put it all on the line for us today,'' said Sara Whalen, the defender who went into the game when Akers came out. ``I feel like she knew, `This is the last game, there's no worrying about whether you could play the next game.' '' Every time Akers hits the turf, the U.S. bench holds it breath. How many body blows can one woman take? When she hit the turf and stayed there Saturday, her teammates knew it had to be serious. The best U.S. penalty-kicker wasn't coming out now for something trivial - which in her case means anything this side of a punctured lung. Akers writhed writhe v. writhed, writh·ing, writhes v.intr. 1. To twist, as in pain, struggle, or embarrassment. 2. To move with a twisting or contorted motion. 3. To suffer acutely. in the goal box, clutching her curly head, as regulation play ticked away. U.S. trainers got her to sit up, but it was minutes before she could stand, and then she walked as if stuporous stu·por n. 1. A state of reduced or suspended sensibility. 2. A state of mental numbness, as that resulting from shock; a daze. See Synonyms at lethargy. . ``The way she plays is exhausting,'' U.S. captain Carla Overbeck Carla Werden Overbeck (born May 9, 1968, Pasadena, California) is an American soccer player and longtime member and captain of the United States women's national soccer team. She is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. said with the shrug of someone who's seen it before. By the middle of the first 15-minute overtime period Noun 1. overtime period - a period of overtime play to resolve a tie; e.g. basketball extra time, overtime - playing time beyond regulation, to break a tie , Akers was well enough to be helped to the locker room. There she took fluids and began what should be a long rest. Early reports of a concussion proved unfounded. Not coincidentally, with Air Akers grounded, the Chinese threatened repeatedly, the United States saved only by Kristine Lilly's heads-up clearance off the goal line. ``Our play definitely went down when she came out,'' assistant coach Lauren Gregg said. ``The way she played today was indicative of a true champion. She wanted to carry her team. ``I think usually she knows when enough is enough. Today she just overdid it.'' The Women's World Cup final had everything but a goal. It was as entertaining a 0-0 game as you'll see. Certainly better than the '94 Brazil-Italy final in what I suppose we'll have to start calling the Men's World Cup. For one thing, it had 10 penalty kicks that were all on-goal, not a Baggio job in the bunch. For another, it had 90 minutes of Michelle Akers, until all the fuel leaked out. She missed a heck of a finish. But not half as much as it missed her. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO Michelle Akers collides with Chinese goalie Goa Hong, one of Akers' several collisions. Tom Mendoza/Daily News |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion