Zitat des Tages von Carli Lloyd:
In men's sports, people criticize coaches and managers all the time, call out teammates, too, and it's not that huge of a deal. Often, the guy speaking out is even lauded for having the courage to tell the truth. When it happens in women's sports, though, it always seems to be viewed as a nasty, claws-out cat fight.
I went from a player who was never fit to a person who actually worked hard to get myself in shape.
I think - you know, I want to intimidate people when I'm on the field. I want people to be scared of me. That's just kind of the nature of who I am as a person and player. But I also know that you have to be emotional. You have to be in touch with your feelings. I think that's important.
I don't think anyone would say that the women on the United States national team are not great role models and ambassadors. Everywhere we go, we connect with fans, sign autographs, and represent our sport and federation with class.
When I first joined the team, I was playing with the likes of Mia Hamm, Shannon MacMillan, Tiffeny Milbrett - all those big-time players. It was very intimidating. I had some of these players' posters on my wall growing up, and now I was able to play with them.
I've kept to myself, I've put my head down. I've gone to work. And I have felt undervalued.
I've taken great pride in not being fragile.
At the end of the day, you can be physically strong, you can have all the tools out there, but if your mental state isn't good enough, you can't bring yourself to bigger and better things.
If I am training on a holiday, most likely nobody else is - and that gives me the edge. If I'm supposed to run for 20 minutes and I get back and it's only been 19:34, I'm going to jog in a circle for 26 more seconds. I'm never going to cut it short.
No longer are the days where I just kind of fly under the radar. Everybody's recognizing me. Everybody wants pictures. They feel inspired. It's very cool.
I don't put on makeup when I'm getting ready for a game, because why would I? I am gearing up for battle. How is mascara or eyeliner going to help me win?
It's always hard to deal with injuries mentally, but I like to think about it as a new beginning. I can't change what happened, so the focus needs to go toward healing and coming back stronger than before.
I don't want to be known for someone that's good-looking. I want to be known as someone who is one of the best midfielders. That's my thing.
I really hate drama. It's draining; it's mentally draining. It's a waste of time.
I think that what we do out on the field is oftentimes a little bit better than what men do. I don't think that we flop around as much. I think we're tough. I mean, I've got battle wounds on my legs from the turf and sliding. And we're gritty. And we're feisty. And I think that I would never back down from a guy.
I love shopping! It's my release sometimes.
I had one girl tell me last night that I'm the greatest thing ever, that she wants to aspire to be me. Just stuff like, 'You're my idol. I love you.' It's awesome. It's what it's all about.
I didn't like playing with dolls; I didn't like getting dressed up. A lot of my friends and people I went to school with were into fashion and their clothes, so I lacked a bit of self-belief and confidence... I wasn't really comfortable.
I don't run on the treadmill, because there's no treadmill moving for you on the soccer field.
Winning the World Cup was a dream come true after so many years of wanting something so bad. After that final whistle, I dropped to the ground on my knees and got emotional.
I know that I'm a natural attacking player. I love to attack. I love to play freely; I love to combine and play through balls. That's the nature of my game.
Playing in Wembley Stadium in front of 83-some-thousand fans to win a gold medal was unreal.
This is my journey. If I fall, I have to pick myself up. If I'm not getting the playing time I want, it's up to me to figure out why.
I think, over the years, I've earned the respect of my teammates as someone who first got on the scene and wasn't internationally ready and has just continued to put in the work.
I want to be strong. I want to be able to hit people. I want people to be able to bounce off me. When I go out there and play, I play to intimidate people. If someone gets hit down by me, they're going to think twice about coming near me again.