If one were to ask a little girl who her favorite soccer player is, odds are she'll say it's Abby Wambach. The U.S. Women's National Team captain has proved that not only men can play the beautiful game, but women can to. And can look good while doing it.
Today, just hours before meeting President Obama, the USWNT superstar announced that her days of playing soccer, have come to an end.
Wambach helped lead the Stars and Stripes to their third FIFA Women's World Cup title this past summer, defeating Japan by a score of 3-2. After the match, the 35-year old became even more non-committal about her career. It was later confirmed that Wambach's last game will be December 16, 2015, the last stop for the USWNT Victory Tour.
She started playing soccer in her early life, for Our Lady of Mercy High School. Later, she attended the University Of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. The 5'11 forward, played for the Washington Freedom from 2002-2010 before making a move to magicJack, where she became a Player-Coach.
Wambach was signed to NWSL side, Western New York Flash when the league was created in 2013. She later had her rights traded to the Seattle Reign in exchange for U.S. international teammate Sydney Leroux Dwyer. Although she didn't play a minute for the Reign, she was steady preparing for the World Cup, which was held in Canada.
Although the team selected 23 players to take to Canada for the Women's World Cup, they can only take 18 to Rio de Janeiro, for Summer Olympics. Qualifying starts in February. Will Wambach make the 18 one last time, or will kindly pass up the option? The U.S. has never won a gold medal in the Olympics after they've won the World Cup. Wambach would love to accomplish that one last thing on her agenda.
She was also granted awards, off of the field. In 2012, she was included in Time Magazine's Top 100 Influential People, in the world. Also in 2012, she received the FIFA Player of the Year. Wambach's presence will be dearly missed in the USWNT locker room.