To my soccer family: my youth coaches Tim Atencio and Carl Wheeler. Pia Sundhage, Cheryl Bailey, Paul Rogers, April Heinrichs, Phil Wheddon, Sunil Gulati, Dan Flynn, and my teammates past and present.
Without the help of an unbelievable medical team, I couldn’t have gotten back on the field to experience the fulfillment of a World Cup and the thrill of another Olympic Games. Thanks to Dr. James Andrews and his medical team (Butch Buchanan, Luke Miller, and Harrison Reich) led by Kevin Wilke.
And to my rock Bruce Snell, Dave “Supe” Andrews, Ivan Pierra, and, of course, Hughie O’Malley.
To all my sponsors who have helped me in immeasurable ways, and, in particular, to Joe Elsmore and all my friends at Nike for their continued support.
To Richard Motzkin, for his longtime guidance and support, and to the indefatigable Whitney Unruh, for her friendship and for always knowing how to get the best out of me. She read me as closely as she read this book and was my rock solid. Rich and Whitney’s dedication and hard work go beyond the call of duty, and I owe them a special debt of gratitude.
Completing the book is a testament to the talents and involvement of a great many people. This book would not exist without the unwavering support and enthusiasm of my editor, David Hirshey, who understands the importance of both soccer and women’s sports and does his part in building the game by writing about it for ESPN and coaching his HC team to one championship after another (as well as one pitcher of beer after another!). Thank you, David, for challenging me to dig deep and trust my voice. Thanks also to associate editor Barry Harbaugh, for his grace under pressure in the home stretch, and to all the staff at HarperCollins, for their support and patience.
Thank you to Ann Killion for helping me tell my story and never being judgmental about the more fragile parts of my life. In essence, you became the counselor I always fought against having. Your dedication, reliability, intelligence, and efficiency will never be forgotten. You have the rare talent to see through the glitz and glamour of women’s sports and write about them in an honest and enlightening way.
To Adrian, a blessing in my life. Thank you for strengthening my confidence in myself and for encouraging me to remain true to who I am at all costs. You have believed in me in ways that nobody else ever has. Our love is a love that builds a deep and unbreakable bond, no matter what challenges and heartache come our way. Some things were never possible without you by my side. We can do anything together. I love you.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
HOPE SOLO, one of the most charismatic athletes in America, is widely regarded as the best women’s goalkeeper in the world. An Olympic gold medalist, she has been a member of the U.S. national team since 2000 and has appeared on the covers of Sports Illustrated and ESPN The Magazine. At the 2011 World Cup, FIFA awarded her the Adidas Golden Glove as the tournament’s top goalkeeper. A prominent spokeswoman for Gatorade and Nike, she starred on the hit reality show Dancing with the Stars. She lives in Los Angeles, California.
ANN KILLION is a columnist with Sports Illustrated and a regular commentator on Comcast TV. She has covered the past nine Olympics and the last three Women’s World Cups, and was a sports columnist at the San Jose Mercury News for twenty years.
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CREDITS
All photographs courtesy of the author unless otherwise noted.
Cover photograph © Beau Grealy
Cover design by Milan Bozic
COPYRIGHT
SOLO. Copyright © 2012 by Hope Solo. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Epub Edition © AUGUST 2011 ISBN: 9780062136763
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for.
FIRST EDITION
ISBN: 978-0-06-213674-9
12 13 14 15 16 OV/RRD 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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