Swanson missed the 2023 World Cup due to a knee injury. (Photo by John Todd, Getty Images)
She knows, too, that the three of them have been working on her — in a good way, of course — since the tail end of last year, before Emma Hayes joined the team and there was still the uncertainty of the post-World Cup transition.
“They truly have made me feel a part of it,” she said. “I felt like if I could allow myself to be a little bit more vulnerable with the younger group, and buy into that, and be able to share the experiences that I’ve had and have them soak it up.”
She has felt their embrace, even as she’s only barely tolerated the push to be included in social media videos. It’s been fun. It all goes back to that.
“It’s made me feel quite special as part of the group, like I feel like I have something to give to this team as an older player,” Naeher said. Naeher hasn’t talked about her plans moving forward, but there is perhaps the slightest hint of knowing she should take advantage of the chance she has now, to share everything she knows — to help them, and be rewarded with their love right back.
We’re going to a Gold Medal Game 🥇🥹 pic.twitter.com/9mET5FIJGg
— U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (@USWNT) August 7, 2024
If she has to tolerate a few hugs here or there, then it’s a price she doesn’t seem to mind paying even if she’s still putting on the bit on camera, even if she struggles to accept the praise in real time. “Mother-daughter besties forever,” Rodman declared in a team video, after forcing Naeher to hug her back.
“It’s funny because I’m not a touchy person,” Rodman said Thursday, laughing about that very video. “Just in that moment, I wanted to shout her out. You’ll never see us hug, so that was a once in a lifetime thing. Maybe. Hopefully if we win, there’ll be another one. But I love making her uncomfortable; it brightens my day for sure.”
As hoped for, they won. And they got that second hug. And a third, just to be safe. Consider the shell fully cracked.
Source link : https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5693260/2024/08/10/uswnt-olympics-alyssa-naeher/
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Publish date : 2024-08-10 12:30:00
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