“I don’t just want to be a participant in the World Cup,” American soccer star Carli Lloyd recently said. “I want to have a legacy. I want to have people remember me, and let my play do the talking.”
After Sunday's performance in the final match against Japan, that seems all but assured. Lloyd managed an unprecedented hat trick, scoring three goals within the first 16 minutes of the game. She even scored one of them from the midfield line, kicking it into the net from a jaw-dropping 55 yards. In recognition, she received the Golden Ball Award as the tournament's best player, as well as the Silver Boot Award for her scoring.
Yet, while those remarkable athletic feats made the New Jersey native a star (and elicited a congratulatory tweet from President Obama), her most memorable moment on Sunday came when Lloyd, who had been the captain of the match, put the blue captain's armband on the team's longtime leader, Abby Wambach.
Advertisement
Wambach had spent much of this year's World Cup on the bench as a substitute, and has said she refused to wear the captain's band — until Lloyd insisted. The move illustrated both Lloyd's role as a clutch leader and Wambach's role as a seasoned icon. Most of all, it highlighted the respect these players have for each other over their own stardom, and their strength and unity as a team.
Lloyd's play hasn't always been as consistent — she famously flubbed a penalty kick in the 2011 World Cup Final, and underperformed earlier in this year's tournament. But she appears to have become a mental warhorse who has inspired her team to take risks. Profiles about the midfielder spotlight her relentless work ethic and determination, and her Instagram feed is filled with anonymous motivational quotes ("the greatest fear in the world is of the opinions of others").
Lloyd also doesn't shy away from answering her critics, telling one reporter her drive comes from a "constant trying to prove people wrong."
Advertisement
And then there is Wambach, the legendary American soccer player who has scored more international goals than anyone, male or female. Despite her record, the veteran spent plenty of this year's World Cup as a substitute, waiting her turn in "exemplary" fashion, coach Jill Ellis has said. The grace with which she handled being in a supporting role said as much about her leadership as her time on the field did. "I appreciate it. I’m taking it in. I’m not upset. I accept my role," Wambach said.
Share this articleShareLloyd's handing over the armband was far from the only time these players recognized each other, or their teammates. In an emotional, intimate monologue during an interview with Fox just before the final game, Wambach reflected on her career. "You always want there to be that fairy tale-like ending," she said. "I hope that this is it — not just for me, but for this entire group of women who've shown me the way, who've taught me about myself, who've made me soul-search and find out more about who I am."
Lloyd explained her move to give Wambach the armband as paying a legend her due: "She has inspired so many of us on and off the field," she told CNN. Or, as she has said of Wambach in the past: "She has been a true leader. We wouldn’t be where we are without her. And I want nothing more than to help her legacy by winning the World Cup."
Advertisement
In other words, as is the case with many acts of real leadership, in trying to help Wambach's legacy, Lloyd has helped build a little of her own.
Read also:
‘Beast,’ ‘weirdo,’ choker, winner: World Cup star Carli Lloyd is bundle of contradictions
Heartbreak of four years ago haunts Wambach, but that 'fuels our fire'
Like On Leadership? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZLumw9JopqdlnJqupbHRrJ%2BiqF%2BsvXB%2Bj2psaGhnZH13e8KaqaWhXaG5sMXDrGSmp6Opeq6xzKipmpqcmnquu8yepa1llqe8rnnToZxmr5%2Bisq%2B%2FjLCmq6SUYrC2vIyfoKeZnGK6osDCoWY%3D