Group dynamic works for US
Revamped soccer team seen as an early favorite
BEIJING - They passed through here nearly a fortnight ago and spent a day or so checking out Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Great Wall. Then the US women's soccer team hopped on a train and went 170 miles up to Qinhuangdao on the Yellow Sea, and they won't be back in the capital unless they make the medal round in the Olympics.
When everyone else is marching into the Bird's Nest Stadium for Friday night's opening ceremonies, these Americans will be watching on TV, having already played a match. If they lose, they'll be behind the curve before the Games even begin.
"This is the Olympics, and you never know what is going to happen," says US coach Pia Sundhage, whose star-spangled squad takes on Norway tomorrow morning (local time) in their group opener.
Getting to the semifinals shouldn't be a problem for the defending champions, who've lost only one match (the 2000 final to the Norwegians) in three previous Games. Unlike the Germans and Brazilians, who were cast into the Group of Death with the North Koreans and Nigerians, the Americans have a decidedly less demanding draw that includes Japan and New Zealand, who've beaten the US just once in 27 combined tries.
"I love the fact we are playing against three different kinds of opponents, three different cultures," says Sundhage. "I love that challenge."
The real challenge, assuming the US wins its group, may not come until the semis, which is where the Yanks came to grief at the last two World Cups, losing to the Germans and Brazilians and ending up third each time. Last year's defeat, a jaw-dropping 4-0 shutout at Hangzhou, was their worst ever and it got coach Greg Ryan, who'd never lost a match, summarily dismissed.
The Americans haven't lost since then under Sundhage, the former Swedish star and Boston Breakers coach who has preached boldness and togetherness. But this will be the first time at Olympus that they've played without the Fab Five (Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly, Julie Foudy, Joy Fawcett, and Brandi Chastain), who were the force behind two golds and a silver.
"With the old guard passing, some people think it's a struggle, but we look at it as a great opportunity," says defender Kate Markgraf, who's competing in her third Games. "There are some voices that hadn't been heard on our team because we had such strong and dominant voices. When things change, opportunities arise."
Only five starters from the Athens team - Markgraf, fellow defender Christie Rampone, midfielders Shannon Boxx and Lindsay Tarpley, and goalkeeper Briana Scurry - are still around.
One who would have been, forward Abby Wambach, went down with a broken leg in the final tuneup against Brazil, leaving her mates without their go-to woman, the one who scored the gold-winning goal against Brazil in overtime in 2004.
"Abby is a great player and you cannot replace her," acknowledges Sundhage. "But we are all about the team. The team will respond and adjust."
In past years, it was easy to rely on the veterans who always produced gilded results, which was why Ryan bypassed starting goalkeeper Hope Solo for the 36-year-old Scurry in the disastrous loss to Brazil. That defeat drove home what the US Soccer people already knew - that the squad had to get younger and faster to get back on top of the world.
In her first four months, Sundhage called 46 players into at least one camp, and she has mixed and matched lineups all year.
"The unpredictability of the team has been greater than it has ever been," says midfielder Heather O'Reilly. "Pia has given a lot of players a chance to play. Goals are coming from a ton of different places."
As Sundhage sang to the squad when she first met them, the times they are a-changing. Ten Olympic rookies are on the roster, including collegians Amy Rodriguez, Tobin Heath, and Lauren Cheney. Rampone is the captain and Natasha Kai the new gunner.
The Fab Five are gone, yet the Americans have kept rolling. They're 21-0-1 this year, riding a streak of seven straight shutouts, three against Brazil, and figure to breeze to the quarterfinals.
"We hope to surprise the USA," says Norwegian coach Bjarne Berntsen. "We did badly over the last year. We lost to America, 4-1, 4-0, 4-0, so they are big favorites."
What Uncle Sam's nieces have learned, though, is that their tournament doesn't begin until the medal round. That's the next time they'll see Beijing. They've already been here as tourists. Next time, it'll be strictly business.
John Powers can be reached at jpowers@globe.com 