#uswnt 2020

[tobinsonny]

x

[incorrectnwsl]

Hello all of my soccer stars (I’m workshopping some names to call you guys). Since one of my most popular quizzes on Sporcle is the 2020 USWNT Roster Quiz, I decided to make one for 2021. And I will probably do the same for 2022, and maybe earlier years if there is interest.

So, without further blabbering, I give you the link to my soccer quizzes:

https://www.sporcle.com/playlists/valazzaj/soccer-playlist

Of which, the newest is the 2021 Roster Quiz. How well can you remember 2 years ago, because the answer may surprise you (it surprised me how much I forgot).

[dirtroadkiss]

im like if a curse was a person

[meazalykov]

Could I make a request for Obi please?

They already have a established relationship.

With her recently getting injured, could it be something along the lines of Reader got injured a few months before the World Cup and had to miss it, but Obi mostly was there for Reader. Now with it being the other way around this time, Reader feels conflicted about going to the Olympics as see knows those first few weeks are the hard but she won’t be there to support Obi.

my home is with you

lena oberdorf x uswnt!reader (requested)

authors note: i'm sad about her injury :( I wanted to see her at the olympics and start with bayern soon.. I know she will come back stronger ❤️ here's your request! normally i wouldn’t decide to write about this because it’s so soon, but i do requests (unless it’s too dark & much) so i hope you like :)

warnings: many injury mentions, very long chapter.

being back in your hometown gave you a sense of peace and warmth.

you haven't stepped foot in washington dc since 2018. you left your childhood club to go play at gotham for a year-- before moving to lyon (2020-2022) and then bayern afterwards.

waking up in the morning, you wished obi the best of luck against her game against austria. yes, she will be your competitor in the group stages against germany, but she is still your girlfriend of 2 years.

afterwards, you put your phone on dnd and put it in your adidas bag that you will take to the audi stadium. on game days, the captain (lindsey) highly discourages the players being on social media before games.

as the second captain after her, you agreed to follow that rule. social media can be toxic.

if someone really wanted to reach out to you for an emergency, they can do it through lindsey, emma, or your sisters who came to the game to support your send off to paris.

that's exactly what happened. while you were getting ready in your hotel room-- lindsey got an emergency call from sara dabritz, her lyon teammate who played for the german national team.

sara isn't on the german roster for the olympics, but alex popp asked her to call lindsey-- since she needed you to know of the news as soon as possible.

"sara?" lindsey's eyebrows knitted together. sara calling her during international break and the off-season has never happened before.

"where's y/n?" sara asked, ignoring lindsey's confused tone.

"I haven't seen her since this morning, she might be getting ready now. what's going on?"

"the entire german team is trying to get ahold of y/n. lena went down pretty badly during todays game-- it was her knee." sara swallowed.

lindsey was sad to her about the news. nobody likes when another player goes down with a *possible* acl injury.

however, she was scared on how she was going to tell you the news.

hours later at audi stadium, you walked into the stadium alongside trinity and hal. both of them play on this field for washington spirit, and the three of you bonded over the last few days-- knowing washington dc so well.

trinity and hal stopped at a water fountain to fill up their empty stanley bottles with water. your owala bottle was filled with cold ice water already, so you continued on with walking into the dressing room.

as you turned the corner into the room, you hear your coach Emma, say something along the lines of "well we can't tell her until-" before lindsey stopped her with her finger pointing at your entrance.

you were the first to arrive before the rest of the team, surprising to the captain and coach talking in the room.

"hey!" you smiled, unaware of what they know.

"hey y/n, ready for the game!?" lindsey casually says with a smirk on her face.

the poker face of the lyon player is perfection. something could be wrong but as the main captain, she can't let her emotions take over her logic.

as the second captain of the team, you had every right to question what emma and lindsey were just talking about.

however, you didn't. you were too excited to play in your hometown again. many uswnt fans came just to see you play on your turf again.

"I'm so pumped! my family came just for the send off to paris. some of them talk about "oh we can't never see you play since you're in germany." but now they're here so-" you rambled as you giggled.

for a moment, emma frowned at your happy sight. lindsey turned around to look at the coach with a guilty look, hating that they both agreed to not tell you *that news* until the end of the send-off.

"that's exciting. I'm positive we have a great game ahead." emma says.

your happy mood became a miserable one at halftime. being nil-nil against costa rica was not motivating since you wanted to impress your hometown community.

in the 70th minute, you scored off of a set piece shot by mallory swanson. the crowd screamed as they've realized that it was you, their fellow dc native, that scored the goal.

the game ended with a 1-0. you knew that the team needed tons of things to work on if you wanted a chance at winning gold in the olympics, but that will come with time.

after the send off ceremony, lindsey asked if she could personally talk to you in one of the empty conference rooms.

you agreed. at first, you thought that she was going to discuss olympic matters and what will drive the team to win gold once you reach france. since she is the first captain and you're captain whenever she isn't-- along with alyssa naeher.

however, lindsey was very tense as you sat down beside her in one of the wheel chairs. she made sure to close and lock the door as well-- this is when your heart started racing.

she is your friend and hates to give you the bad news.

"I need to tell you this before you go on your phone and see it in the locker room in front of the other girls." lindsey speaks.

your eyes widened, confused.

"what's wrong?" you start to panic.

"alex-- alex popp-- said that lena went down during the game against austria. it's her knee, y/n."

your heart shattered into a million pieces. you looked away from lindsey as you took a few deep breaths.

the blonde understood why you couldn't say anything after that moment. you thought about lena having a possible acl injury.

you panicked knowing that you weren't there to help her.

"I need my phone!'" you jump up from the wheel chair.

"here." lindsey said, pulling your phone out of her jacket pocket. she made sure that she had your phone on hand-- in private-- so none of the other girls were alarmed about seeing you so upset.

after you switched your iphone off from dnd, you had nearly 200 notifications.

the first is lena's parents-- asking you to call them whenever you had time before or after your game.

others came from lea-- updating you on what's going on with obi. she understands you were playing a game and couldn't answer right away.

some messages were from other footballers in the community that you're friends with, asking you to send well wishes to lena on their behalf.

is this how lena felt back in 2023?

back in april 2023, you were a starter in the second game against Ireland.

you weren't feeling the greatest, your friend mallory suffered a bad injury in the first game and you knew she wouldn't see the pitch for a very long time.

in the second half as the ball was coming from the air, you jumped up to head the ball. at the same time, an Irish player's foot went up in the air to get the ball.

the sharp part of the boots kicked at your ribs extremely hard. your breath was caught in your throat and you landed on the ground-- injuring your ankle by landing awkwardly.

the irish player received a red card, but you were struggling to breath as you needed medic immediately. alex and kelley stayed with you as you couldn't even sit up without squealing in pain.

your ankle was on fire and your lung felt like it was beaten in. torture would've been an understatement.

lena finished playing the game against brazil when jule pulled her-- harshly-- to look at the tv in the dressing room.

the german girl watched in horror as she seen her lover on the grass, you were crying your eyes out as you balled yourself together.

she noticed your hands going back and forth between your torso by your right lung, and your left ankle, as the medics tried their best to figure out what's wrong.

"what the fuck happened?" lena said angrily, in english-- confused as she rushed to grab the remote and turn the tv up.

"this isn't good for the united states before the world cup-- mallory went down on the first game against ireland and now *reader's last name* can barely move without a reaction." a german commentator speaks.

the entire german dressing room looks in horror.

your bayern teammates looked horrified as jule tried her best to comfort a stressed lena.

a replay of the injury happened on the tv a second later. everyone could see quinn's cleat harshly kick your ribs-- the landing on your ankle afterwards made some of the dressing room cringe as if they could've felt it themselves.

"yeah, I don't think we will see her in the world cup after this one." the woman commentator on the tv speaks when a stretcher takes you off the pitch moments later.

lena was quick to immediately call your mom and sisters, since they were there and she wasn't.

she knew how excited you were to play in your second world cup after winning the first one at age 17.

when you got back home to germany, lena was there for you. you suffered with a broken rib and grade 2 ankle sprain.

obi helped you stand up most days and picked up heavy things, since you couldn't even breathe without feeling pain for the first three weeks. lena did your chores at home, helped you with showering (your ankle made that hard to do), she did your hair. she did everything to make sure that you were okay.

you couldn't go to the world cup and watch her play, but you were still so proud of her-- even if she got eliminated in the group stage.

the injury that happened to you made lena fully committed to wanting to marry you. even through your bad injury-- you were there to comfort her once she was back from australia after a failed world cup campaign.

back in the conference room in dc, you rushed to call lea.

she answered in a heartbeat, you were surprised since it had to have been 5:30am in germany while 11:30pm back in washington dc for you.

"lea?" your voice cracked. you hated this for lena, more than your own injury from a year prior.

"how was your game?" lea tried to calm you down.

"it was fine, now what happened?" you ask.

lea didn't take offense to you wanting to know what happened. this reminded her on how lena was with you.

being her closest friend at bayern, and the one that put lena onto you, she understands the bond you have with your girlfriend better than anyone else.

"lena tried to tackle and get the ball away from a player but her knee popped. I think you need to watch this for a better understanding." lea speaks.

on the FaceTime you can see lea typing on a few things on the phone.

you looked up at a confused, yet guilty lindsey. she felt bad for you since you were far from your home in germany.

the notification on your phone showed that lea sent a link to a twitter video. you clicked on it and watch the whole thing play out.

its hard to tell at first, but slowly you could see obi's knee pop out.

this made you sick to your stomach.

after talking to lea for a few more minutes, then waking up lena's parents to talk to them (they didn't mind, they really wanted to hear from you), then laura, then klara-- you were exhausted.

you were allowed to go on the bus early and choose if you wanted to sit alone on the way back to the hotel.

lindsey told all of the girls that something happened- she explained the situation which caused the girls to feel bad for lena and your situation.

you called lena, in private, once you were back in your hotel. she sounded so hurt which caused your eyes to let out tears (quietly) as she talked about her medical scanning tommorow.

many people would do anything to participate in the olympics. you were grateful to be a bronze-medal olympian already heading to seek gold-- but you wanted to go home to lena in munich.

the best player on the uswnt was you, no debate. after scoring in the 2019 world cup final at 17, winning two champions leagues with lyon, being the second best-player now in the bundesliga with bayern, and carrying the national team to bronze in the last olympics-- the team looked up to you.

the girls let you have your space for a while. even on the plane on the way to france.

tierna, your closest friend on the national team, sat beside you. she was quiet as she watched movies while you anxiously looked at your phone to receive some kind of news.

after the plane landed, the girls were quiet as they headed out. you realized that you couldn't sit in pain waiting for the day that you will get home to munich-- that will affect the team chemistry.

as you were in your hotel room, lena called you.

"hallo liebe." you spoke softly.

you heard lena cough before a few seconds of silence started.

the fact that lena called you instead of facetiming you, you knew it was bad. the three letter injury is something u feared for lena as your eyes widened.

"its both." lena mumbles.

"its both?" you question softly as you request to switch the call to FaceTime.

lena accepts and you see her in the hospital room, tears dried down her cheeks as her red face is covered by her hands.

"acl and mcl." she breathed out as she looked at you through the camera.

you frowned as reality hit.

lena couldn't start a bayern next month.

lena won't go to the olympics.

she will have to sit out for at least eight months.

you know she will be okay, since she has the team and medical doctors to help her heal.

however, you were sad that you couldn't drop everything to go back to munich.

"obi." is all you could say.

"I already know what you're thinking-- and don't." lena randomly says.

your eyebrows knit together in confusion as she looks at you with a unreadable look.

"don't leave your team just to come here. they need you-"

"but you need me a lot more." you cut lena off.

she knows you're right, but she can't be selfish-- even with her injury.

"you will be home soon liebe, I know you love me and will care for me as soon as you can." lena says.

"once I'm back in munich, I will be there for you. you aren't going through this alone-- we will fight through this together and you will be stronger." you gave a sad smile as lena smiles for the first time since she went down on that grass.

"Ich liebe dich" she whispers.

"Ich liebe dich auch" you say back.

"when is your surgery scheduled?" you ask.

"we don't have an exact date yet, but they said it might be the week of the 29th." lena says as she lays back in the hospital bed in her black shirt and black shorts.

you didn't respond as lena flipped the camera, showing you a closer look at her knee.

"I am so sorry." you say.

"its not your fault." lena says.

"I know- but again-- I just want to be there for you."

"and you will soon, don't abandon your team." lena made it clear.

"okay, I won't" you sigh.

of course you felt bad that you didn't want to be in france, but in germany instead helping lena. however, you were sad about the group stage match against germany.

lena and you talked about that match as being one of the last moments where you will be "rivals" before she joins you in the season for bayern. now, neither will happen.

days later, the united states plays germany in the group stage after beating zambia 3-2.

you were in the starting lineup. emma needed you for this match, making sure that you talked to a sports psychologist before this match-- just so you were mentally prepared.

you knew how the germans played, so you would be a key to winning the group stage match.

as the teams were going to take their starting eleven picture, you see the germans hold up a shirt in honor of sydney and lena-- who were injured and couldn't be in the olympics.

you sadly smiled at this, happy that they're remembering them.

however, you got your act together fast. lindsey wasn't in the lineup so you were the captain of the match.

at halftime, it was 1-1. trinity rodman scored a goal in the 10th minute but klara equalized in the 34th after an error from #3 on the USWNT.

in the second half, you scored a golazo in the 55th minute after dribbling around sara doorsoun and alex popp.

unfortunately, lea equalized in the 88th minute.

the game ended 2-2 and you weren't happy or sad about it.

all of the german girls greeted you immediately with hugs and kisses on the head. you accepted them. you missed them dearly and they were the closest thing you had to lena right now.

"lea love!" you sigh in relief when you hug her tightly for thirty seconds. the cameras capture the beautiful sight as most know the significance.

"I wish obi was here right now." you lean your head on lea's shoulder as she kissed the side of your head, above your left ear.

"I do too. I hate how fate works." lea speaks through her german accent.

"same." you roll your eyes. not in anger, but in disappointment for the situation and how things can play out for the worst.

"how are you?" lea asks.

"can I be honest?" you ask. lea nods her head.

"I want to be with her. I am so grateful to be here for a second time but I can't imagine her being alone without us." you whisper into her ear.

you didn't want any of your teammates to hear you. lea is your closest friend so you know she won't tell on you.

"she's not alone, she has her parents-- but I totally understand. she will be okay." lea smiles lightly as she pulls a piece of hair of yours behind your ear, a piece of hair that fell out of your ponytail during the match.

lea is right, lena's parents are staying with her at the new house you both own until you can go back to munich-- which could happen in a few days or weeks depending on the outcome of the olympics.

"I know. she's a fighter.' you smirk.

"and a lover." lea winked at you.

lea loves the way that you and lena respect and are in-love with each other. being the third wheel is annoying sometimes (when she has to hang out with y'all instead of her own girlfriend) but she is happy for the both of you.

after multiple matches of the olympics, the united states is awarded silver after losing against france 2-1 in the final.

you were the one that scored against france.

if you said that you weren't in a rush to get home to munich, you'd be lying.

lena's surgery was pushed back to this morning. so you took the uber straight to the hospital from the airport.

the taller german was asleep as you quietly walked into the hospital room. obi's parents hugged you and congratulated you on silver.

knowing that they've been with their daughter for many days, you offer them a break.

"you guys should go down to the cafe and grab lunch for yourselves, please don't take offense to this but ihr seht beide sehr müde aus." (you both look very tired) you whisper since you didn't want to wake lena.

they loved you like their own daughter, so it didn't take them much convincing for them to get a break-- knowing their daughter was in safe hands with you.

when they shut the hospital doors behind them, lena woke up from the noise.

you took out a blanket from your carry on luggage, your back faced towards lena so you didn't see or hear her wake up.

"liebe?" you turned around quickly when you saw lena awake.

she had the same tired look that you're used to seeing when you wake up beside her, but she was smiling at your sight.

you pout in happiness as you walked up to hug her upper body.

"my sunshine, I'm so happy to see you awake." you kissed the top of her forehead as her head pressed against your chest.

lena closed her eyes in comfort, she missed you the most.

"to see me awake? omg I didn't die." lena laughed.

"oh lena shut it, you know what I meant." you giggled back, happy to see lena cracking a joke through her pain.

you look down her body to see the scar on her knee peak out from her hospital gown.

on the inside, you felt terrible. you hated seeing lena in pain. you'd rather it be yourself than her.

on the outside, you looked at lena as she gave you a peak on the lips.

after that, you saw the ponytail of her hair tangled.

"hold on lena." you pull yourself away from her arms and reach into your tote bag.

"no don't leaveeee!" lena says

"I'm not I'm just going to help you with your hair-- it will help you relax."

you pulled out a soft brush from your bag, refusing to use a comb and risk pulling on her hair after she had surgery.

"you're so sweet" lena looks at the brush in your hand and turns her head to the side, so you have better access.

"anything for my baby." you tell her as you kiss the right side of her temple.

"i'm just glad to be back home." you mumble as you start brushing through obi's hair, getting the tangles out slowly and softly.

"isn't washington dc your home?" lena giggled, joking and teasing about the game you played in dc almost a month ago.

"nope, my home is with you."

I hope you're happy with what I wrote from this request! #comebackstrongerlenaoberdorf ❤️🙌

[sccpmccabe]

A beautiful campaign that unfortunately, once again, did not have the ending it should have.

For me, in particular, it is difficult to find words to describe the carousel of emotions that this edition of the Olympic Games gave me, especially in women's football.

In fact, it is already difficult to talk about women's football being played in Brazil, because it was considered a crime until recently. My mother was born at a time when the country prohibited women from playing sports that were considered masculine, and today she saw, once again, the Brazilian Women's Football Team reach the podium of the most important competition in the world of sports.

Marta Vieira da Silva, the greatest player in history, ended her career wearing the famous green and yellow shirt, which in itself is already emotional, but when you remember that she was born just 3 years after women's football was discriminated against, it carries an even greater emotional burden and made me fall to my knees in tears. We are talking about just 41 years of activity in the entire country. The first edition of the Olympic Games that included women's football as a sport was in 1996, and Brazil was already competing in it, just 13 years after the ban was lifted.

We are talking about an unequal country, which was colonized, exploited and always underestimated in many aspects and whose repercussions of genocide and exploitation and all the violence that was necessary for this are still reflected in modern society. We are also talking about the only team, along with the USWNT, that has played in every edition of the Olympic Games in women's football since 1996. And there is still an even more surprising fact in all of this, this is the first edition in which Formiga (an exceptional football player who retired a few years ago, for those who don't know) does not participate. She wore our colors from 1996 until Tokyo 2020/21.

We will be the next host of a World Cup where a very promising generation of players will give their best once again and try to bring joy to their people who have often despised them, but who they still fight for and to put a smile on their lips. We have a multi-champion coach in charge who knows what women's football is and who has always lived by it and has already proven himself in the position after taking Brazil to an Olympic final after 16 years of the last one with just 10 months in charge.

Once again we will be fighting against expectations and statistics, the journey has never been easy and it won't be, but we have hope (as always) that better days will come and that the whole world will see us shine at the top, which is the place we always deserved.

After all, we are talking about Brazil, and it is no secret that our Brazilian way always stands out in some aspects and that is what charms us. As long as there are people to wear our colors and represent us in any sport, millions of people will be there to cheer and bother whoever is necessary.

Que orgulho de vocês, minhas meninas! Dois mil e vinte e sete é o nosso ano e eu vou estar nas arquibancadas do Maracanã pra ver aquela taça ser erguida por vocês 🫶🏼

[didalexiabreakupwitholgayet]

In honour of Jennis bday, what are your fave moments of hers! It can be historical, funny, super old pre social media or something from now haha

I've not really deep dived into her, I do admire her a lot but know more of her football self than the BTS, so I'm curious to see what her makeup is from someone as knowledgeable as yourself

even though jenni no longer plays for barça, she will always be one of my favourite players to ever wear the blaugrana shirt. and she's an even better human and has been so caring towards fans, for which i am personally appreciative.

favourite photos: jenni at madrid pride living her authentically open self and jenni re-creating the famous male footballers in bed with trophy pic because it's what she deserves!

favourite bts lore: when jenni made irene's son mateo cry and she made a joke about "chucky" 😅

favourite goofy moment: the whole instagram live that jenni did during the 2021 ballon d'or ceremony (making fun of the french airport officials and her teasing alexia) was a riot.

favourite unexpected friendship: jenni and uswnt's christen press, from the old tyresö days.

favourite goal: this absolute banger from jenni, capitalising on a mistake from uswnt's naeher during the 2019 world cup.

favourite season: 2020-21 for barça with 2019-20 as close second. these were jenni's seasons and why she's considered the best #9 for barça in its history!

[greynatomy]

sophia smith social media au

hope you like it!

-grey

———

January 2020

liked by user1, yourinstagram and 4,738 others

sophiasssmith last game as a stanford cardinal with babes @/yourinstagram

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yourinstagram gonna miss this with you

↳ sophiasssmith so much!

user1 good luck!

user2 my favorite duo

↳ user3 think they’re gonna get drafted to the same team?

↳ user2 no clue, but let’s hope

liked by sophiasssmith, user1 and 12,217 others

thornsfc With the #1 overall pick in the 2020 #NWSLDraft, we've selected Sophia Smith. Welcome to the Thorns, @/sophsssmith! 🌹 #BAONPDX

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user1 FIRAT PICK OF THE DRAFT

user2 YEAH BABY!!

user3 so excited

liked by yourinstagram, user1 and 10,739 others

skybluefc With the #5 overall pick in the 2020 #NWSLDraft, we've selected Y/n Y/ln! Welcome to #SBFC @/yourinstagram!

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user1 they separated the duo!

↳ user2 would’ve loved to see a smith x y/ln in the nwsl

user3 can’t wait for the thorns vs sky blue game

liked by yourinstagram, user1 and 10,749 others

sophiasssmith thank you @/thornsfc for believing in me and giving me this opportunity, I can't wait to get started! I can't wait to start this next chapter of my life! #thornsfc

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yourinstagram incredibly proud of you!

↳ sophiasssmith i love you! 💕

user1 SOPHIA SMITH TO PORTLAND 🌹

user2 tobin x sophia!! cant wait to watch

user3 watching all the games!

liked by sophiasssmith, user1 and 9,475 others

yourinstagram big move from ca —> ny! thank you to @/skybluefc for giving me the opportunity to grow as a player with this team. excited for this new chapter! #skybluefc

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sophiasssmith so proud of you!

↳ yourinstagram i love you! ❤️

user1 can’t wait to see how she plays with the team

user2 impatiently waiting for thorns vs sky blue

———

January 2023

liked by yourinstagram, user1 and 7,894 others

gothamfc Thank you for everything, @/yourinstagram! Wishing you the very best!

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user1 NOOOOOOOO

user2 where is she going?

user3 if she goes to thorns i’m losing my mind

liked by yourinstagram, sophiasssmith and 20,748 others

thornsfc Welcome @/yourinstagram to Portland! Excited to have you here! 🌹

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user1 WE GOT SMITH X Y/LN BACK TOGETHER!!!!

user2 AHHHHHHHHHH

liked by user1, user2 and 20,738 others

thornsfc Just a minute into the match, the Smith x Y/LN duo strikes again! 🤯

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user1 LETS EFING GOOOOK

user2 glad to have them back together

user3 DYNAMIC DUO

liked by yourinstagram, uswnt and 80,738 others

sophiasssmith 1 down 🤝🏽

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yourinstagram YESSIR🫡

cdunn19 time for a dance PARTAY

user1 OOSA OOSA OOSA

user2 ❤️🤍💙

[ouiouibaguettt]

Deja-vu

Jana Fernandez x reader

request from @liverpool96

→   for the the other jana fernandez one say reader and jana are together but know one knows till after a game against each other and they kiss.

warnings: mentions of kiss 

words: 1.2k

Masterlist

─ ⋅◈⋅ ━─┉┈◈❖◈┈┉─━ ⋅◈⋅ ── ⋅◈⋅ ━─┉┈◈❖◈┈┉─━ ⋅◈⋅ ─

Not playing in the Champions League is certainly disappointing, but the fact that you can go to your girlfriend's games cheers you up. You'd been going out with Jana since the SheBelievesCup in 2020. It was the start of the USWNT vs Spain match, and you had just inspected the pitch when you saw that the La Roja team had arrived to do the same. That's when you met for the first time. You weren’t necessarily looking for love, but it seems to have found you and hit you hard.

//

At the end of the match, it was thanks to Kelley and Emily that you had the courage to approach her to talk. You were scared because you'd just won the match and destroyed their hopes of winning the SheBelievesCup. After that, the more the days went by, the more you got to know each other, which is why, at the end of the 2020/2021 season, you decided to go to Gothenburg in Sweden to watch her Champions League final.

Sitting alongside some of the WSL players, you were one of the only ones wearing a Barcelona shirt, even the Arsenal players who were there were wearing a Chelsea shirt despite their rivalry.

//

When the final whistle blew, you rushed to the edge of the stands in hope of seeing her. She took you down onto the pitch with the help of her captain, Alexia Putellas. You thanked Alexia before she winked at you and left to see the rest of the team.

Once the celebrations were over, you went back to the hotel with Jana's team, so it must have been a coincidence that she was alone in her room. You remember you kissed for the first time that evening and you said we'd talk about it when we woke up in the morning if we remembered...

You remembered, and you plucked up the courage to ask her to be your girlfriend. She kissed you back with a big smile and asked if you could keep it between you, because despite everything you're still young, and even though you're in the 21st century, homophobia is still present. 

"Of course", you replied, agreeing with her, because even if you’re quite open about it, it's not always easy to live with it when you can get beaten up in the street for it.

//

That's how you ended up in Eindhoven this year, wearing a shirt with 'FERNANDEZ' written on the back with her number 5. This time you were again in the company of players from Arsenal, Chelsea and Bayern Munich, some of whom were for Barcelona and others for Wolfsburg.

When the abutment team came out, she instantly found you; it was as if she knew you were there, in that very spot. Wishing her good luck from a distance, she gave you two thumbs up and a big smile. These actions did not go unnoticed by Leah Williamson and Lia Walti, who were sitting behind you.

At half-time you tried to reach down to grab Jana and tell her that everything was going to be fine, that she shouldn't go away defeatist. 

"Jana" you shouted a little, so that she could see and hear you, she was surprised to see you here, instead of in your seat. 

"Stop stressing, stop being scared, you're FC Barcelona, the best team in the world, you can do it. You can win, all right? I trust you, I trust you. So get moving okay, where's the team that gave us a 4-0 hammering during the season?" you say, hoping to cheer her up so she can do the same afterwards in the dressing room. 

"We're going to win, I promise, mi amor," she tells you, whispering the last part.

 "I'd rather that, now go on, your team's waiting for you, I love you," you say, blowing her a kiss on the cheek and shaking her hand before climbing back into your seat.

When the match resumed, it was immediately clear that Barcelona had not finished fighting, and what the coach had to say in the dressing room did them good, even a little too much, because in just 2 minutes, Patri levelled the score. Ten minutes later, it was Fridolina Rolfo's turn to score, putting the team ahead for the first time in the match.

With a score of 3-2, FC Barcelona regained the title of best team in Europe. As two years ago, you rushed to the edge of the stands for Jana, who quickly noticed me and helped me down the barrier. Deja vu, eh? 

"I'm so proud of you" you say, taking her in your arms and twirling her around. 

"I could never have done it without you mi amor" she said, wrapping her arms around your neck. 

"I want to kiss you can I?" you asked, looking her straight in the eye. 

"Go ahead, show the world that I'm yours and you're mine" she said, smiling.

 With that, you put your lips on hers before we pulled away because of the wolf whistles that Mapi, Alexia and Bruna were blowing at you.

//

The day after the celebrations, you woke up with a massive headache, to the ringing of Jana's and your phones. She still has her head on you chest with one arm under the pillow and the other on top of you. 

"Por favor apaga tu teléfono mi amor" she begged you, burying her head in your neck to get comfortable.

"Careful" you said as you moved to pick up both yours phones, when you handed her hers, you'd already switched your on to find out what was going on, you'd only had time to read one notification when you saw that Kelley was calling you on facetime. 

"Hi?" you say, yawning and making sure Jana was comfortable. 

"Don't "hi" me, how come it takes you a season in Spain, to be in a relationship with someone?" she asked you half seriously and half jokingly 

"Honestly? it isn’t from this season" you say. 

"What? and you didn't tell me" she said. 

"Oops?" you say, blocking your eyes with Jana who looked at you in incomprehension.

 "You could at least be polite and put your girlfriend on so I can say hello to her" she said with a smile.

After that disastrous call, you decided to go back and check the notifications on instagram, when you saw that Jana and you had got your fans chattering all over the web last night with your kiss. Your fans even had time to make edits. Before you know it, Jana had taken a photo of you and posted it on her instagram story, her head with your arm around it and you on your phone looking at all the photos where you'd been tagged. She captioned it, "the best wake-up after being European champion. 💙"

─ ⋅◈⋅ ━─┉┈◈❖◈┈┉─━ ⋅◈⋅ ── ⋅◈⋅ ━─┉┈◈❖◈┈┉─━ ⋅◈⋅ ─

Sorry, if there are a lot of mistakes, I didn’t reread before posting

[the-ball-is-round]

I will always support the USWNT, and not to be dramatic, but I think this is what heartbreak feels like.

I’m just gonna be so honest. This is not the USWNT that I fell in love with ten years ago. And Vlatko as a coach has been an absolute disgrace to the history of this team. We aren’t getting past Sweden. It just won’t happen.

-The fact that we have had three years to rebuild this team after 2020 and this is what we have to show is horrendous.

-The fact that we haven’t been in a battle with our federation the way other teams have been and this is what we have to show is horrendous.

-The fact that we have more resources and more money than any other women’s team and this is what we have to show is horrendous.

-the fact that we have been world champions for eight years and ranked number one by FIFA for over a decade and this is what we have to show is horrendous and a disgrace to the legacy of this team.

This is just so disappointing. Sure, the players haven’t been as individually brilliant or consistent as we’re used to (in fact they were absolutely terrible individually against Portugal and they have lost all their ability to play with energy and are making increasingly inexcusable mistakes), but the blame for this failure lies with the coaching staff.

- There is no fire or desire to win in this team. The team keeps saying ‘they gave everything’ and I just don’t think that’s true. And it’s hard to watch these players not give it their all when we all know they can achieve so much more.

- our young players are so unprepared on this scale, and our team doesn’t know how to play with each other because Vlatko refused to make any decisions about anyone in the past three years until two months ago. How can a team play well then they’ve never played together?

- Vlatko doesn’t play players where they’re good. Sure Crystal Dunn and Emily Sonnett are good outside backs. But they are absolute beasts in the midfield. Sure Julie Ertz was good in center back when she last played it in 2016, but she is an absolute hazard for other teams in defending mid.

- they haven’t actually made any formation or structural changes since Jill Ellis left. You can’t keep the same tactics for four years and not expect teams to dismantle them.

- They’ve shown a serious inability to tactically adapt to different opponents within the flow of a game.

- They aren’t using the bench players. For years we’ve said that the US has the most talented bench in the world. Why aren’t they being used? To be so far into this tournament and to have not used eight of your players is just bad resource management.

- His lack of substitutes in a game is so worrying in this age when we’re seeing so many injuries. It’s just so frustrating when he doesn’t even try to make changes throughout a game.

- And to top it all off, Vlatko is so massively delusional about this team’s success under his management. He keeps saying “we got the job done”. You didn’t. You hung on by a thread and the only reason you succeeded was purely based on luck. You can’t make positive change if you don’t acknowledge where your problems are.

I will always back the USWNT. Besides what they’ve done in the past on the field, their off the field impact has been immense and I will always be proud of them for that. They have absolutely changed this sport for the better, and I will stand by their work for equal pay, the queer community, and people of color.

But reflecting on this tournament, what little girl is going to be inspired by this performance?

[i-am-mr-k]

Happy International Sportsmanship Day to all who celebrate.

And special appreciation to Stacey, the biggest supporter of Sportsmanship in the known universe.

[image ID: a photo of Kristie Mewis of the USWNT and Sam Kerr of the AUSWNT sitting on the football pitch after the 2020 Olympic Bronze Medal match. Kristie is consoling an emotional Sam. Both have removed their boots.

Text on the image reads "They're lesbians, Stacey" in script font above the players.

Text on the image reads "International Sportsmanship Day, August 5" in serif font below the players]

[woso-dreamzzz]

I am an uswnt fan but no Mcdreamy to uswnt please. The team environment is shit and the coach is also the same and it is not like ever before ... The uswnt team from 2012 to 2020 was such a vibe(the coaches were shit but atleast we had amazing players) .. I know spain rfef is ewwew but atleast she has her barca big sisters ..I know she will thrive in Spain but no uswnt.

Mcdreamy has no idea where she wants to go

She just wants to play for a country that plays good football

[outsideratheart]

My Heart Belongs To You (Sofia Huerta x reader)

After the World Cup it seemed that the whole world had their eyes on you so when your manager told you that Chelsea had made an offer, it was like a dream come true. Even so you still told him that you had to think about it, moving to England meant moving away from Chicago, a place you then called home and it also meant leaving someone very import, that person, Sofia Huerta.

You are playing your best football at Chelsea, you had a starting spot and was fast becoming one of the best midfielders in Europe.  2021 would go down as one of the best and worst years of your life.

Chelsea won the WSL, the Conti cup, the FA cup and ended their season winning the Champions League, fans around the world called it the perfect season. However, in the final ten minutes of the champions league final you were involved in a freak accident resulting in a torn ACL and MCL meaning that you wouldn’t be able to play in the olympics.

The last time you were in the United States for was the SheBelieves Cup in 2020, almost two years ago but now it was time to go home.

You have officially been cleared by the doctors at Chelsea and have been given the thumbs up to join the USWNT in Chula Vista. Tobin agreed to stay with you in London until you had the green light then you would fly to the states together, another bonus of having one of your closest friends with you in England even if they did play for your rivals.

The USWNT has just arrived at the playing field when the notice somebody is missing.

“Hey Chris, Where’s Tobin? I thought you said she was arriving last night” Kelley asks.

Besides the coaching staff, Christen is the only other person besides Tobin that knows you are coming.

“Their flight got delayed and landed about hour ago but they are coming straight here” Christen answered.

Her response causes a lot of confusion amongst the group of players around her.

“They?” Mal asks.

“I said her, as in Tobin’s flight” Christen panics as she realises she has slipped up.

Much to her relief nobody questions it any further.

Players separate into their small groups passing a ball around whilst the coaching staff set everything up.

“Can I ask you something?” Sofia says taking a seat near Christen as the forward ties her cleats.

Christen nods her head, surprised that Sofia didn’t come talk to her the night prior. When Christen was in London she spent a lot of time with you whilst Tobin was at training or team events. The two of you would talk about anything and everything but what surprised Christen was how open you were about your relationship with Sofia and how much you still cared for the defender even though you were no longer together.

“How is she?” Sofia asks knowing that she didn’t need to mention you by name, Christen would just know.

“She is better now. I arrived in London a few months after her surgery, she was still on rest. She wasn’t our Y/N, I didn’t recognise her. I tried to cheer her up but nothing worked, that was until I talked about you, she was so happy when she found out you had been called up” Sofia smiles at the memory of her call up, even after not talking for over a year, you were still the person she wanted to call first but she couldn’t muster up enough courage to do so “She’s different Sof, you know how much playing soccer means to her and she got that taken away but I know that she will be ok, she is Y/N, nothing keeps her down for too long” Christen tells her former red stars team mate.

You and Tobin landed, went straight to the hotel, got changed and are now on your way to the training field. Nerves flood your body but the doctor assured you this was to be expected.

Walking to the field you and Tobin are in deep conversation about her Re-Inc stuff, so much so you didn’t realise the team had noticed you, that was until you saw Mal running at you full speed. You react just in time to catch her.

“Well if I knew this was the welcome I would receive I would have come back a lot sooner” you joke as you spin her around.

Mal was one of your closest friends in Chicago and she is amongst the people you have missed the most during your time over seas.

“I missed you Y/N, it hasn’t the same without you” She says as you put her down.

You and Mal walk to where Tobin is talking to the rest of the team. Each one of them welcoming you back with open arms, most of them taking a double take at your knee which is covered in a compression sleeve and a knee brace making it look a lot worse than it actually is.

The last person to greet you is Sofia and being the nosy people they are, the team watches the interaction. Whilst your relationship was never confirmed to the outside world, your club team mates knew your were dating as did your national team mates.

You wrap your arms around her a little tighter than you did everyone else. With your eyes closed you inhale deeply, oh how you missed the way she smelled and the way it always made you feel at ease no matter what was going on.

“I missed you” You whisper in her ear. Was it the right thing to say, maybe not but you had to tell her.

“I missed you too Y/N” Sofia replies softly.

The two of you stay their in each others arms for a few moments before Vlatko interrupts.

“It’s great to have you back with us Y/N” Vlatko tells you “How about you go get your cleats on and join us on the field” he pauses for a moment “that’s if the jet lag isn’t too bad, what time is it back in London?” He says looking at his watch.

“10pm” you and Tobin both say in unison.

You go the bench to get your cleats before joining the team on the pitch.

“At least you still know how to tie them” Sonnet says which pisses you off even though you know she is joking.

She runs off which gives you the perfect opportunity to get your payback. As she runs you clip her ankles causing her to fall flat on her face.

“Make sure you tie your laces Em” you say as you run past her.

You stand beside Kelley who puts her arm around your shoulders “The sass is back, oh how I have missed the sass” you simply shake your head, a smile on your face as you listen to what Vlatko is saying.

After ten minutes or so it is like you never missed a camp, the chemistry you have with the team is evident even with the new additions. What did surprise the team though is how well you and Sofia play together. Everyone knew you played together in Chicago but that was years ago, they didn’t expect you to be so in sync after all this time.

The team goes for a drinks break and Dawn takes the chance to do some checks on your knee.

“She is holding back” Mal says to no one in particular.

“What are you talking about, she is amazing, I mean I have seen her play on the TV but in person she is incredible” Trinity replies.

The team look your way when they hear your wince as Dawn moves your knee into an awkward position.

“Mal’s right” Alyssa agrees with the young forward “She is pulling her shots, trust me, I know when I am on the receiving end of her rockets and she hasn’t taken any today”

“I agree with Lyss, she isn’t fighting with me which she always does. There’s no aggression” Kelley says.

The team try to come up with a way for you to trust your knee now that is is healed. 

“She has been fully cleared?” Sofia asks Tobin who knows your recovery better than anyone.

Tobin nods.

“Ok, I have an idea but I’m not sure if you will like it and I know that Y/N won’t like it” Sofia says as she tells the team her plan.

You get called back to the group after taking some pain killers from Dawn, something that doesn’t go unnoticed by your ex.

The scrimmage continues, you make a run to the box waiting for Sofia to send in a cross just as she has done before but this time she doesn’t get the chance to as Rose takes her out. You feel your blood begin to boil but it soon settles when you see Sofia get up, no limp, no nothing. Still you are angry and believe in the saying ‘you reap what you sow’ so when you next had the ball and Rose came near you, you body checked her, putting her on her ass and then took a shot on goal, one that Alyssa had no chance of saving.

“There she is” Sofia says proudly as you quickly celebrate the goal.

“I know that Rose tackled you on purpose, how did you know I would retaliate?” you ask her as you walk back to your positions.

“You never used to let people come after me and get away with it” she says and she was right.

“Old habits, I suppose” you reply.

Sofia could look after herself, that much you knew but almost everyone in the NWSL knew that if they took out Sofia, they would have you to deal with.

Training is over a lot quicker than you had hoped, well your training was over. You walk off the pitch and back to the hotel with the team doc for a quick check up to make sure everything is as it should be.

When the team come back to the hotel, your absence is a hot topic.

“Do you think she is hurt again?” Sonnet asks.

Nobody knows for sure but they all hoped it wasn’t anything too serious. The team decide to go for showers before getting something to eat, by the time they come back down you are sat at a table with a plate of food.

Conversation soon began to flow, it wasn’t long before you start to get quizzed.

“I bet your parents were happy to see you at Christmas Y/N, what has it been two years?” Christen asks innocently, you couldn’t blame her she didn’t know that she was dropping you in it.

“Y/N didn’t go home for Christmas” Megan says “Me and Sue bumped into her parents in Seattle the day after boxing day. They said how much they missed her but were glad she won’t be spending Christmas alone”

Suddenly all eyes are on you but none burnt more that Sofia’s. When you look at her you saw hurt in her eyes. Who would you have been spending Christmas with if it wasn’t your family.

“I saw on instagram that you met up with Guro, is that who spent Christmas with? The two of you were awfully close when I visited Sam” Kristie says referring to your Chelsea team mate Guro Reiten.

Sofia is no longer looking at you instead she is playing with the food on her plate. You consider it a blessing in disguise when you called back in to the physio to continue your treatment.

“I didn't spend it with her. Come and find me when you're done and I will explain” you say in Spanish so that only Sofia will understand.

It is about an hour later when Sofia comes into the treatment room. 

After having your knee pushed to its limits you were in a little bit of pain so the physio gave you some pain killers, elevated your knee and put ice on it then turned the lights out as he left. 

So when she turned the light on you cover your eyes.

“Sofia Huerta, brightening my day since day one” you joke as you adjust to the light. 

She sits on the bed opposite you, not knowing what to say. 

“I’m not dating Guro” you tell her “we didn’t break up so that we could see other people. We broke up because you wanted me to focus on football and that is what I have done. My heart still belongs to you Sof, it always will”

“But Megan said” Sofia begins to speak but you cut her off.

You look away, adjusting the ice pack “I spent it alone” you say but you don’t look at her “I got cleared at the beginning of December, the plan was for me to come back in the first game of the year” you laugh at the memory, thinking back to how you thought things were finally getting better.

“What happened?” Sofia asked as you are still yet to make your Chelsea return.

“I wasn’t strong enough. I tried to hold off a team mate when I felt something pull in my knee, I was back on bed rest with my return put on hold” 

Sofia notices your change in demeanour. She nudges your good leg and you move over so that she can sit on the side of the treatment bed. You feel your body relax as she takes your hand in hers.

“I didn’t want to see or talk to anyone but Christen can be very determined. I knew that if I told her I was staying in London for Christmas she would volunteer to stay with me which meant that Tobin would stay too so I lied” you shrug your shoulders earning an eye roll from Sofia.

Sofia knows how much you love Christmas. You loved the food, the gift of giving presents, spending time with your family and watching the cheesiest hallmark movies.

“I wish you would have called me. I don’t like the thought of you spending Christmas alone” 

“It hated it. I was going to cook myself a dinner but I left it too late so I ended up ordering sushi, that I didn’t hate as much” you reply trying to lighten the mood.

Silence fills the room, the two of you not needing to talk as you simply enjoy each other’s company. You missed this, just being with her, it was like nothing had changed between the two of you.

When you look at your hands, more specifically hers, you see something that makes your heart skip a beat.

“You still wear it?” You ask in disbelief as you begin playing with the promise ring you got her for your anniversary.

Whilst a smile tugs at your lips, a frown grows on hers.

Your fingers were empty, no ring.

“You don’t wear yours?”

You unlink your hands as you reach into your shirt. You pull out a chain that holds a similar ring she gave you on your birthday.

“It was too hard seeing it everyday but I never take it off” 

The fact that you wore the ring but not on the finger she placed in on all those years ago didn’t sit well with the defender. It felt to her like you was hiding that part of you, the part that loves or at least loved her. 

“Hey, look at me” Sofia does as she’s told “you’re overthinking it. Would it make you feel better if I did this” 

You proceed to take the necklace off and place the ring on you right finger. 

“I still have your heart?” Sofia asks referring to the earlier statement.

“You do. When you broke up with me it hurt but I couldn’t be mad at your reasons because they weren’t malicious” 

“I wish I never did it” Sofia tells you.

“Sof” You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. Both anger and relief wash over you. If she would have told you this sooner you could have been together.

“I know I have no right to say that but I have wanted to tell you for a while”

Sofia begins rambling, something she has always done when she is nervous and you find it just as adorable as you did when you were dating.

“Sofia” you try to get her to stop talking but you fail miserably.

You kiss her mid sentence knowing that it will definitely make her stop talking. You plan on it being a peck but when Sofia deepens the kiss you don’t pull away. Nothing compared to the way you felt when you kissed her, the past seemed to become irrelevant and so does the future. The two of you are focused on the present.

“Why do we make things more difficult for ourselves” Sofia says whilst she tries to regain her breath.

“I didn’t make this hard, you did. I know I moved away but I told you I wanted to be with you and that I was willing to fight for us”

“I wish that—“ 

“Y/N are you ok?” Christen comes into the physio’s room fully unaware of the moment she is interrupting.

“She’s ok” Sofia beats you too it.

You see Christen eying you up, her gaze zoning in on your lips and you can only imagine that they are swollen given your make out session.

“Of course she is, she is with you” Christen says “Whilst I did want to come to see if you were ok, I have also been sent in to get you. We are going to play Uno and Kelley is demanding you play, something about the rest of us not being a challenge for her”

The three of you go back to the team. It is obvious that they have questions but they know you well enough to respect your privacy even though it is killing them inside.

“Before we start I have a question for Y/N” Rose asks.

You roll your eyes “I thought we were playing Uno not truth or dare”

When you sit down, Sofia sits in the seat next to you. A smile tugs at your lips when she pull her chair closer to yours, your hand sits comfortably on her thigh and you are relived when she makes no effort to move it.

“One question” Rose gives you her best puppy dog eyes to which you nod your head “you’re contract is up at the end of the season right?” 

Again you nod your head but you feel Sofia stiffen beside you. Clearly she has thought about this too.

“Are you going to resign?”

You shake your head. You look at Sofia who is hanging on your every word. You send her wink before turning your attention back to the table.

“You’re coming back to Chicago?“ Mal asks rather excitedly.

“She’s coming home” Megan says.

You give her a look. You were born and raised in Seattle but you both know that isn’t the reason for you returning to the Emerald city.

“You are?” Sofia asks you.

“Playing overseas was never part of my forever plan Sofia. I told you when I left that I would come back to you, you just didn’t believe me. You let me put my career first and I am grateful for that but I think it’s time I give my heart what it wants and what it wants is you” you whisper so only she can hear you.

[feminismisstillahatemovement]

Early Sunday morning, the USWNT exited the World Cup in the first round of the knockout stage, losing to an overmatched Sweden team on penalty kicks at the conclusion of a 0-0 tie. It marked the worst finish for the American women’s team in World Cup history.

Our national team has been ranked No. 1 in the world since June 2017 and for all but 10 months since March 2008. The squad has never been ranked lower than No. 2. In the Round of 16, Sweden conquered a dynasty.

Close observers were not surprised. The team has been in mental decay since Carli Lloyd retired (2020) and corporate media anointed the purple-haired Rapinoe as the unquestioned face of American women’s soccer.

For the last three years, the 38-year-old winger has used the team’s spotlight to grow the Rapinoe brand. The game, the competition, and representing national honor all took a back seat to self-promotion, virtue-signaling, so-called social activism centered around the BLM-LGBTQ-Alphabet Mafia, and expressing Trump derangement.

Rapinoe’s handlers and major corporations partnered with corporate media to cast her as “The Great Gay Hope,” the alternative-lifestyle Muhammad Ali.

Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach, Carli Lloyd, and Alex Morgan were all better players than Rapinoe. But none of them can match Rapinoe’s knack for drawing attention to herself for sleeping with women — her superpower, the behavior that makes her a legendary icon.

To no surprise, the strategy backfired. Rapinoe acted as a locker-room cancer. She diminished the importance of competition. Throughout the World Cup, the U.S. women failed to play with passion and precision. In four games, they scored four goals and won just one match.

On Sunday, with a chance to off Sweden with a penalty kick, Rapinoe missed the entire net wide right. She smirked and laughed in embarrassment. Two other U.S. women missed their kicks as well. But those women earned their spots on the roster. Rapinoe was on the team and on the field because of social pressure and a never-ending marketing campaign. She hadn’t earned the right to fail. The opportunity was bestowed on her.

When asked for her greatest memory of her “legendary” career, she pointed to the lawsuit she and her teammates filed against the U.S. Soccer Federation over alleged pay inequality. Gender pay inequality is a myth and a lie, no different from other popular corporate media narratives like climate change and the alleged genocidal homicide of unarmed black men.

But the truth is irrelevant in the making of an Alphabet Mafia icon. Megan Rapinoe is the George Floyd of soccer. Racism and sexism are the only things that prevented them from being president and vice president of the United States.

Or maybe Rapinoe is just another narcissistic, greedy, entitled celebrity.

Could you imagine Joe Montana or Michael Jordan summarizing their careers by referencing a contract dispute?

Rapinoe is a fraud. She’s the Colin Kaepernick of soccer. Her attitude poisoned the women’s national soccer team. Let’s hope her side effects don’t linger.

[meazalykov]

invisible string theory

lena oberdorf x uswnt!bayern!reader

part one - part two - part three

summary: you're with her now, but you've known of her for longer than that.

warnings: long chapter, suggestive content

back in the united states, you were heartbroken. 

due to the contract that gotham had with lyon, there wasn’t a possibility that lyon could permanently sign you. the french club tried to sign you for another loan year with a mandatory buy option, but gotham didn’t want that. 

so now you’re here, dressed in a gotham kit watching the team play the chicago red stars from the bench. 

its the 70th minute and you had your arms crossed sitting on the bench. your national teammate, mallory, and your other friend midge sat beside you after coming off minutes before. 

“my ankle is killing me, i might have to go to medic after this game ends.” mallory hissed as she held onto her ankle. sometime after halftime, a chicago red stars player kicked the back of mallory’s ankle on accident. 

“you should, its bruised!” you say as you observe her ankle from your seat, your hands still crossed together as midge decides to hold your right arm in comfort. 

midge turns her head and noticed the coach, yes the coach that's not happy with you, coming your way. 

“y/n.” midge tapped your shoulder. you looked to your right to see the coach looking at you with an unreadable expression on his face. 

“y/n, you should warm up, you’re going on in the 80th minute.” the coach says before going back to observe the game. 

your eyebrows knitted together before you quickly took off your windbreaker jacket. being a benchwarmer the last two games since coming back from france was something you were starting to get used to until another club put in their offers. 

the coach has received a bunch of hate in the media because of you. which kind of soccer coach wouldn’t start one of the best players in the world? well, a coach with an agenda– that's for sure. 

being subbed into the game five minutes later, you already had the ball at your feet. as you run across the pitch and dribble pass a few chicago players, you pass up to carli lloyd. 

the striker takes the shot but it deflects off of the post. luckily, the ball landed back on your blue cleat and you tapped the ball into the goal. opening up the score 1-0 for gotham before the 90th minute. 

knowing your situation at gotham, you didn’t celebrate as happily as you did back when you scored at lyon. all you did was put your hands up high as your teammates gathered around to hug you. 

“i’m pretty sure that this is a good moment after being back from winning the champions league in europe.” a commentator says as you go back into the starting position as an attacking midfielder. 

“that’s my girl!” you heard midge yell from the benches. you look over to see her and mallory with the brightest smiles as you nod your head at them. 

you loved your teammates, but you wanted to be at another club more than anything. 

after the game that afternoon, your agent called you. 

she said that many clubs in europe wanted to sign you– permanently. 

that's all you wanted, you didn’t want to take a loan deal and attach yourself to another club just to come back here again. you wanted a new permanent home. it's 2020 and the transfer window in europe will close soon.

she said that psg was the first to put in an offer for you, but you immediately declined. somehow, you felt loyal to lyon and didn’t want to join paris. 

the next clubs she mentioned were real madrid, manchester united, ajax, and aston villa. you declined on those as well, not really seeing yourself in those clubs. 

even though bayern munich wasn’t the last club on the list, you were interested in that offer once your agent mentioned it. 

your agent mentioned that the coach personally wanted you at the club, and the club offered a good amount of benefits.

so, after a few days of deciding, you were in germany signing a contract with the bavarian club until 2025. 

over the months, you adjusted to the club perfectly. you got along with the girls, made a promise that you’ll learn to speak german, and your new best friend sydney was there to guide you. 

in november 2020, you were in the starting lineup to play against wolfsburg. 

this is your first time going up against the green team since you were with the french club, so you were ready to face them again. 

as you were standing in the tunnel, you talked with lineth beerensteyn about what to expect. this is your first start with the club, since the coach wanted you to get familiar with the games first. this was fair and something you went through with lyon as well. 

“its nice to face them again.” you respond to lineth after she asked you how you felt about wolfsburg. she smirks at you before pinching your shoulder. 

“oh yeah– i forgot we have a champions league winner on our hands.” she laughed. you rolled your eyes playfully as you shook your head. 

“don’t forget about the world cup.” sydney lohmann joins in. your jaw dropped as you shook your head again. 

“okay let's not talk about me, lets talk about the upcoming match” you say. 

“you’re right you’re right,” lineth laughs at her teasing towards you, “games against wolfsburg get pretty intense when you’re with bayern. they’re the “rivals” or whatever you want to say.” she continued. 

“just make sure that you take advantage of any opportunity you see. some of the midfielders will go for your ankles so i’d watch out for that too. things can get heated” the dutch finished. 

you nodded your head as you observed the wolfsburg players around the tunnel. some, like svenja and dominique, patted your back since you’re happy to see you again but in the bundesliga. 

before you walked ahead to talk to sydney, you felt a hand on your left shoulder. 

“so– what brings you here?” you look over your shoulder to see lena. 

honestly, you forgot about her after the champions league final. you have her jersey in your apartment along with other players' jerseys you’ve traded with in the past, but things were stressful for you when you went back home. 

“beating you again.” you teased. lena placed her hand over her heart before giggling, 

“not that! i mean it's nice to see you in this league.” she says. 

“oh danke– sorry– the adjustment here was easy thankfully.” you smile. 

lena wraps her arm around your shoulder, causing you to feel warm on the inside, does she know what she is doing to you? 

“that’s good– it would’ve been nice to see you in our jersey though.” lena whispers. you look over at her, your voice caught into your throat. 

“um- no thanks. i would miss getting my ankles broken by you if we were on the same team.” you tease. she unwraps her arm from your body, and pats you on the shoulders with a smirk, before going back to where the wolfsburg substitutes are without saying anything else. 

“y/n.. how do you know lena?” sydney walks up to you with her eyebrows knitted together. she looked curious, smiling, as you crossed your arms together. 

“we met during some adidas event at the world cup. well- i met giulia actually but lena just happened to be there and-” 

“and you guys are dating? why didn’t you tell-”

“woah syd slow down! we aren’t dating?” you cut her off. 

sydney smirks at you before laughing, realizing what the conversation turned into. 

“i’m sorry. you guys looked very flirty and familiar with each other.” sydney said as she rested her arm on your shoulder. you shrugged the other shoulder. 

“I mean the last time I talked to her was at the champions league final last season. she's cute but i don’t know if she even sees me that way?” you whisper in sydneys ear. 

you’re comfortable talking about this with sydney. she’s become your best friend since arriving in germany, but it feels like you’ve known her for longer than that. 

“the way that she looked at you, i would say she does.” sydney comments. 

you were going to question that but everyone started to lineup in the tunnel to head out. so, all you could do is wonder with your thoughts as you walked out to start the game. 

a year later, you were waiting at the airport in wolfsburg after a last minute decision. 

after that game in november 2020, lena and you started following each other on instagram. the both of you got each other's phone numbers and have been in touch everyday since. 

due to not being on the same club team, or national team, you didn’t see lena much– if not at all. 

randomly, as you were in your kitchen hours before– lena texted you. 

obi

we should go to this new restaurant that opened up downtown wolfsburg 

y/n 

how? i’m in munich.. 

obi 

check your email. 

when you checked your email, you saw that she sent you a confirmation and a plane ticket for wolfsburg. you jaw dropped in the middle of your kitchen as you were finishing making a few pastries for the bayern girls. 

y/n 

did you really buy me a plane ticket to see you? 

y/n 

you’re insane

y/n 

the flight is in three hours? you’re eager

y/n 

where am i supposed to stay at? 

obi

yes i did

obi

just for you 

obi

you can stay with me. i have a spare room 

you stood outside of the wolfsburg airport with a carry on bag waiting for lena’s car. luckily, there is no training or games scheduled since its thanksgiving break– so you had a day or two to spend with lena. 

after talking for a year, you guys weren't official. its clear that you are in the “talking stage” with the wolfsburg midfielder, but you hoped that she will be your girlfriend soon– even with the distance. 

as you looked down at your phone, watching a tiktok video that popped up on your fyp, you heard a loud car beep their horn. 

ignoring that your heart nearly jumped out of your chest in fear, you looked up to see lena getting out of the drivers side of her car. 

“obi!” you say as you grab your carry on bag. the german smiles brightly as she held her arms out for you. 

when you hugged her taller body, the nerves in your stomach eased away. the warmth of her body and her coconut scent seemed to give you peace in those short seconds. 

“hi liebe! how was your flight?” she whispered in your ear, not breaking the hug just yet. 

her proximity to your ear made you feel something that you’ve never felt before. something you couldn’t say out loud. 

“my flight was smooth, i had a row to myself.” you smile as you looked at lena’s blushed face. 

you weren’t surprised about the small amount of people on the flight, it was an 6pm flight and plane rides from munich to wolfsburg weren’t long at all. 

“that’s perfect. here, give me that.” lena held her hands out. 

you were confused before you noticed that she was pointing at your bag. you gave her your carry on, which she gently put in the trunk of her car as you got into the passenger seat. 

when you guys arrived to her apartment, you were quick to pull your adidas slides off and sit on her couch. lena smiled, happy that you made yourself comfortable in her space. 

“it’s late, so i’m not sure if you want to do much.” lena says. 

pulling your phone out of your pocket, seeing that it just hit 21:00, you agree. 

“we could watch a movie.” you suggested. 

“we can, but can it not be those horror movies you love seeing?” lena asked. 

as much as you guys had in common, movies weren’t one of them. 

lena loved disney animated movies and comedies, you loved horror films along with star wars. 

“you know what we should watch!? we should watch the phantom menace! it's not horror!” you smirked. 

lena rolled her eyes playfully, remembering a phone conversation you guys had in the past. 

“I remember when you said that you wanted me to get you started on the star wars trilogies. it's a win-win for the both of us,” you stood up from the couch and held lena’s hands with your own. the close proximity made lena’s face turn a shade of pink. 

“i get to watch star wars, and you get to watch a disney movie– since star wars is owned by disney.” you came closer, just inches from her nose hitting yours. 

she's taller than you, so she looked down at you slightly with a questioning look. 

“sure.” she says, distracted. 

your boldness seemed to go away the same second that you stopped talking. your breathing slowed as you realized what you’ve done. 

lena’s eyes looked down to your lips as you did the same with her. 

the both of you are alone in her apartment, you realize that no-one would be there to distract you if she kisses you. 

you didn’t mind. 

the german moves her arms around your lower waist as you lean in to kiss her. as you made contact with her lips, your hands moved to the back of her neck. 

the kissing got heated quickly. lena was clearly the dominant one in the situation as she lifted you up and your legs were around her waist, walking you to her bedroom. 

and you know how things went afterwards!

before you left to go back to munich two days later, lena asked you to be her girlfriend.

you said yes, happy but sad to leave her so soon.

after another few months, it's july 2022. 

unfortunately for you, you were out on a three month injury. your hamstring teared while you were on international break with the uswnt– so you were free to return to germany. 

however, you didn’t go to germany. you wanted to support lena and the rest of your bayern girls at the euros in england. 

you’ve seen the prep that your girlfriend lena has put into this competition. due to the distance, you don’t see her everyday– but you guys have perfected the routine of seeing each other when off-days align. 

on the sidelines of the final with germany against england, you wore the green germany kit with some levi 90s jeans. of course, the kit had lena’s last name on the back. 

some people might be offended that you, an american player of their national team, is wearing another countries kit– but you know the majority wouldn’t care, and neither did you. 

lena deserved to be here at this moment you thought. there was no way that you weren’t going to support her beside her family, 

“so, how long are you supposed to be off the pitch?” you looked over to see lena’s father speak to you, his german accent stronger than lena’s. the first half of the final ended and it's nil-nil and it could be anyone’s game. 

you wore a black brace around your leg where the injury occurred, so you figured that he was talking about that. 

“oh, i won’t be playing until the start of next season. so a couple of months– i have a grade 2 tear in my hamstring.” you respond, smiling as lena’s father nodded his head in understanding. 

“you’ll be back out there soon!” lena’s mother spoke with encouragement. you smiled, happy that your girlfriend had sweet parents that treat you as if you were their own. 

after talking to her family for longer, the start of the second half comes along. you’re anxious as both teams are keeping possession with the ball. 

watching other teams in person is making you miss being out on the pitch playing. 

all thoughts aside, your jaw drops as you watch ella toone from england put the ball in at the 62nd minute. 

lena got a yellow card moments before for a tackle on your friend, georgia, who is coming to bayern soon. so, lena was already in a disappointed mood before this moment. 

as the substitutes for germany and england were starting to come on, you started to feel anxious. you hated this feeling for teams that aren’t your own, but this happens everytime you invest a couple of hours into watching others– especially your girlfriend who you want to see with the euro trophy. 

when lina magul scored the equalizer for germany, you put your hands up and clapped as you witnessed the german girls huddle around in a big group hug. 

“come on obi!” you whisper to yourself, hoping that this was a fairytale where lena would score the winner for her country.  

unfortunately for you, germany’s team, and the fans– chloe kelly taps the ball into the net in the 110th minute– giving england the lead in extra time. 

deep down, you knew that was it. you looked ahead at lena with sadness in your eyes. however, you wanted to keep hope. 

after the game, seeing lena accept the young player award with tears in her eyes broke your heart. this is something that you’ve never gone through before from the outside, since usually you are the player that needs the comfort of a non-player after a loss.

after thirty minutes of the award process– with the hard watch of england lifting the trophy you wanted lena to lift– lena pushed herself to walk towards her family and you. 

at first, you thought she was going to go to her parents for a hug. you stepped back as you made sure that her parents were slightly in front of you. 

lena, with dried tears on her face, looked at you and held her hands out. being at the front row before the field, you accepted her embrace– holding her with as much as possible. 

she picks you up and pulls you over the barcade, making sure that your leg would be okay, so you’re standing on the pitch now. 

“i know you might not want to hear this right now– but you did amazing throughout the tournament. i am so proud of you.” you whisper into her ear. 

her strong arms squeeze your waist, a silent thank you that you’ll take it as. she holds you for another minute, knowing that what she needs is your love and reassurance. 

as you lift her head up from your shoulder to look at you, she frowns as she closes her eyes. another tear flows down her cheeks but you’re quick to wipe it away– 

“hey! don’t beat yourself up. you were the best player of the tournament, and i’m not just saying that because i’m your girlfriend.” you reassure. 

you know what lena is thinking– what did i do wrong? was there anything else i could’ve done? did the yellow card send the team into failure? those thoughts were not unfamiliar to you when you lost games, but you’ve never played in a euros final.

“danke.” she smiles slightly. 

part three here

<3

[uswnt5]

I will never understand what happened to the pre-Covid 2020 USWNT under Vlatko and post Covid Vlatko team. The team that won the 2020 She Believes Cup was sooo much fun and I think about that goal Christen scored against England all the time!!!

i'll tell you what happened... the greatest team goal of all time was ruled offside erroneously and it cursed us.

[didalexiabreakupwitholgayet]

hey don’t lump all us english into the same boat 😭

as someone whose nation wasn’t even in the olympics, i just wanted to see the best team win

and yes, our teams aren’t doing as well, that is true, but the complaints are rather because it’s boring seeing the same teams win, in my opinion and experience at least

it would’ve been great to see brazil win as a change, rather than seeing other nations lose

haha well, if you were talking about women's basketball, i would agree as usa just won it's 8th!!!! olympic gold medal in a row.

but to play devil's advocate, if we are looking at the last few olympics 😉:

in 2020 tokyo, canada came first and sweden came second.

in 2016 rio, germany came first and sweden came second.

so a uswnt-brasil football final is something we haven't seen for over 10+ years 🤷‍♀️.

but personally, i'm being hypocritical myself because i don't think i will ever get tired of seeing barça win champions league titles! 🥳 😅