Abby Wambach’s retirement concludes the career of the most significant soccer player in U.S. history.
I’ve often seen her labeled simply the greatest woman to play the sport, but categorizing her by gender diminishes Wambach’s accomplishments.
She’s the greatest soccer star our country has ever seen, and she is for a multitude of reasons.
With soccer receiving little support nationally, a teenage Wambach set her sights on honing her skills internationally.
Soon, she had made a name for herself in the Olympic Development Program by playing against the experienced U.S. women’s national soccer team.
By 17, Wambach’s youth soccer club traveled to Beijing — the first trip by any U.S. youth soccer team to the Chinese capital.
Growing up with six siblings in Rochester, New York, Wambach was one of the most heralded recruits in the country before accepting an athletic scholarship to play for coach Becky Burleigh’s Gators.
Upon her arrival in Gainesville, she immediately bolstered a Florida team that was one of the most competitive in the country, yet hadn’t won a national title.
But with the freshman on board, the Gators knocked then-14-time champion North Carolina from its pedestal and claimed their first NCAA championship in 1998.
What followed for Wambach was the most decorated professional career any female has ever had, despite women’s soccer’s inability to create a profitable league in the U.S.
The final tally? 184 goals in 252 international games, the highest international total in the sport, regardless of gender.
And she was named the FIFA World Player of the Year in 2012 after a dominant display at the Olympics.
"What she has done for women’s soccer and women’s sports overall with her amazing talents on the field and her personality off it has been inspiring to watch," U.S. coach Jill Ellis said Tuesday.
"I am just extremely happy that she could end her career with that elusive World Cup title and go out on top, right where she deserves to be."
Wambach was also consistently heralded for her dedication to health and fitness, including spreading concussion awareness.
Arguably most well known for her aggressive heading of the ball, she has campaigned in recent years for improved policing of head injuries in soccer.
She said she may have returned too soon from a concussion in 2013 and implores teams to hold players out who show any signs of a head injury.
U.S. soccer would later admit her concussion was mishandled.
However, gender barriers aside, Wambach’s greatest accomplishment is her promotion of equal rights for women in soccer.
Preceding the 2015 Women’s World Cup, Wambach lashed out at FIFA for deciding to play the tournament on artificial turf, which is rightfully considered to be inferior to grass.
With multiple studies indicating the rubber tire fragments in artificial turf can increase the risk of cancer, Wambach boldly criticized FIFA’s money-saving move that came at the expense of player safety.
Now that she’s walking away from the game, I have no doubt she’ll continue to use her prominence to increase awareness for equal rights for women across all sports.
Even though her international, U.S. and Florida records will ultimately epitomize her accomplishments, Wambach was much more than an exemplary athlete.
She used her prominence to raise awareness for equality for women in sports, and there’s no doubt she’ll tackle further issues head-on, the same way she attacked a soccer ball her entire career.
Follow Graham Hall on Twitter @Graham311
Abby Wambach, draped in an American flag, celebrates with teammates after winning the women's soccer gold medal match against Japan at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
