New U.S. Women‘s coach Pia Sundhage has named goalkeeper Hope Solo to the squad for the upcoming Four Nations Cup, taking place in China, Jan. 16-20. Solo, of course, was last seen ripping former coach Greg Ryan (and, seemingly, teammate Brianna Scurry) after she was benched for the team’s embarrassing 4-0 loss to Brazil in the World Cup semifinal. Solo was persona non grata after that, but now – as I and many others predicted at the time – she’s outlasted Ryan, and is on her way back to the scene of the crime.
Portuguese midfielder Luis Figo is the latest international star to be linked to a move to Major League Soccer. Earlier this week, rumors were swirling that Figo was about to join old friend David Beckham at the traveling circus that is the L.A. Galaxy. At 35, and recovering from a broken leg suffered in November, it’s unclear how Figo would actually help the team, but Galaxy GM Alexi Lalas is just star-crazed enough to actually pull the trigger on such a deal.
This article appears in 2007.