Carli Lloyd, winner of both the Ballon d’Or (World Player of the Year) and Golden Ball (World Cup MVP) made her triumphant return to action on July 11th. Two weeks ago, Lloyd came on for Lindsey Horan at halftime of the United States 1-0 win over South Africa at Soldier Field today, which marked her first appearance since April 10th.
She suffered a sprained MCL with the NWSL’s Houston Dash on April 23, and that day marked a chance for her to get “knocking the rust off” ahead of the Olympics which begin next week in Rio.
The 34-year-old has another professional goal, in addition to winning a Gold Medal next month. Carli Lloyd a devoted Liverpool fan, wants to play her club call for the ladies team.
“I honestly wouldn’t rule it out,” Lloyd told Liverpool’s website. “My plan is to play for another four years.”
“I’m not ruling anything out about playing overseas — I think it would be pretty cool. The league over there is continuing to get better and better, which is great. The support of clubs like Liverpool and Chelsea, they’re really supporting the women’s league, so it’s great to see. And who knows? Maybe I will end up there one day.”
Carli Lloyd has played her entire club career in the U.S. but she articulated why she explained how she became a Liverpool fan.
“I grew up in a small town in New Jersey, which was a blue-collar town, and I had to scrap for things like getting a football to play in the woods,” Lloyd said.
“To me, that is kind of what Liverpool exemplifies: the blue-collar mentality, the sheer grit and the determination. I wasn’t born when they were the best team around, but it’s just one of those things. When you kind of like the team, you can relate to your personality — an underdog. ”
“I’ve always been a Liverpool fan. In the good times, the bad times, it is great to be able to watch them play and get some jerseys too. Any chance I get, I watch Liverpool. They are the only team I follow in the Premier League, which is great, and I’m always rooting for them. I just love everything that Liverpool stand for and ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone.’ It’s a phenomenal club.”
“It’s been 11 weeks since I’ve played a game,” Carli Lloyd told the media mixed zone, before reiterating that her knee is “100%” and that her total fitness would be “120%” by the opening of the Olympic games on August 3rd. To further drive home the point, Lloyd added that she still has “20-some days” before the beginning of competition in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics.
Can you tell that she’s probably tired of being asked about her knee injury/rehab/match fitness?
Of course, when you’re the MVP/most heralded player on the world’s #1 team, such scrutiny comes with the territory.
Said fellow attacking midfielder Christen Press of Carli Lloyd today: “It’s great to have Carli back. She’s always the driving force of this team.”
Here’s the full audio below:
https://soundcloud.com/p-m-banks/carli-lloyd-talks-return-health-fitness-equalplayequalpay
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication.
He also consistently appears on numerous talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram