Carli Lloyd was estranged from her family. How the postponed Olympics healed a 12-year rift
Lloyd #Lloyd
She spoke with TODAY while promoting Gone Rogue, whose high-protein chips and snacks have become a staple of her diet.
“As I’ve evolved, I’ve become more lean and fit,” she said. “I feel really good. I come down the steps in my house better than I did a couple of years ago, so I think that’s a good sign.
“It’s crazy to think of just 2008, where I was at as a player. Even just the way I looked. I just look so much more fit. I’ve experienced so much, I’ve gone through so much, I’ve overcome so much, and I’m just in such a different place.”
She also has adapted on the field to stay as a member of the best women’s soccer team in the world. Over the years she played multiple midfield positions before transitioning to her current spot as a forward.
The New Jersey native is part of the group of five forwards on the roster — Lloyd, Tobin Heath, Alex Morgan, Christen Press and Megan Rapinoe — who are all over 30.
“I think that it goes to show to some of the younger players out there that it’s really difficult to get on this team, to crack this roster, but it’s even more difficult to sustain this level for so long,” she said. “It is an absolute grind day in and day out. I can attest to this after 300-and-something caps with this team, 17 years, all that I’ve accomplished, it hasn’t gotten any easier.”
Related Ready for Tokyo
The bitter irony of Lloyd reconnecting with her family ahead of this year’s Olympics is that they won’t be able to attend in person, and neither will her husband, professional golfer Brian Hollins.
Japanese Olympic officials are not allowing any foreign spectators to attend due to the pandemic, so Lloyd’s cheering section will be watching from home. It’s actually not a different situation for her considering she played in multiple World Cups and Olympics that her family did not go to because of the rift between them.
“Nobody will be going over, which is crazy,” she said. “A lot of people always have their friends and family come over. I typically don’t, but it’s gonna be a strange Olympics. I’m just thankful that it’s still going on.”
There also won’t be the rabid cheering section for the U.S. team at the games like usual, as only Japanese spectators are allowed to attend the games.
“I don’t like stadiums without crowds,” she said. “You feed off of it, you feel the energy. It gets you amped up, so it’s gonna be different, it’s gonna be challenging. You don’t know what to expect, but at the end of the day, you have to adapt and be ready to perform.”
On the field, they will be adjusting to the introduction of VAR (video assistant referee) at the Olympics for the first time, which allows calls to be changed or overturned via video replay. The U.S. women’s team experienced playing with VAR during their victorious run at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
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“In certain situations, yes, I think it’s good,” Lloyd said. “I’m not a huge fan of as a forward when you’re trying to get in behind the backline, your arms have to kind of go first, and if you’re leaning past that line, it’s called offsides. So that I don’t really love, but I do think it can be used to help catch some things that go unnoticed.”
The U.S. team also has a different coach in Vlatko Andonovski, who took over in 2019 for Jill Ellis after she led the team to a pair of World Cup titles.
The USWNT is also trying to break somewhat of a recent curse, in that twice they have won the World Cup before coming up short of winning gold in the subsequent Olympics. After they won the World Cup in 2015, they were stunned in the quarterfinals by Sweden at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
“We all know how we felt in Rio,” Lloyd said. “I remember coming home and watching the rest of the Olympics on NBC, and I never did that in my career. So I don’t want to come home after this Olympics and do the same thing.”
Ready for the big stage
Lloyd has become known for her heroics in the biggest games over the years. She scored the winning goals at the 2008 Olympics, scored both goals in a 2-1 win over Japan to win the 2012 Olympic title and registered an unforgettable hat trick in the championship game of the 2015 World Cup.
What could she possibly do for an encore in Tokyo?
“I don’t think I could ever top that World Cup,” she said. “That was its own moment. I don’t think about that moment because we’re in the now, and I just want to focus on that, but you have to be prepared for everything.”
There’s also the question of whether this will be the last major tournament in one of the most decorated careers in U.S. women’s soccer history.
“It’s not gonna be a physical thing for me,” she said. “My body’s not breaking down, I feel good, I haven’t lost a step. If anything I’ve gotten even faster and more explosive.
“I think that I’ll know when the time is right. My husband and I want to start a family, and so that has to somewhat happen sooner rather than later. And I also want to live life and do all the things that I haven’t been able to do, so focusing on Tokyo, I know that the road is eventually coming to an end. It’s just going to be a matter of when that exactly is.”
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With her family now by her side and her fitness at a peak, she is ready for one more run at a gold medal.
“I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in my life, and it’s also the happiest I’ve ever felt going into a major tournament,” she said. “I’ve felt good and happy going into other tournaments, but this one just feels different.”