Earning her way

Abby Wambach welcomes the biggest challenges.

Team her with the greatest scorer in soccer history? Bring it on.

Ask her to take a leadership role on a team renowned for its stream of strong leaders? You bet.

Rely on her to fill the net? No problem.

"I do me. I do what I do,'' says the prolific striker, who has 74 goals in 92 games to rank 13th in international goals among all players. "Whatever the role - score, lead - I do me.''

Over the last five years, Wambach has gone from college hotshot to outright star, with some bumps in between. When the U.S. women, ranked No. 1 in the world, get to China in September for the World Cup, Wambach will be a marked woman.

Opponents will hack her, trip her, shove her and generally treat her the way other NBA centers treat Shaquille O'Neal. On June 24 against Brazil, Wambach was fouled a half-dozen times in a variety of manners in the first half. Several times, she remained on the turf for long periods.

But in the 17th minute, she made a perfect diagonal run to head in a long free kick by Cat Whitehill for a 2-0 lead.

"That's what Abby does,'' Whitehill says. "If I just put the ball anywhere near her, she's going to make the right play and she's going to finish.''

Wambach's career - and chance for stardom - nearly was short circuited when she first joined the U.S. team in 2001 out of Florida. A college standout with a rugged presence the Americans needed after Michelle Akers left international soccer, Wambach struggled to fit in. And it ate at her core.

"I went through one or 1 years in '01 and '02 not confident,'' she says. "I was not making rosters and not playing. But I wasn't ready.

"I was not the most fit player on the team, and I wasn't getting onto the field much and I knew I had to work on it and when I did, other doors opened for me.

"Then came the WUSA and playing with Mia (Hamm), and when I came back to the team, I still couldn't get on the field. Why? I had to learn it just takes time as you work your way and you earn it. I had to earn it. It's a road you know you have to go on and I am absolutely a better player for going on that road.''

That road was paved by the "91ers,'' women such as Hamm, Akers, Julie Foudy, Brandi Chastain, Joy Fawcett and Carla Overbeck. All of them helped the United States win the first Women's World Cup in 1991, and another, memorably, in 1999.

There also were U.S. gold medals in the 1996 and 2004 Olympics - the final tournament for most of the longtime regulars, including U.S. Soccer Hall of Famers Hamm, whose 158 international goals are more than any man or woman, and Foudy.

Wambach now teams up front with captain Kristine Lilly, the one link to all the glory years, and they are as formidable as Wambach and Hamm were just before Hamm retired. Lilly is a superb playmaker as well as scorer, and Hamm became a terrific setup player as well as finisher when she teamed with Wambach.

"Of course, being teamed with Mia didn't hurt at all; you're playing alongside the best in the world,'' Wambach says. "We developed chemistry with the Washington Freedom and then we were able to continue it on the national team.

"At first, I was nervous just to meet her - forget about being her teammate or her partner up front. I'd be watching her at first, just want to get the ball to her and let her do everything.

"But then I noticed the pressure started to release from her a bit when I started to score. I'd take some of the hits she used to take, and I was able to take some of the vision off her. That allowed Mia to become more of a playmaker, and the fact she could go so smoothly from one avenue to another was amazing. It showed how great a player she was.''

Hamm returns the compliments, realizing that her partnership with Wambach prolonged her career.

"I think as you get older, your ability to run by people wasn't as it once was,'' Hamm says. "And I think where I had the luxury when Michelle played of having a bit more freedom - the top defenders were marking her - I now had the top defenders. That places a toll on you physically and psychologically.

"And Abby came in and, I think first and foremost, I didn't have to be a target player. We now had one with her, with her height and size and ability. I was able to be more of a playmaker up top as opposed to being relied on to score. It took a lot of pressure off of me.''

Hamm doesn't mean simply on the field.

"I don't think you ever use a word like timid about Abby,'' Hamm adds. "She just kind of embraces life and goes for it and doesn't apologize for it. From that standpoint, every single day is high speed with Abby and it is infectious. It gave us older players that youthful enthusiasm that carried us through.''

Wambach believes she's better equipped now than ever to take the lead in a World Cup. In 2003, when the Americans lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Germany, Wambach was more one dimensional and not yet the focal point of the squad. Yes, she was its most dangerous scoring threat, but her skills hadn't matured.

Over the past few years, and especially since Greg Ryan became coach - the Americans have not lost in regulation since he took over in 2005 - Wambach has added variety to her game. She's more patient with and without the ball, and she is more effective defensively. At 27, she just might be peaking.

"I've never stopped working at it,'' she says, "and now I know I can play defense if I'm needed. I can shout encouragement or instructions to any of my teammates, and I can score in the last 20 minutes of a game because I'm fit and I have that determination.

"There's a fine line between whether you are doing the right thing or not, always balancing the challenges, but always remembering it's what is on the front of the jersey, not the back, that matters.''