Abby Wambach

Sometimes when you fail, it allows you the opportunity to grow more motivation and get more intense about your training. ”

I always wanted to be more validated as a human being, as a person, than I was as a player. I think that was a really hard balance for me. ”

From a pretty early age, my mother realized that I was a little bit more gifted and talented than my own age group. So, she moved me over to play with the boys' travel soccer team when I was about 11 years old. ”

I want my legacy to be about the soccer, and if I can help people be happier in life in any capacity, awesome. ”

International friendlies, they mean something, but what you want is to play on the biggest stage, play under the lights. ”

Whenever you get to win, you feel the satisfaction of all of your hard work, all the sacrifices, all the blood, sweat and tears. It feels right and makes you realise that you are really doing the right thing. ”

The minute you step off that podium is the minute you start preparing for the next world championship. That's kind of how I work. You celebrate for a brief moment, then you move on. ”

It feels a little bit odd to me that you have some guys that have never lived in the United States that play for the United States because they were able to secure a passport. To me, that just feels like they weren't able to make it for their country and earn a living, so they're coming here. ”

As soon as I started to realize that I could make a living playing professional soccer, I went to that place where I could torture myself because I knew it would make me better for the championship game. ”

I think I take on a little more responsibility when push comes to shove. I'm not scared to fail. ”