Megan Rapinoe will live her last dance from July 20. The 38-year-old player will then play her fourth World Cup. It will also be the last for the midfielder, a brilliant footballer who has announced that she will hang up her boots at the end of this season. Among her palmares, she has an Olympic gold medal, two world championships and a Ballon d’Or. In addition, her figure has surpassed the courts to become a benchmark for social causes. She is also an activist in defense of the rights of the LGTBI community and in favor of fair pay for women in sport.
“I could never imagine how football would shape and change my life forever,” Rapinoe said on Twitter, the social network where she announced that this will be the last season she will play “the beautiful game.” His announcement has caused some surprise, as it comes days before the United States team will play the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The team will seek its third consecutive title there.
It is with a deep sense of peace & gratitude that I have decided this will be my final season playing this beautiful game. I never could have imagined the ways in which soccer would shape & change my life forever, but by the look on this little girl’s face, she knew all along. pic.twitter.com/XGZ1T9i7Wy
—Megan Rapinoe (@mPinoe) July 8, 2023
On the field, Rapinoe became the creative engine of an offensive machine. She made her debut as the team’s captain in July 2006 against Ireland. That same year she scored her first two touchdowns as a player. Short of the goals that she can add in Oceania, she has managed 63 goals and 73 assists. She is among the ten best players to have worn the national team’s jersey.
Perhaps one of his most famous moments in a World Cup was in Germany 2011. Against Brazil and down the scoreboard, he kicked a long cross into the box from the left wing in the dying minute 121. His pass found the head of the also legendary Abby Wambach, who sent the ball into the nets. The goal tied the score at 2-2 and extended the United States’ stay in the World Cup. Her team won the match on penalties, allowing them to play the semifinal against France. The United States lost that final against Japan, but a year later they would remove the bitter taste from their mouths by winning gold at the London 2012 Games.
The offensive hunger that Rapinoe, who has played at home with Seattle’s OL Reign since 2013, has also drawn criticism. The 13-0 win for their team against Thailand in France 2019 caused much controversy. The players were criticized in their country for allegedly having shown a lack of camaraderie and sportsmanship against a team much inferior to theirs, which was then number one in FIFA ranking. Alex Morgan scored five goals in that match. Rapinoe, one.
That year, 2019, was the peak of his career. He scored his 50th national goal in the final against the Netherlands, which the USA would win 2-0. It was the fourth title for the country. The midfielder was named the best footballer of the tournament in France. She also took the golden boot as scoring leader, with six goals. Her merit was highlighted by the magazine French Footballwho awarded him the coveted Ballon d’Or.
Off the court, Rapinoe does not have unconditional affection. Her militant activism, critic of systemic racism and Donald Trump, in favor of the gay community, have made her a villain for conservative sectors. The California-born player has called herself a “walking protest.” In 2016 she copied the quarterback of the 49 of San Francisco, Colin Kaepernik, by kneeling during the national anthem of his country, which caused the anger of many in the United States. The Federation prohibited him from doing so, a veto that he lifted in 2020 in support of black players in his fight against racism.
However, Rapinoe, who came out before the London Games and who got engaged in 2020 to basketball player Sue Bird, has been backed in her fight. Last year, she was one of the celebrities who received the Medal of Freedom, the highest decoration that the United States Government gives to civilians.
“Beyond her Olympic titles and medals, Megan is a champion for speaking an essential truth: that everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect,” President Joe Biden said when presenting the award last summer. At the same ceremony were athlete Simone Biles, former congresswoman and activist Gabrielle Giffords, academic Julieta Garcia and actor Denzel Washington, and others.
Among the achievements mentioned by Biden is that of equal pay. In February of last year, the Football Federation reached an agreement to compensate the national team’s players, who have historically received less money and support than their male counterparts. They received up to $5,000 per game, while they only received payment if they defeated teams in the top 10 of the FIFA rankings.
After the case was taken to a federal agency, managers approved a $24 million payment. Of these, 22 million would be distributed to active soccer players. The remaining two would be given to those who are about to retire. “I don’t just see it as a win for our team or women’s sport, but for all women in general,” Rapinoe said last year. Since 2024, she will leave the courts as a sports legend to become a full-time activist.
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