As most fans know by now, Pia Sundhage has decided to take her song and dance routine to her native Sweden. Sundhage resigned Saturday as coach of the U.S. Women's National Team Saturday to take the same post in Sweden. I never met Sundhage, but the reviews have been positive, and it seems she was an improvement over predecessor Greg Ryan. And anyone who sang Bob Dylan and Simon & Garfunkle to the media couldn't be all bad.
During Sundhage's tenure, which began just a few months after the 2007 World Cup disaster, the U.S. won two Olympic gold medals and a second place at the World Cup.
Not surprisingly, the best story of Sundhage's resignation comes from Jere Longman in today's New York Times. Note that he refers to the "diva behavior" of keeper Hope Solo. According to Longman, potential successors include the under-23 women’s
national coach Randy Waldrum; the U-20 women’s national coach Steve
Swanson; Tony DiCicco, who coached the WNT before; Australia’s
national coach, Tom Sermanni; and Jillian Ellis, the director of
development for the United States women’s national teams.
He does not say if any of them can sing.
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