Julie Foudy debuted for the United States at 17 and has been a big reason behind her country’s rise to glory. The midfield maestro should earn her 200th cap this summer when the Americans face Canada in a two-game series.
The Facts
Julie Foudy
Born: Jan. 23, 1971, in San Diego.
Hometown: Mission Viejo, Calif.
College: Stanford.
Pro clubs: San Diego Spirit (WUSA) 2001-present. USA: 199 caps, 38 goals. World Cup: 1991, 1995, 1999. Olympics: 1996, 2000.
Julie’s Greatest Foes
Bentes Nordby (NORWAY), Gro Espeseth (NORWAY), Fan Yunjie (CHINA), Lene Terp (DENMARK), Hege Riise (NORWAY), Katia (BRAZIL), Sissi (BRAZIL), Sun Wen (CHINA), Bettina Wiegmann (GERMANY), Pretinha (BRAZIL), Dagny Mellgren (NORWAY).
Julie’s Favorites
Musical Artist: Indigo Girls.
Actor: Richard Gere.
Actress: Julia Roberts.
Film: “Austin Powers,” the first one.
Author: Dr. Seuss.
Food: Donuts.
Drink: Anything but water.
Book: “The Power of One” by Bryce Courtenay.
Soccer player: Edgar Davids. But I’m not very happy with his current state of affairs.
Vacation spot: Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands. It’s better than paradise.
Hobbies: Eating. Beach volleyball. Rollerblading. Golf. Basketball.
Pregame activity: I usually do a little e-mail.
Postgame activity: Has to involve food, because that’s important, and hanging out with my friends.
My First…
Soccer memory: In elementary school, I would watch everyone play at recess. My friend, this guy, would get me every recess and drag me out to the field to play with this big red rubber ball. When I was 6, I asked my mom to sign me up for soccer, but she said I was too young. Finally when I was 7, I joined AYSO.
Job: I worked at a very stressful, high-intensity job – at a snack shop on a pier on the beach. I just ate.
Car: A red VW Bug.
My Career
World Cup ’91: No one knew who the heck we were. Of course, we come from a country not known for soccer traditionally. I think that was an unexpected result for us to win the whole thing.
World Cup ’95: Too many distractions off the field. We were in a shoe dispute with the Federation at the time. It was so stupid. We should’ve said, “Do this later.”
Olympics ’96: We couldn’t have scripted it better, like the ’99 World Cup. We were focused and confident mentally and physically. It was fantastic.
World Cup ’99: We had done so much behind the scenes to promote the tournament, to stand up on the podium with a gold medal and the World Cup was amazing.
Olympics ’00: Ironically, we played the best final we ever played. We played so well and didn’t have luck, didn’t finish our chances. Norway got a few and did well with them.
My View On …
Anson Dorrance: Master motivator.
Tony DiCicco: Tony came in and did great job of giving us versatility.
April Heinrichs: April brought a new voice. She had been one of us and brought that grit and determination that started the women’s national team back to us.
Carlos Juarez: Carlos has done an awesome job. He created an environment where people are loose.
Ian Sawyers (coach): He is the most detail-oriented coach that I know, tactically as well as technically.
Ian Sawyers (husband): During the Olympics and World Cups, when I was gone, he supported me so much and always encouraged me.
by Soccer America associate editor Dean Caparaz