BY SCOTT FRENCH
Senior Editor

The last American to score an Olympic goal plans to wake up early Wednesday morning, tune her television to MSNBC, and cheer like crazy for her former teammates in the opening event of the Athens Olympics.

Tiffeny Milbrett, whose last-minute strike forced overtime in the gold-medal loss to Norway four years ago in Sydney, will be home in Portland, Ore., where she's been since walking away from the U.S. team last year over a clash of philosophies with U.S. coach April Heinrichs.

Is there part of her that wishes she was in Heraklio, on Crete, for the Americans' opener Wednesday against Greece?

''Absolutely,'' Milbrett said Tuesday night. ''If I could have boarded the plane on Aug. 2, or whenever it was, and been part of the Olympic team, that would have been the best-case scenario. That's not the real world, but I would have gone in a heartbeat.

''If it's just about the game itself, I'd play forever. I'm a true fan of the U.S. and am pulling for them all the way.''

Milbrett, who also netted the winning goal in the gold-medal victory over China at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, has been rehabbing following knee surgery last spring and preparing to coach the soccer team at Tigard High School near Portland. She's had conversations with representatives of the women's teams at Arsenal, Leeds and Chelsea, and is open to heading overseas following the high school season.

''I wasn't looking to coach, and then all of a sudden the coach that planned on being there for the fall had to quit,'' Milbrett said. ''They asked me. Nothing else had panned out, so why not start teaching the game to other people. That's pretty neat.''

She said she expected to be at 100 percent by October.

Milbrett, 31, is one of the most exciting players ever to wear a U.S. uniform. She scored 99 goals in 199 appearances with the U.S. team, playing in three Women's World Cups and two Olympic Games. When Heinrichs invited her into the national team's January camp prior to the Four Nations event in China, Milbrett declined.

She told Soccer America last February that she couldn't ''pretend'' to be having fun anymore while chafing under the tactical strictures Heinrichs placed on her players. The coach's insistence on versatile, interchangeable players clashed with Milbrett's philosophy of the game, which is based on talented players making decisions on the field.

''My philosophy about the game, for instance, is that you have players out there who really do different things,'' Milbrett said in February. ''You can't ask every player to do the same thing. That's why we have amazing midfielders, defenders, forwards and keepers. You can't ask them to be of the same mold.

''I am somebody who … — I'm not saying I'm perfect, but I need that freedom, that ability to make mistakes out there. Because there's a fine line between making a mistake or being brilliant. I don't think the game should be perfect. It's 95 percent mistakes out there — you have to work with 10 players on your side and another 11 against you. It's a crazy, chaotic game. You have ideas, you have instincts, and one of the things that keeps cropping up [in my deliberations] is that I don't feel I was allowed to use my own instincts, to hear my own voice inside me and be able to make decisions [based] on that.

''There were times April demanded only a certain amount of touches could be used. Or said that we were playing too slow. That goes against my philosophy. I don't feel you can tell any player — I mean, would you tell Thierry Henry how many touches he should take? You've got to give me that freedom, and I don't feel I was given that freedom.''

She's open to returning to the U.S. team under different leadership — Heinrichs' contract expires after the Olympics — but she will provide strong support for the Americans while sitting in front of her television. Wednesday's game kicks off at 8 a.m. Portland time.

''That's not that bad,'' she said. ''Some of the EPL [English Premier League] games start at 4:30. At least it's nothing crazy like that.''

Milbrett gave outstanding performances at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics, and she has fond memories of her Olympic experiences.

''Just how wonderful it is to be representing your country,'' she said Tuesday. ''This is the pinnacle. This is why you train, why you play the games. All the friendlies are nothing compared to these couple weeks you get to represent your country and do what you've always dreamed about.''

The U.S. women have failed to win a major event since the 1999 Women's World Cup, falling to Norway in overtime of the 2000 Olympic final and two Germany in the semifinals of last year's World Cup. Milbrett believes the futility can end on Aug. 26 in the final at Athens.

''They're one of the best teams in the world, and I'm excited,'' she said. ''Just because I'm not there doesn't mean I'm not there in spirit and heart.

''They've got a great group of players. Hopefully, if they're allowed to play soccer, allowed to be the players that they are, they should have all the tools to be able to win the gold.''

UNITED STATES VS. GREECE
at Heraklio, Crete

TELEVISION

MSNBC (live), 11 a.m. EDT (pregame 10:30 a.m.)
Announcers: J.P. Dellacamera and Lori Walker
Telemundo (taped), programming bloc begins at 1 p.m. EDT

ROSTERS

GREECE
1 G Maria GIATRAKIS (Maria Yatrakis)*; 2 M Angeliki LAGOUMTZI; 3 M SOFIA (Sophia Smith)*; 4 D Kalliopi STRATAKIS (Catherine ''Beba'' Stratakis)*; 5 D Athanasia POURIDOU; 6 M Eftichia MICHAILIDOU; 7 F Vasiliki SOUPIADOU; 8 D Konstantina KATSAITI; 9 Angeliki TEFANI; 10 Natalia CHATZIGIANNIDOU; 11 F Dimitra PANTELEIADOU; 12 M AMALIA (Walker Loseno)*; 13 D Alexandra Kavvada (Alexandra Kavadas)*; 14 F Anastasia PAPADOPOULOU; 15 M Tanya KALYVAS (Tanya Kalivas)*; 16 D ELENI (Eleni Benson)*; 17 M Maria LAZAROU; 18 G Ileana MOSCHOS*.
* — Greek-Americans

UNITED STATES
1 G Briana SCURRY; 2 D Heather MITTS; 3 D Christie RAMPONE; 4 D Catherine REDDICK; 5 M Lindsay TARPLEY; 6 D Brandi CHASTAIN; 7 M Shannon BOXX; 8 M Angela HUCLES; 9 F Mia HAMM; 10 M Aly WAGNER; 11 M Julie FOUDY; 12 F Cindy PARLOW; 13 M Kristine LILLY; 14 D Joy FAWCETT; 15 D Kate MARKGRAF; 16 F Abby WAMBACH; 17 F Heather O'REILLY; 18 G Krisin LUCKENBILL.

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 11
Group E
Sweden vs. Japan at Volos: Swedes return the bulk of its roster from last year's Women's World Cup, but all eyes will be on forward Hanna Ljungberg, who has played sparingly since returning from a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Japan is Asia's rising power, and former Atlanta Beat star Homare Sawa also is returning from knee surgery.

Group F
Germany vs. China at Patra: The World Cup champions lost Maren Meinert and Bettina Wiegmann to retirement, and Stefanie Gottschlich and Nia Kuenzer to torn knee ligaments. Now Sandra Minnert is out, at least for the opener, with a hip infection. China without Sun Wen and Bai Jie just doesn't seem like China.

Group G
Greece vs. United States at Heraklio: After their men's team's Euro 2004 stunner, the Greeks (featuring eight Greek-Americans) are seeking another miracle. Beating the Yanks would take more than a miracle — a quarterfinal berth would be magic enough. This is the beginning of the end for Mia Hamm, Joy Fawcett and Julie Foudy.

Brazil vs. Australia at Thessaloniki: Two (mostly) young up-and-comers in this battle, but the Brazilians are up higher and coming on more strongly. Brazil's Marta is having a wonderful debut season in Sweden, and Pretinha is back from her ACL tear, but a knee injury has sidelined Katia. Uninjured Kelly Golebiowski couldn't make the Matildas' roster.