2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup Champion has a nice ring to it. That title is a new one for Portland Thorns FC midfielder Tobin Heath who returned to the Rose City this week for the stretch run of the NWSL season.
After a frenetic couple of weeks that saw the USWNT knock off Germany in the semifinals and then Japan in the final followed by parades, television appearances, a Sports Illustrated cover and more, Heath took a moment to sit down and talk about what the experience has been like, what she’ll remember from the tournament and how excited she is to be back with the Thorns.
- DISPATCH - 5/22: Heath leaves for USWNT World Cup camp
- DISPATCH - 5/29: Team prepares for start of Women's World Cup
- DISPATCH - 6/4: Heath arrives with team in Canada
- DISPATCH - 6/11: USWNT open tournament with win over Australia
- DISPATCH - 6/18: USWNT win Group D in front of raucous U.S./Thorns fans
- DISPATCH - 6/26: USWNT defeat Colombia in Rd. of 16, Heath also follows Betos' goal from afar
Brian Costello:
How are you doing
right
now? How’s the last two weeks been since we last talked?
Tobin Heath:
“The last two weeks have been a whirlwind. I hadn’t spoke to you since the semi-final, right?”
BC:
Yes. We had missed each other because you had the semi-final and then you travelled right after that. So there was a travel day and then it was final World Cup preparations.
TH:
“Yes. So the game against Germany was pretty crazy, and I think it was one of my favorite games in the tournament, because Germany was the best team in the world. It was a matchup that I was looking forward to and I was hoping would happen. And I think that moment in the game when they got their PK and [Célia] Šašić missed, it was when I realized we were going to win the whole thing. Because, I’ve said this over and over again, that you can be so prepared for a World Cup, you could do everything right in your preparation, but in a tournament like that that’s so hard to win, you need to have something go your way.
And that was the moment that I realized something went our way.
And I think everybody felt that. But instead of being like, ‘Oh, wow. This is great. This is our tournament,’ I think then we capitalized on it. And instead of thinking it was just going to happen, I think we went out there and took it against Japan.
And we had laser-sharp focus the whole tournament, dealing with our set pieces and I think obviously that all that hard work and that focus paid off then in the Japan game because we scored a number of goals on the set pieces. So in that way, you saw both things. You saw the preparation that we had put into the whole entire tournament, and then you also saw that it was kind of destiny in the making.”
BC:
You started in that Germany game, and one of my questions and obviously, it was a massive game but then after the game there was a sort of touching moment. I noticed you and Nadine Angerer found each other on the pitch. Clearly, it was a disappointment for her and an exciting win for you, but the two of you shared this hug. What’s that relationship like when you’re both club teammates and then you see each other in that intense environment and in that moment?
TH:
“To be honest, I always thought Nadine was a world class player and person before this, but I think in that moment I just realized how incredible she really is because I think she’s the one that found me in that moment and to just be able to share that moment and to just see her humility and her grace in that moment was incredible. And it made me proud to be a Thorn, and it made me proud to be a part of this community and culture that we have and this just massive respect we have for one another.
It was a really cool thing. She was so awesome.
(Laughs.) I mean, she
has
won [a World Cup] too.”
BC:
(Laughs.) So right, she’s still happy.
So then you get to the final in which the U.S. wins 5-2 over Japan. Carly Lloyd has a first half hat-trick and you also have an important goal. Let’s talk about that goal. You almost connect for one just moments before. And you could tell that you were close you on it but was a little frustrated that you missed. Then you do get the goal. What was that moment like for you?
TH:
“That moment was cool because I felt like the game—the game was so bizarre. It was one of the most bizarre games I’ve ever been a part of. Carli Lloyd was so fantastic with her three goals that basically finished the game for us, but it was so early in the match that we had to keep looking at each other and reminding each other to stay focused. It’s 90 minutes, it’s a long game, and anything can happen.
And during that time, the game started to slow down and you could see Japan start getting into their own rhythm of things. When they scored their goals too you realized, this is still a soccer game. And Lauren [Holiday’s] goal was just fantastic as well, but I think I was just able to take all hope [for Japan] out of that game with my goal. So in that way that was pretty cool. It was a cool goal too because I think we’re always supposed to be in those spots that we’re supposed to be in, and I felt like the execution was just perfect in the way that it was designed. Obviously Morgan Brian’s pass was just perfect, so all I had to do was put it in. But it was good to see. It just felt good, I guess.”
BC:
Do you think it was one of your most memorable goals…ever?
TH:
“Yeah. I think for sure it’s going to be my most memorable, but it wasn’t… When I think of scoring an awesome goal it doesn’t look like that, you know? (Laughs.) But when I think about scoring an awesome goal, I’m always going to think of that one.”
BC:
I didn’t necessarily say “awesome,” I said, “memorable.”
TH:
“Yes. Or memorable.”
BC:
I mean, it was awesome
, but..
TH:
(Laughs.) “When I think of memorable I think of awesome.”
BC:
I remember you told me in one of our conversations a couple of weeks prior after a win—I think it was after the win over Colombia—that while you were happy with the win, you didn’t think that the team had played its best soccer yet. Do you think that happened against Japan?
TH:
“It’s funny. The World Cup is just such a hard tournament and I think we played all the best teams. We had to beat the best. And we went through so many different stages, like through our Group stage which was extremely difficult, and then on to the knockout rounds which is just a whole other dynamic to the tournament. You just realize how difficult it is to win a World Cup. You have to take each game, and it’s a really long tournament and each game’s going to present itself with new difficulties and challenges.
Throughout the tournament I felt, like you said, we hadn’t reached our potential. I don’t know what that exactly looks like, and I still don’t really know what it looks like, but I think we executed in that game [against Japan] the way that we needed to in order to win and at the end of the day that’s the most important thing. You know, it’s not always exactly how you win, but just that you do everything possible to win. And I think that characterizes our team, because I think the desire to win translated into us doing so."
BC:
So then you get that Women’s World Cup final win. You get the medal. You raise the trophy. There’s a ticker tape parade in New York City, TV appearances…everything. What do you think has been your either favorite or most surprising moment since the victory?
TH:
“Since the win it would definitely be the ticker tape parade. Just being from New Jersey, I know the history behind those but I didn’t know what to expect, to be honest. Even when we were getting onto the floats, we had no idea what it was going to be like. And this was just a few days after we’d won the World Cup. You know, New York’s crazy like that.
So we get on these floats and I’m just thinking there’s going to be people just lined up along the barricades…just a line of people congratulating us. That would be cool. But when we turned the corner and we saw all these masses and masses of people and just people congratulating us, cheering for us, throwing the confetti, it was unlike anything I have ever seen and I realized in that moment that we had done something way bigger than, I think, you really understand. And I’m still, I think, trying to comprehend it, and I don’t know if I ever will but in that moment I just saw a small glimpse of the amount of people that we affected and influenced in that moment.”
BC:
There was all the talk about the last Women’s World Cup title in ’99 and that—maybe for lack of a better term—burden, if you will, of when is the next one going to happen? Now you’ve got that win. You all have achieved it. What do you think, as you establish your own Cup victory, this win means for American soccer?
TH:
“I think that ’99 one was obviously monumental in its own way.”
BC:
I say burden. But it was also a huge inspiration too.
TH:
“
Yeah. Absolutely. I’d never considered it a burden. I think we’ve been trying to emulate that success for a while and we’ve gotten so close. I think that’s been the hardest part, is we’ve gotten so close to doing it and it took 16 years. It just shows you how difficult it is to do, even having the teams that we have had in the past.
But I think, in the way that they changed history for our sport, we’ll be forever grateful for it because I saw the effects of that as a player. So many more opportunities were available to me because of that, and I think that’s why I am where I am today because of the ’99ers. In that way, I’ll always be grateful.
I hope to do the same for this next generation and that people can be inspired and have hope that we did something that allowed a new door to be opened for them in the same way it was for me.”
BC:
Now you’re back in Portland and you’re excited to be back. What does it mean to you to be here now and continue with the Thorns and the rest of the NWSL season?
TH:
“To be honest, this was the first place I wanted to come back to. I do consider this place to be a home for me now. There’s just a certain feeling that I get when I’m flying into PDX that kind of puts a smile on my face. Probably the same way that the local people probably feel, but I’m starting to feel that now and I’m really excited to get back with my teammates and to play in front of the fans here. We had some pretty incredible fan environments in Canada, but nothing compares to this place and I’m excited to go to work and I want to help and I want to play and I’m just kind of excited for everything.”
