The truth about Jill Ellis’ coaching style lies between two extremes: caution and adventure. And that's how she's approaching the Women's World Cup.
To reach this point Ellis prepared carefully and with a long-term view in mind. She insisted the U.S. play Spain and France in friendly matches in Europe early this year so players could become familiar with the opponents, atmosphere and tactics they’d face here. She scheduled games every three days, again to simulate World Cup conditions. That’s paying off by establishing a rhythm for a team that has gotten less rest than some other quarter finalists.
As for her tinkering with the lineup, players have said they understand her motivation. “This team is extremely deep. Whoever Jill decides to put on the field, she feels confident that they’re going to get the job done and I can tell you that every other player feels confident that whoever she puts on the field is the right combination of players to win the game,” O’Hara said last week.
Reserve defender Ali Krieger said the mixing and matching on defense hasn’t been a problem. “I think it’s just all about communication and understanding each other’s roles and relationships on the field,” she said. “We’ve had a lot of time together and I think we’re very interchangeable. It takes a lot of connectedness and communication back there and you could see that….
Ellis explained she didn’t start Horan on Monday because Horan had gotten a yellow card in the second group game, and Ellis didn’t want to risk losing the player for a game if she got another yellow card. The timing of bringing Horan off the bench was dictated by the flow. “You can’t just live cautiously, I think, when you’re in a knockout game. I think you have to coach in the moment and make those decisions,” Ellis said.
It’s Ellis’ job to bring to Friday’s match the right mix of caution, boldness and pure gut instinct to guide this team toward another World Cup championship. Anything less will be considered a failure.
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