Rapinoe changed her diet and got serious about strength training, a maturation which she realised she needed to prolong her career. Rapinoe continued to rehabilitate – at the slower pace she would have, had the Olympics not loomed – and by late 2017 began looking like her old self again.īy 2018, she didn’t only look like her old self – she was an altogether better player. fell short of the semifinals for the first time in a major competition. She played 58 minutes total at those Olympics, where the U.S. It was clear that Rapinoe needed more time to return to her electric self. coach Jill Ellis took Rapinoe to Brazil on the gamble that even a partially-fit Rapinoe was worth taking up a spot in the condensed 18-player squad, a testament to the winger’s game-changing abilities. She rushed back for the 2016 Rio Olympics, but wasn’t fully fit, and hadn’t played a competitive match that year prior to the tournament. Later that year, however, she heartbreakingly tore her ACL for a third time. Rapinoe was named in the team of the tournament and made the shortlist for world player of the year. She tallied two goals and two assists at the 2015 World Cup as the Americans lifted the trophy for a record third time. Over the past two years, she has reinvented herself on the pitch, further crafting her creativity as an out-and-out winger for club and country. women prepare to defend their World Cup title in France – with Rapinoe as one of 12 players returning from that triumphant 2015 side – the 33-year-old is a very different player. That flair and personality remains a staple of her game today. With her bleach blonde hair and her increasingly entertaining, dynamic style of play, Rapinoe had become an unmistakable part of the fabric of the United States national team. Her Olimpico goal – scored directly from a corner kick – in the semi-final was a first in Olympic football. would fall to Japan on penalties in the final, but Rapinoe would shine again in 2012 as the U.S. Rapinoe’s most famous moment at the tournament came eight days later, when she served a cross to Abby Wambach for a 122nd-minute equalizer against Brazil in the quarterfinals, the goal that “saved the USA’s life,” as commentator Ian Darke proclaimed. She entered the U.S.’ second group-stage match against Colombia at the start of the second half, and five minutes later, she struck a gorgeous goal with her right foot and celebrated in patriotic style, grabbing a field microphone and singing “Born in the USA.” Big things were expected of her at the World Cup in Germany that year, but she was surprisingly omitted from the starting lineup for the Americans’ first two matches. But then disaster struck, an ACL injury robbed her of the 2007 World Cup.īut four years later, Rapinoe emphatically announced herself, ushering in a before-and-after moment of US Women’s soccer, instantly identifying herself as one of the best – and most unique – raw talents in the U.S. A breath of fresh air, she was quickly earmarked as the future, with the most sensational of scenes set for her big arrival. Megan Rapinoe was still a college student when it all began back in 2006.

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