Carli Lloyd, with a final farewell to St. Paul’s Allianz Field crowd, put to an end an illustrious career with the USWNT on Tuesday night.
The 39-year-old Lloyd, one of the most accomplished athletes of any New Jersey native, announced her retirement back in August, and it came to an end during the USWNT’s 6-0 rout of South Korea during Tuesday’s friendly.
For Lloyd, it marks the end of an improbable journey that she is finally able to appreciate now that the laser focus on being the best can give way to reflection.
“The only way you see the big picture is when you complete the journey,” Lloyd told WFAN’s Danielle McCartan. “I feel like now, I’m seeing the bigger picture and things make more sense.”
Of course, it was easy for those looking on to appreciate Lloyd’s greatness during her playing career, which included two FIFA World Cups, two Olympic gold medals and two FIFA Player of the Year honors. Now, Lloyd can take a breath and appreciate those accolades herself.
“There’s just a sense of pride at the end of this journey,” Lloyd said. “When things come easy and when you don’t have to really work for things, it’s never really a great ending or feeling. I’m really grateful I’ve been able to get through all that I’ve gotten through and have this career with the National team.”
Even if others didn’t always see Lloyd’s potential greatness, she always believed it was there. That was never more prevalent than in 2012, when she was benched before the Olympics, only to find playing time due to injury, which opened the door for Lloyd to score the game-winner in the final against Japan.
“It was a big turning point for a number of reasons,” Lloyd said. “I felt at that point that my life was over and my career was over. I didn’t know what the future was gonna hold…I worked really hard, got my opportunity and never left the field after that. It was at that moment where I felt like I took the decent belief I had in myself and took it to greater heights.”
Those heights continued to soar through the rest of her career, which has now come to an end. But even at the end, Lloyd never forgets how important the beginning of her journey was to becoming a soccer legend.
“I think definitely a Jersey girl mindset. Being close to Philadelphia with that underdog mentality,” Lloyd said. “I didn’t have things handed to me. I didn’t have things easy. I didn’t grow up in a family that had all this money and I was given all these things. I had to work for everything and appreciate all that I had. I think I’ve always been wired as a player that if someone tells me I can’t do something, I’m going to prove them wrong.”
Listen to Lloyd's full interview with Danielle McCartan below!
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