Boxx Is Helping While She Heals
On their way to winning the gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, there was one fear that Mia Hamm and the rest of the U.S. women’s soccer team had that was never made public.
“We asked the question, what would we do if Shannon Boxx got injured?” Coach Greg Ryan recalled the other day at the Home Depot Center, where the U.S. plays Chinese Taipei at 1 p.m. today in a friendly.
“We never knew,” Ryan said. “Honestly, we didn’t have an answer.”
Fortunately for the Americans, Boxx stayed healthy throughout the Olympics, starting all six matches, including the final in which the U.S. defeated Brazil, 2-1, in overtime.
Not so fortunately, the injury that was feared in 2004 occurred this summer, when Boxx, a dominating presence in central midfield and a hugely influential player on both offense and defense, shredded the ligaments in her right knee in a painful July 17 collision during practice with goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart.
“I knew I’d done something, and my first reaction was, ‘Not again,’ ” said Boxx, who had just returned after hip surgery in May.
Test revealed that she had torn both the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments, the latter detaching from the bone.
She would require a separate surgery on each -- the latest five weeks ago -- and would be sidelined for six to eight months.
Knowing that Boxx would be unavailable for November’s regional qualifying tournament for the 2007 Women’s World Cup in China, Ryan looked for someone to fill her shoes.
It was a daunting task.
As recently as December, Boxx had been recognized as the third-best player in the world behind Germany’s Birgit Prinz and Brazil’s Marta in voting by international coaches for the FIFA women’s world player of the year.
At the awards ceremony in Zurich, Boxx, 29, made clear her ambition.
“After winning the Olympic tournament, my biggest goal now is winning the World Cup,” the former Notre Dame standout said. “I want to win a gold medal in each tournament.”
That chance probably will come, but Ryan has had to concentrate since July on grooming Boxx’s understudy -- Leslie Osborne, 23, a former Santa Clara midfielder who helped the U.S. win the FIFA Women’s Under-19 World Championship in 2002.
“I think Leslie is doing a great job,” Ryan said. “I think she is really going to grow into that position.
“They’re very similar-type players. They’re both great in the air. They’re both hard defenders. They’re both good in possession. They both can score goals. Shannon’s experience is the key. Nobody plays that position better in the world than Shannon Boxx.”
Since making her national-team debut in 2003, Boxx has played 59 games for the U.S., starting 58 and scoring 14 goals, a more-than-impressive number for a defensive midfielder.
Osborne has played in only 23 internationals and has yet to score for the national team, but already she has earned the confidence of such midfield veterans as Kristine Lilly and Aly Wagner.
“Boxxy gave us some power,” Lilly said, referring not only to Boxx’s strength on defense but also her heading ability on corner kicks and free kicks along with her willingness to shoot from long range.
Osborne has yet to exhibit that sort of forcefulness on the field, but she is having an impact in other ways.
“In a sense she has come in and taken over that position,” Lilly said. “She’s welcomed it. She’s been a leader for us in there. She’s distributing the ball and organizing the midfield. Each game she gets better and better at it.”
Wagner, a teammate at Santa Clara, said Osborne can be every bit as tough as Boxx.
“Leslie gets stuck in as well,” Wagner said. “I played with her at Santa Clara and she always put in some crunching tackles. Now she’s starting to bring it to the national team level. She’s definitely got a little bite in her tackle.”
After coming on as a late substitute in seven games this year, Osborne made her first start in a 3-2 victory over Sweden at Blaine, Minn., on July 15.
Two days later, Boxx was injured, and Osborne has started all four games since -- victories over Ireland, Canada, China and Mexico that helped the U.S. improve its 2006 record to 11-0-3 heading into today’s game.
“It hasn’t really been too hard of a transition because I feel like she prepared me more than anyone,” Osborne said of Boxx. “I got to watch her, and she was kind of my mentor for the last three years. I’ve been learning from the best.”
Even now, while sidelined, Boxx is the guide.
“She’s always offering her opinion and advice,” Osborne said. “It’s awesome to hear it right from her. She’s great.”
As for comparisons, Osborne shrugged.
“I’m just trying to bring my game because that’s all I can do,” she said. “I can’t be Shannon Boxx.”
If all goes as planned with her rehabilitation, Boxx said she will be training again by January or February and ready to go when the team leaves in March for the Algarve Cup in Portugal.
The 2007 World Cup in China from Sept. 10-30 remains the main goal, though.
“It’s a new team, and we have to prove that we are still very good,” Boxx said. “People are wondering how we are going to do. We’ve done well so far, but the big test is the World Cup.”
Osborne’s development as a player, the experience she is gaining in Boxx’s absence, could help the U.S. pass that test.
“The great thing for the team is that she’s had this chance to come in and prove herself,” Boxx said. “At first you could see the lack of confidence, but she has so much confidence on the field now, and the players around her have confidence in her.
“I have to win my spot back now.”
And when the difficult games come a year from now, when Germany or China or Norway or Brazil are banging on the door at the World Cup, the U.S. will have the option of having both Boxx and Osborne on the field to bar the way.
“Nothing’s going to go through us,” Boxx said.
The final word belongs to Ryan, who is 19-0-4 since taking over from April Heinrichs after the Athens Olympics.
“You’re never going to replace Shannon,” he said, “but it’s great to know you’ve got somebody who can step in there.”
