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Kristine Lilly
The Most Capped Footballer in the history of the game has retired
- 352 caps & 130 goals for Team USA between 1987 and 2010
Legend? She's better than that! Immortal!!
I had the pleasure of conducting an interview with Kristine Lilly during the inaugural Pacific Cup women’s soccer tournament in Australia in June 2000.
This is what she had to say on that occasion ...
 Of all your achievements in the game, which gives you the greatest satisfaction, and why?Through my career I’ve had a lot of great achievements. Winning two World Cups and a gold medal have probably been the highlights, but I think what’s really been important to me has been being in this team, and the impact I’ve had as a result of being on it, which, time-wise, is now over thirteen years. So knowing I’ve accomplished those goals with my team-mates and being a starter is something I myself quite appreciate and respect.
Who is the person who has had the most influence on your career, and in what way?
My family has always been a big influence on my career because they’ve always been so supportive. They’ve allowed me to try everything and basically said, “This is your world; do what you want”. They’ve been the backbone, but my team-mates have been my on-field motivation and inspiration, thus enabling me to improve as a player and enjoy myself on the pitch.
 You’ve achieved just about everything there is to achieve in the game, and you’re in a position where retirement is an easy option. What drives you to remain so involved in the game today?I love the game. When you ask that question of a lot of athletes, it’s the common denominator - they love to play. I love to be the best, to be the champion, so the chance of being a gold medallist again at the upcoming Olympics, and the idea of being the best in the world, is something that I want to do. So I think that competitive edge, and wanting to be the best in the world, helps me to stay involved as well.
Your career has been blessed with much success, and long may that continue to be the case. There has been the odd disappointment along the way also. Do you regret any of these? Why? Why not?
I don’t regret any disappointments. In fact, when we lost to Norway in the 1995 World Cup Finals, that proved to be one of our biggest learning experiences - we learnt a lot from that loss. After that game, we vowed to make sure that we wouldn’t allow that to happen in the 1996 Olympics, and as we trained, we remembered how we felt. More importantly since then, we remembered how we felt when we were receiving the gold medals in ‘96, and that’s what keeps us going.
 You have played alongside and against many great footballers over the years. Who do you consider to be your best team-mate and why? Your most difficult opponent and why?My best opponents are Heige Riis of Norway, and China’s Sun Wen. Heige used to play on the flank, and we certainly had our battles - she’s such a tremendous player. Sun is a very good, very crafty player whom I really respect - I wouldn’t mind Sun and Heige being on my team!!
I would prefer my players when we play internationally, and two of the team-mates with whom I work and train well are Julie Foudy and Joy Fawcett. I enjoy watching them play, their inspiration and their competitiveness - that helps me as a player.
 What does the future hold for you?Right now, my future is the Olympics - I’m taking it one goal at a time. We have three months to go before the Games, so that’s pretty much what I’m focused on. After that, we’re going to have a professional league in the USA, so I’m going to take part in helping build a pro league for women’s soccer which will hopefully last forever. Ideally, we’ll get a lot of the form players from around the world involved to help out.
Once I’ve hung up my boots? I don’t know - we all joke about it, like “What are we going to do when we grow up?”!!! That‘s basically the question. I really don’t know. Perhaps I’ll try and find some hobbies which I can apply myself to. I think that’s a long way away, though.
 What do you do to relax away from soccer? Do you have any favourite teams you like to watch?I enjoy going home and spending time with family and friends - you never see them when you’re on the road. I enjoy shopping, bike riding, golf, music - a little bit of everything. Generally just some down-time and kicking back at home, ‘cause I’m never at home!!
Soccer-wise, I enjoyed World Cup ‘98, and the ‘94 tournament in the USA. I don’t really have a stand-out team - I just like to watch good soccer.
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