Hope Solo rips USWNT coach Jill Ellis: She's 'not the leader I wish her to be'

Alexis Mansanarez

Hope Solo rips USWNT coach Jill Ellis: She's 'not the leader I wish her to be' image

Hope Solo did not shy away from her feelings about U.S. women's national team coach Jill Ellis.

Solo, a 2015 World Cup winner, recently said Ellis did not live up to her expectations as the USWNT gets ready to make its debut on soccer's biggest international stage. 

“Jill is not the leader I wish her to be” Solo said on a BBC radio station. “She relies heavily on her assistant coaches. She cracks under the pressure quite a bit.

"But often that doesn’t matter because the quality of the players on the U.S. team is superb. It doesn’t matter who is coaching us because we will find a way to win. The United States knows how to find a way to win in spite of who the coach is.”

Solo had her contract terminated by the U.S. in 2016 after 202 caps but said she had a good relationship with the coaching staff toward the end of her career as a national team player. 

The two-time Olympic gold medalist has been outspoken on a number of things, including pay equity, U.S. soccer's hierarchy and comments in 2016 that led to her suspension and dismissal from the national team.

“I think we played a bunch of cowards,” Solo said after an August 2016 defeat to Sweden on penalties. “The best team did not win today. I strongly believe that.” 

Solo was first suspended for six months before her contract was terminated.

 

Alexis Mansanarez