Leslie Osborne Is 'Holding' Her Own

You guys just finished training together for the first time since the Gold Cup. How was the break?
The break was good. Just being away from the team environment sometimes is what you need. It’s not the soccer part, but sometimes you need a break from being in this kind of environment. So it was a much needed break, I think, for everybody. We’re refreshed. We’ve been missing each other and missing soccer, but I think it was a much needed break for everybody.
Did you do anything special?
Yes, I did go to Hawaii for Aly Wagner’s wedding and I also went to Alaska because my boyfriend is from Alaska and he flew home from Germany. I had a white Christmas in Alaska. I did the extremes. I went from 80 degrees to 30 below. It was kind of crazy.
How do you feel things went for you as a player in 2006?
It was a good year. The whole year was pretty good. I was playing really well and things just kind of worked out. I was finally playing really well and with confidence and fitting in with this team. Boxxy (Shannon Boxx) had hip surgery and so I had to fill in for her in residency and then it just kind of worked out that I needed to fill in for her because she had a major injury. I don’t think I really changed as a player the last three years much, I think it’s just the confidence and I think it’s the coach believing in me and it’s me kind of getting an opportunity. You don’t really get that opportunity unless you play in games. Coming in off the bench the last two or three years for 20 or 30 minutes, it’s hard to make an impact. It’s hard to come in and play solid, when you know you’re only going to be in there for 20 minutes. I think it’s just having an opportunity and being able to play 90 minutes. I’ve been training with these girls and I’ve known them for last three years and I feel like they’ve done a good job of making it easier for me. It wasn’t that hard doing it because I was prepared very well for it. That’s kind of the year of 2006 and it’s exciting. No matter what role I am in on this team, just being with this team and having Lil be our captain and finishing the year strong and trying to build a new team is exciting.
Talk about what the team was able to accomplish in 2006?
We spent the most time together than we ever have in the past and compared to other countries, we trained more and got better as the year went on. It gave us confidence because we prepared more than anybody else and that’s going to help us this year. We know we’ve put in the work and this year we can now work on the details. We’ve got the chemistry. Now we can work on the details. Last year was about molding the team together. I think it just helps with our confidence knowing how much we’ve prepared for this.
How are you feeling about finding a role on the team once Shannon Boxx returns?
She’s been here this week and she’s starting to train. It’s been really nice having her back with the team. You know this is the way that I look at it; no matter what happens, I know that we can play together. I can step in for her. We can play together and we can help each other. Honestly, my role on this team is whatever the team needs to win because that’s the most important. Obviously, I want to play and I want to start and do as much as I can for this team but I respect Boxxy more than anybody. If there’s a way that we can play together and help each other out or if it’s me coming off the bench for her, it’s good. It’s good to see her coming back and I hope that she can come back because she’s done so well for our team.
In 2004, you can really close to making the Olympic team. I believe that you and Shannon MacMillan were the last two cut.
Yeah, we were.
You came really close then. How confident are you as we are approaching the World Cup, that you will make the trip to China?
I was a young player and I played really well at the beginning, but I didn’t know how much of a mental battle it is to come out every day and play. In a way, that was a blessing in disguise. Yes, it was really hard, getting cut but I do believe that it helped prepare me to want this more this time around. I know what it felt like not to make it and I learned why I didn’t make it and it was the mental part of my game and stuff like that. Hopefully I can look back and say that it was meant to happen that way. Everyone says that if you can get through your first residency you can get through anything. It’s because it’s not just the physical part of going out there, it’s coming out there everyday with that same mentality. Even the older veterans have a hard time with it. It’s not just the young, new kids, it’s everybody. It was obviously hard when it happened. Now it’s in my control and I learned from it. I hope I can look back on it and say I learned from the experience.
What special qualities do you bring to the team?
I can tackle pretty hard. The good thing for the team is that I can play offense and I can play defense. For the last couple days I’ve been playing offense. I think I have both parts of my game so I can defend hard and help with the attack. I’m a tough player out there and I’m trying to lead as much as I can. I’m a vocal player and I try keep our team pumped up.
Tell me about your celebration after you scored the first gold against Canada in the Gold Cup final.
I actually got the flu two days earlier so I didn’t get out of bed until the morning of our game. I didn’t think that I was even going to play. I looked at Greg and told him ‘I don’t know if I can go,’ and he told me “I believe in you. You can do it.” So, I played in that game and honestly I can’t believe I scored. I don’t remember the game because I was feeling so crappy. So I’m thinking I should get sick now before every game like that because if I’m going to be scoring it will be worth it. Honestly, it was very exciting. I just was very sick. I just excited that in my game now I can shoot the ball now and I’m a little more confident that I can help us in our attack. That’s a positive thing individually for me that I know I can help this team.
You’ve just finished training for a week with a very young team. How’d it go?
You know what? For five days, we probably threw in as much as we could. We did fitness testing. We played boys in scrimmages, inter-squad scrimmages and we played the U-21’s. These young girls are good. They’re very good and I’m not saying I’m an old player. They’re technically so good and they’ve got this love for the game and an enthusiasm that they’ve brought to us this week. It’s so exciting. They're learning about how we play in our system and where to be, but that stuff will come. I just think it’s great that these girls get the opportunity to come in because I know as a young player, three years ago, it helped me over time just being around and training with this team and seeing this team’s mentality and standards. The more you’re with this team, the better prepared you’re going to be even if you don’t get a cap. Just being around us, you can learn so much. It was a good five days.
Did anyone standout?
A lot of them did. I like Tobin (Heath). Tobin was just kind of one of those players where I was like ‘Oh, my gosh!’ She’s so fast. She’s fit. She’s great on the ball. She’s just this little kid out here that loves the game and brings this dimension that a lot of us can learn from; taking people on, just no will to stop. It was great to see her and it was great to see Yael (Averbuch) and Casey Nogueira from Carolina. Those three really had some chemistry. I think a lot of the younger girls did really well and I think it was a good camp for them to come into.
Are you looking forward to hoping on a plane to China for the Four Nations Tournament?
You know, maybe not the flight. Basically, it hasn’t really hit us yet that we’re going to be on a 15 hour flight in the morning. It will be great once we get there. It’s just the actually process of getting there. I’m running around right now trying to figure out what we need for snacks for China which is very important.
What do you think about making the trip without Kristine Lilly, Abby Wambach, Christie Rampone and Aly Wagner?
We’ll have HAO, Tarp and Tash (Heather O’Reilly, Lindsay Tarpley and Natasha Kai) starting up front for us. All three forward have either come off the bench or one of them played with Abby and Lil. It’s good for us for those players not to be here because they’re such great players and leaders and we just depend on them. It’s been good for us these last five days and going forward to not depend on those players and know that we can get the job done whether they’re on the field or off the field. That’s been our goal with camp and that’s what we’re going to try and do is just all of us do our own job and not depend on those great players. We need to just get it done ourselves. It’s definitely interesting, but it’s good for us to get chemistry with the young players and the ones that we don’t normally play with all the time.
Any thoughts on David Beckham coming to the LA Galaxy?
I hear he got kicked off Real Madrid today. I think it’s exciting. I think that it is positive and just brings more energy to grow awareness of soccer in our country. Over time, hopefully it will help us with the women’s game as well. I think it’s a good thing, even though he’s not my favorite player, I think it will turn more heads toward soccer.
If Becks isn’t your favorite player, who is?
I’ve got a bunch but Zidane is probably my favorite. I don’t really like the way he acts, but as a player, I think he’s great. I watch him a lot and I think he’s a great midfielder. He probably is my favorite player.

This or That?

Beach or pool? Pool.

Snowboard or ski? Ski.

Mexican or Italian? Mexican.

MLS or EPL? EPL.

Read or surf? Surf the net.

Sweet or salty? Salty, for sure. I love cheese, pretzels and wheat thins.