I couldnt change who I am; I couldnt change the kind of player I am.

Its not like you make a decision and everything inside you is 100 percent happy.

If you are passionate about something, that will enable you to be the best you can be.

I want to be the goal scorer and the play maker out there. I have been doing that all my life.

Ive known since I went to the national team when I was very young that I was a different bird.

I've known since I went to the national team when I was very young that I was a different bird.

I can't pretend to be enjoying this. I can't pretend I'm enjoying going out there and playing this style.

My philosophy about the game, for instance, is that you have players out there who really do different things.

Coaches give you too much information. Ive been allowed to develop that intuitive ability in my career and lifetime.

To be the key player in creating and scoring goals, that's what I take pride in, and the thing I know how to do best.

Coaches give you too much information. I've been allowed to develop that intuitive ability in my career and lifetime.

Soccer's not a game that you can restrict players, especially creative players and players who have proven themselves at that level.

Everybody has down times and stuff that they have to work through. I worked through that stuff because I've always wanted to be playing soccer.

You can't ask every player to do the same thing. That's why we have amazing midfielders, defenders, forwards and keepers. You can't ask them to be of the same mold.

The game of soccer has been able to give me what I wanted out of life. I just remember being a total Tomboy and athlete as a girl, but never having a lack of opportunity.

I don't think the game should be perfect. It's 95 percent mistakes out there - you have to work with 10 players on your side and another 11 against you. It's a crazy, chaotic game.

When it's game situation, when it's game day, game time, when it's World Cup, when it's these tournaments that happen once every so often, I live for that, I live for that challenge.

But that in and of itself this past year was not a factor in what I did for the national team every time I stepped out there, or in training, or when I stepped out there in the WUSA.

Do you have the heart to push yourself? If you don't, find a way to get it because talent will only get you so far. You've got to be hungry. You've got to have heart. That's just reality.

I am somebody who... - I'm not saying I'm perfect, but I need that freedom, that ability to make mistakes out there. Because there's a fine line between making a mistake or being brilliant.

I think it's sad to me that I had to make a decision to not play the game that I feel like I'm best at and that I love. But if it was just about the game itself, I'd be there in a heartbeat. But that's not how the real world works.

I'm not saying I didn't have ample time to recover, ample time to get to my best, I felt this year I did fine. When I stepped on the field for the national team, I was ready and able to make an impact, to score goals, to create chances.

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