“I just had time to reflect”: Carli Lloyd Reveals Time-Off Helped Her Make USWNT Major Retirement Decision

Published 09/28/2021, 4:26 AM EDT

Carli Lloyd, an Olympian, and World Champion, recently opened up on how taking a break from football helped her career. The 39-year-old midfielder has been playing in the National Women’s Soccer League for quite some time now.

Having first kicked a ball at 5, her parents wanted Carli to pursue ballet. Thankfully, having resisted the enticing offer then, Carli has gone on to captain the US women’s national football team and successfully bag several laurels and feats.

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Carli Lloyd made an important decision

2020 saw the world come to a standstill as COVID-19 unraveled its terror across the globe. Notably, as innumerable restrictions were inflicted, homebound players lost their touch. Hence, with some time off-field, Carli did some thinking.

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Although, in one of her recent interviews, she talked about how this eventually helped her in her career. Elaborating on the same, she said, “I think some people realized what’s important to them. They spend more time with their families, they work from home a lot more.”

“I like to always turn everything negative into a positive situation. I was home for 10 months straight … my husband and I spent a lot of time together, which was great. … I enjoyed that and I just had time to reflect and I got to think (and) I got to kind of re-motivate myself,” she added.

An incredible winning streak

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The phenomenal Carli won two Olympic gold medals in 2008 and 2012, respectively. Her team also won the World Championship in 2015 and 2019. Remarkably, she won the FIFA Player of the Year award, twice (2015 and 2016). However, the repercussions of a knee injury further influenced her decision to retire.

After undergoing knee surgery, she found it easier to fully recover and spend time with her family. Even though this decision came as a huge shock to her fans, Carli Lloyd knew it was the right move that would benefit her in the long run.

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Divya Chaturvedi is an Olympic Athletics author at EssentiallySports, currently pursuing her Under Graduate degree in Psychology from the University of Delhi. She's also an internationally recognized athlete, specializing in Shot Put and Discus, representing India at the International Children's Games held in Australia has been one of the biggest feats in her endeavor so far. Having participated in The Road to Wimbledon and representing the state several times, she bagged a number of titles for the same.

“I just had time to reflect”: Carli Lloyd Reveals Time-Off Helped Her Make USWNT Major Retirement Decision

Carli Lloyd made an important decision

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An incredible winning streak