“Often a forward does not know what he will do until he sees the defenders’ reactions,” famously remarked iconic Brazilian forward Ronaldinho, explaining how his gameplay was based purely on improvisation in response to the opponent’s movements. While this showcases creativity, uniqueness, and even genius, it also subtly highlights the struggles of playing in a forward position. Then again, someone like Kelley O’Hara might completely disagree, insisting that attackers don’t need time to be a ‘hero‘ — a sentiment that even Megan Rapinoe, surprisingly, supports.

Before you start scratching your heads, let’s give you a bit of context. Recently, O’Hara made a bold claim in a public setting — possibly on a show — about an alleged bias that typically favors forwards in soccer. Specifically, she said, “Forwards can play 90 minutes of bad soccer and then 1 minute of good soccer and be the hero.”

Unsurprisingly, the quote must have caught the eye of Megan Rapinoe, who didn’t hesitate to chime in. The 2x World Cup winner took to Instagram stories and shared a screenshot of the quote that was apparently taken from a video. Aside from this, Pinoe wrote a caption that said, “Reporting for DUTY🫡my good sis,” while adding another caption that read, “I luh you so much🤣💀.”

Simply put, firstly, Rapinoe is left side-split after hearing this claim from O’Hara. Additionally, the former OL Lyonnes star is subtly impressed with her former teammate’s opinion on this alleged bias. Quite surprising as Megan herself used to play in the attacking position, with O’Hara rather donning in the center half of the pitch.

Little does it also suggest that Rapinoe actually agrees to O’Hara’s blunt confession against the forwards. And come to think of it, they are right after all. Often, we have seen it’s mostly the forwards who get major recognition, be it on the pitch or on it, especially during award ceremonies. Take the men’s side of the game for instance; Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo dominating Ballon d’Or awards for over a decade.

More surprisingly, in the entire history of this prestigious award, only four defenders, Franz Beckenbauer (twice), Matthias Sammer, and Fabio Cannavaro as well as only the goalkeeper, Lev Yashin, have won the Golden Ball. This makes it clear that the forwards do have an alleged advantage over the rest of the positions in soccer.

Consider the women’s game as well, where Naomi Girma, was when shockingly snubbed from the 2024 Ballon d’Or nominees. It had left the majority of the soccer community debating over the exact criteria through which the players are selected. That explains why Naomi Girma even took a subtle dig at the award stakeholders, saying, “We do a lot of work back there that goes unnoticed…”

Either way, Kelley O’Hara just couldn’t beat around the bush anymore, firing her bold take on the same, compelling even someone like Megan Rapinoe to further elaborate. Speaking of which, this is something that O’Hara has done more recently!

Kelley O’Hara almost made Megan Rapinoe come out of retirement!

On the Just Women’s Sports podcast segment Sports Are Fun, co-host Kelley O’Hara revealed her “Starting XI of Lesbians plus Alex Morgan” in a diamond 4-4-2 formation. The lineup featured legends like Brianna Scurry in goal, a backline with Meghan Klingenberg, Tierna Davidson, Ali Krieger, and O’Hara herself, and a midfield anchored by Lori Lindsey, with Christen Press, Megan Rapinoe, and Tobin Heath.

Up front, she chose Abby Wambach and the only non-lesbian on the list, Alex Morgan. The lineup quickly went viral, even catching the eye of Megan Rapinoe, who reposted it on her Instagram Stories while writing: “CONSIDER ME OUT OF RETIREMENT. 2027 AIN’T GOT SH*T ON US. ESPRESSO THIS. PUTELLAS THAT, KERR SCHMERRR, YADA YADA. GAYS IN 6.”

Heck, she ain’t alone as this star-studded team prompted fellow host Merritt Mathias to declare, “Yo, I think this team might be winning the World Cup.”

What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments.