Hope Solo

I couldn't have been a great goalkeeper without power, agility and quickness.

I am pushed by my critics. I don't want to say I want to prove them wrong, but it pushes me on the field to play with a chip on my shoulder, and I play best when I have a chip on my shoulder.

You're not going to be liked by everybody when you speak the truth. I don't speak the truth to put people down; I don't speak the truth to show disrespect.

I think people who don't have conflict in their lives are just trying to please people and not really living life to the fullest.

I don't just want to focus on soccer, soccer, soccer.

You can predict all you want, but everybody knows what predictions get you.

Female athletes are supposed to be toned down. You're always supposed to talk about the team and never stand out.

I am proud of who I am, and nobody's going to steal that.

In truth, 2007 was the hardest year of my life. I lost my best friend. I lost my father.

I still don't buy the idea that I'm a 'sex symbol.'

When I was younger, I was a complete tomboy. Then in college I started emerging out of the tomboy stage and dressing differently.

I travel a lot and rarely make it home to Seattle.

Growing up, I felt insecure about my build. I didn't feel very feminine. But as time went on, I learned to completely embrace my body.

One thing I've learned through all the ups and downs is that if you're doing things right, then you have a core group of people. Not just a core group like your homies or your buddies, but a group of people that has a good influence on you, who you respect and admire, and you know that if they're on your side, you're doing something right.

When I did 'Dancing With the Stars,' everyone in Hollywood was saying I had too much muscle.

On a global stage, I have respect in the goalkeeping world.

I have no personal beef with Brandi Chastain. There's nothing personal.

I have a lot of critics; we all know that.

All my life, since the time I was little, has been a long distraction. At least that is the way some people want to perceive it, but for me, it's given me a lot of strength.

My personal life is in the spotlight, but people say what they want to say. The truth isn't in the spotlight, I should say. I'm in the spotlight, but not the truth.

I don't need a captain's band to lead a team to victory.

I've had marriage proposals, invitations to military balls and even a few prom offers from 18-year-old boys.

Unfortunately, people think I'm negative and bitter all the time, and that's not the case.

Nobody really knows who I am, where I came from, what's in my heart, why I believe in the things I believe, what I see behind the scenes and they don't see.

As women professional athletes, you have to have respect for every player and individual. Beyond that, it doesn't matter what your interests are. People can have their own lives.

I think people have different definitions of team unity. My definition is doing whatever it takes to win, what makes a great team; it's performance on the field, respect on the field.

My No. 1 goal, and what I've spent my entire life striving to achieve is to win a World Cup. I want to retire so badly with that World Cup, but if I don't, then I'll retire knowing that I've done everything I could to get it.

My father showed me so much love. He showed my brother so much love. He just, he had a rough life. You know, he grew up in a boys home in the Bronx. He didn't really know his own family. So I couldn't hold it against him that he didn't know how to parent. He didn't know how to be the perfect husband. But he loved as much as he could.

I burn so many calories when I work out that I don't really count calories or necessarily try and stay away from anything.

Being responsible and taking care of your body is truly how you make your pay cheque, how you excel and succeed in your lifelong goals, so for me it's just an everyday lifestyle.

I love pedicures. And, yes, I have a ton of shoes.

It's a complicated thing, knowing how much pain my father caused in my life and the lives of others whom I love, yet still holding love for him in my heart. No matter what he did, he was my father. He helped create the person I am.

Of course Seattle loves soccer. You can see from the men's Seattle Sounders team.

I have a problem with players who don't take the loss personally. At a professional level you should - it's our job, it's our livelihood, it's who we are at this level. Every loss should be taken that personal.

No one wants to lose, period. It should hurt, it should sting, and you don't want to feel that feeling again.

With each year that's gone by, and as I grow up and get older, I've become more mature, of course, but you have a sense of who you are, and you find confidence in that.

It's clear that women athletics are pretty far behind in every way. In terms of facilities, how much we make, everything.

I need a life outside of soccer. So I very much welcome, you know, new love interests and dating and friends and family.

I think it's my personality to overcome things, learn from them and become stronger, both personally and professionally.

Every athlete acquires routines as a way to help control nerves.

I wear my dad's cross. It's very important to me. I hang it in my locker before each game.

I carry my iPod everywhere. My favorite group is the John Butler Trio, an Australian jam band. The lead singer and guitarist writes amazing lyrics.

London 2012 is all about winning a medal. Not just any medal, the gold medal.

I'm just going to embrace every experience.

I don't just want to focus on soccer, soccer, soccer. You're going to look back 20 years from now and of course you're going to remember the games. But I'm going to remember seeing my family in the stands.

In front of the world, all of a sudden I'm a great athlete and I'm put into an environment with 25 other women and I'm expected to go to team meals, team functions.

When the Olympics and World Cups come around, that's when you see the real outpouring of support that there really is for female football.

I never felt the same passion for the game in the States and there were a lot of headaches, a lot of obstacles to overcome - it didn't just run itself for the love of the game because soccer is not the No. 1 sport as it is in Europe.

I played in Europe and it was a great experience, not just because of my team-mates and the coaches we had, but from the fans and the city itself - I played in Gothenburg and I played in Lyon and soccer was everywhere.

I think the concept of seeking fame and fortune in women's football in the States is a bit idyllic. Look at all the teams in America that have folded, and the leagues.