The USWNT captain opens on Men in Blazers about her love of soccer, preparing for the 2023 World Cup, and the 2023 NWSL season.
Thorns' captain and defender Becky Sauerbrunn sat with Roger Bennett of the popular soccer pod/broadcast show Men in Blazers and opened up about a wide-ranging set of topics, all surrounding her footballing life.
Recorded with 98 days to go before the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup Australia-New Zealand, Bennett has no shortage of praise for the USWNT captain.
In late September of 2022, the Thorns announced Sauerbrunn had inked a one-year extension to remain in Portland for the 2023 season. So far, through four regular season matches, Sauerbrunn has logged 328 minutes of action with full-match stints in the first three encounters. She has become one of two club captains along with Christine Sinclair for the season. She will hone her talent with NWSL play in preparation of the biggest tournament in women's sports come July 22nd (the USWNT make their World Cup presentation against Vietnam at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand).
A rock in the backline for both club and country, the 37-year-old is preparing for her fourth FIFA Women's World Cup this summer, a feat not many have achieved. Her accolades at the senior national team level include a gold, silver, and bronze Olympic medal from the 2012, 2016, and 2021 Olympic Games respectively, and two FIFA Women's World Cups, in 2015 and 2019.
"If you told 13-year-old Becky that she would be going to four World Cups, she would've never believed it," she says. "I really want these younger players to know what it's like to win a World Cup. It really is such an amazing experience."
Becky Sauerbrunn spoke about her yearning to feel the same passion as Brandi Chastain did back at the 1999 Women's World Cup final. She also spoke about how that fueled her passion to get to where she is today. Other topics she touches on are the potential loss of up-and-coming forward Mallory Swanson for the World Cup, her growth from an introvert to soccer stalwart in St. Louis, and recounting the 2022 run to the NWSL championship and subsequent championship celebration with the Portland Thorns.
Amidst the opportunity to win back-to-back NWSL championships with Portland this year, the first challenge she will tackle is the possible three-peat with the USWNT in Australia-New Zealand.
"The fact that we have the chance to do a back-to-back-to-back, which is unheard of in soccer history, that is also a driving factor [for me]", she says.
