Abby Wambach: The all-time leading goal scorer in international football

184 goals in 252 appearances means Abby has scored more goals than any international footballer (male and female)

Irony, one life’s mainstays, forms the pillars that support this article in two major ways. The first way being the prevalent and highly distasteful belief that football is just a man’s game and is off limits for women, and the second being the widespread belief that football, to the Americans, is a game of 22 men knocking each other about over a piece of pigskin.

“Irony is the form of paradox. Paradox is what is good and great at the same time.” – Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel

Some women have shattered the first belief; this one defied it in more ways than one.

She’s an incredibly talented footballer, a World Cup winner, an Olympic gold medallist, the all-time top scorer for the USA women’s national football team as well as the world record holder for the most international goals scored among both male and female players with a breathtaking tally of 184 goals in 252 career appearances.

This extraordinary world beating legend goes by the name of Mary Abigail ‘Abby’ Wambach.

Thanks to her, female footballers will no longer have to turn to ‘Bend It Like Beckham’ to believe that even they can kick a football with equal proficiency as their male peers. The LGBT community can also take pride that one of its members is a true football great.

Early rise

Wambach’s love affair with the beautiful game began at the tender age of four, taking up after he sister who decided to give the game a try. Abby, the youngest of seven siblings, soon picked up the rules of the game after her mother brought a detailed book from the library which accurately explained how the game was played.

As her talents grew from strength to strength, she was unsurprisingly selected on her school’s football team, where she went on to score 142 goals including 34 in 1997 alone. Wambach even played alongside her male peers after impressive performances for the girl’s team.

The New York native credits her toughness to the exercises practiced with her elder brothers which included firing hockey pucks at her in order to increase her endurance and speed. Her coach recalls her practicing diving headers in her free time, which is now her distinctive trademark.

The awards also came flooding in, some of which include the Umbro National High School Player of the Year, the NCAA State of New York Player of the Year as well as being recognized by USA Today as one of America’s top 10 recruits.

College Glory

Wambach’s incredible talent caused her to be the focal point of interest for many colleges. She eventually opted for a scholarship at the University of Florida, where she earned a place on their team – the Florida Gators.

With Abby spearheading the attack, the Gators won their first NCAA national championship as well as four consecutive SEC championships.

Wambach’s impressive form meant that she would earn plenty of individual awards at the college level too.

She was named the SEC Freshman of the Year and a freshman All-American in 1998 and was also a first-team All-SEC selection for four consecutive seasons from 1998 to 2001. Her other honours include two SEC Player of the Year awards and two SEC Tournament Most Valuable Player awards which she won in 2000 and 2001, amongst many others.

Wambach also set numerous records including career records for goals (96), assists (50), points (242), game-winning goals (24), and hat tricks (10).

Over ten years later, she remains the Florida Gators' all-time leading scorer with 96 goals. Her incredible contribution to the University of Florida earned her an induction into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012.

Her Finest Hour(s)

Abby Wambach won the elusive FIFA Women’s World Cup before her retirement from the game in 2015

With all her incredible achievements, a national call up, which is every athlete’s dream, wasn’t far behind and Abby soon played her first game for the USA Women’s National Team on September 9th, 2001 against Germany. Her first goal for the national side came a few months later on April 27th, 2002 against Finland.

It was no looking back for Abby after that, as she became an integral part of the USA side that would go on to compete in seven major tournaments including four World Cups. She was a part of the squad that won the 2015 edition of the tournament, with her only goal coming in a 1-0 win over Nigeria in the group stages.

When an individual scores 184 goals, it’s literally a herculean task to keep track of the best ones. Here are some highlights:

• In 2006, she scored 66 goals in 84 international matches - a huge contribution to her incredible tally.
• In the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Abby scored six goals in as many matches despite having two niggling injuries.
• She became the fastest female American to score 100 goals in international football when she scored in a friendly match against Canada on July 19th, 2009 in her hometown of Rochester.
• She scored four goals in six matches as the USA reached the final of the 2011 Women’s World Cup, although she and her team had to be content with a silver medal. She was awarded the Bronze Boot and the World Cup silver ball for her performances in the tournament.
• In the 2012 Olympics, she scored in every match except the final, finishing with a total tally of five. Her heroics during the Games earned her the 2012 FIFA World Player of the Year award.
• Her header in the dying seconds of extra-time in the 2011 World Cup quarter-final against Germany was voted as the greatest goal in Women’s World Cup history.

The End of an Era

However, all good things, unfortunately, come to an end and that’s what the USA Women’s Football team are going to realize soon enough after Wambach recently decided to draw the curtains on her iconic career at 35. That doesn’t mean her presence won’t be felt though, with the New Yorker having carved a permanent niche for herself in not just American football, but the game as a whole.

There are countless American athletes like Michael Phelps, Mike Tyson, Michael Jordan, Jesse Owens, Babe Ruth, Kobe Bryant, among others who youngsters have looked up to for inspiration for generations.

Abby Wambach will rightfully command a place amongst all these legends very soon as she succeeded in not just being an inspiration to a generation, but also shattering one of football’s biggest stereotypes with her incredible exploits.