Chastain, Brandi (Soccer Player/Broadcaster)


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Brandi Chastain (born July 21, 1968) is a former soccer player and current broadcaster with ABC/ESPN on their coverage of Major League Soccer who was with the United States women’s national soccer team from 1991 to 2004. She also played for the San Jose Cyber rays
She attended Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, California, helping take the team to three state championships.
Chastain enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley in 1986, where she was awarded the Soccer America Freshmen Player Of The Year award. Soon after this she underwent reconstructive surgery on both her knees which caused her to miss much of the 1987 and 1988 seasons. In 1989, she transferred to Santa Clara University, leading their soccer team to two final four NCAA appearances before graduating in 1990.
Chastain first represented her country on April 18, 1991 against Mexico. She came off the bench to score five consecutive goals in a 12-0 United States win, in what was a qualifying game for the first FIFA Women’s World Cup. Team USA went on to win the World Cup, staged in China, in the same year. Chastain next participated with the national team in the 1993 CONCACAF championships of New York, another tournament which the Americans won. Later in 1993 she joined the West Team, which won the gold medal at the Texas Olympic Festival.
Her first era as a member of the national team came to an end on August 8, 1993, but she made the team once again in 1996 and participated in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, helping the Americans win the gold medal.
Chastain became a household name in 1999, when, after helping the United States beat China in the final game of that year’s Women’s World Cup, she celebrated by taking off her jersey and kneeling down in the middle of the field with only her sports bra and her shorts on. This action was seen by many as a demonstration of female power by Chastain. She was signed to a million dollar contract by Nike afterwards, and other companies, such as Playboy Magazine, sought her presence on their products.
Chastain played on the US women’s national team until her last game on December 6, 2004. The team’s coach, Greg Ryan, recently revealed she was no longer in the team’s plans. She participated in the Women’s United Soccer Association from its formation in 2001 until its suspension in 2003.

Source: Wikipedia

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1 comment

  • this page is uber cool.. brandi chastain is amazing and a really good soccer player.. she is my role model.. i love and have her book “its not about the bra” i think it teaches such a good lesson on how sports need to be brought back to the “good old days” with sportsmanship. right about now i am doing a reasersh paper on her.. im olivia porter, i go to hughesville high school in P.A .. im in 10th grade and i play varsity soccer.. Im an out side mid or flank on the left side and one day i want to make a powerfull statement just like brandi