- Brandi Chastain
Football player infobox
playername = Brandi Chastain
fullname = Brandi Denise Chastain
nickname =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1968|07|21
cityofbirth = San Jose
countryofbirth = U.S.A.
height =
years =
clubs =
currentclub =
clubnumber =
position = Defender
youthyears =
youthclubs =
caps(goals) =
nationalyears = 1991-2004
nationalteam = United States
nationalcaps(goals) = 192 (30)
pcupdate =
ntupdaty =
MedalBottom __NOTOC__Brandi Denise Chastain (bornJuly 21 ,1968 ) is a formersoccer player, who was on the U.S. women's national soccer team from 1991 to 2004 and theSan Jose CyberRays of the WUSA (2001-2003). She is best known for her game-winning penalty kick against China in the1999 FIFA Women's World Cup final and her bra-baring celebration afterwards.Early playing career
She attended
Archbishop Mitty High School inSan Jose, California , helping take the team to three section championships. In 1986 Chastain was awarded the "Soccer America Freshmen Player Of The Year" award at theUniversity of California-Berkeley . Soon after, she underwent reconstructive surgery on both knees which caused her to miss much of the 1987 and 1988 seasons. She transferred toSanta Clara University , leading them to two Final Four NCAA appearances before she graduated in 1991.Chastain first represented her country on
April 18 ,1991 , againstMexico . She came off the bench as a forward to score five consecutive goals in a 12-0 United States win in aCONCACAF FIFA Women's World Cup . Team USA went on to win the World Cup, staged in China.After that first World Cup, she played club soccer for one season in Japan in 1993, earning team MVP honors and was the only foreigner to be selected as one of the league's top 11 players. [http://www.nadeshikoleague.jp/fan_zone/data/pdf/005.pdf]
As a defender, she made the U.S. National team again in 1996 and participated in the 1996
Atlanta Olympic Games , helping the Americans win the gold medal by playing every minute of every U.S. game, despite a third serious knee injury suffered in the semifinal against Norway [http://www.soccertimes.com/usteams/roster/women/chastain.htm soccer profile: Brandi Chastain ] ] . Of her 192 career caps, she played 89 primarily at defender during which she occasionally played midfielder.ports bra episode
On
July 10 ,1999 at the Women's World Cup at the Rose Bowl inPasadena , California, after scoring the fifthpenalty kick to give the United States the win over China in the final game, Chastain celebrated by peeling off her jersey and falling to her knees in asports bra , her fists clenched. This image was featured on the covers of TIME,Newsweek , andSports Illustrated .Chastain's take on the incident was "Momentary insanity, nothing more, nothing less. I wasn’t thinking about anything. I thought, ‘This is the greatest moment of my life on the soccer field.’" [ [http://www.usoc.org/26_1206.htm United States Olympic Committee - Chastain, Brandi ] ]
Professional career
Chastain played on the
San Jose CyberRays in theWomen's United Soccer Association from its formation in 2001 until its suspension in 2003. She played on the US women's national team until her last game onDecember 6 ,2004 .She appeared in the
HBO documentary "."She was a broadcaster with ABC/
ESPN on their coverage ofMajor League Soccer .Chastain's website and her book about women's competitive sports are titled " [http://www.itsnotaboutthebra.com/index.php It’s Not About the Bra] ".
She posed
nude except for soccer cleats and a strategically-placed soccer ball in the lad's mag "Gear"..Chastain will serve as an analyst for
NBC Sports coverage ofSoccer at the 2008 Summer Olympics . [ [http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/mediumwell/blog/2008/07/your_nbc_olympics_lineup.html Medium Well: Your NBC Olympics lineup - A blog on sports media, news and networks - baltimoresun.com ] ]Personal life
She currently lives in
Santa Clara, California , where her husband, Jerry Smith, is the women's soccer coach atSanta Clara University . The couple's first child, son Jaden Chastain Smith, was born onJune 8 ,2006 .ources
* [http://www.usolympicteam.com/26_1206.htm Brandi Chastain's U.S. Olympic Team bio]
* [http://www.itsnotaboutthebra.com/brandi/bio.htm Biography from official website]
* Brown, Janelle. [http://www.yogajournal.com/extra/1670_1.cfm "Brandi Chastain: Strong and Smart"] , "Yoga Journal ", October 2005. AccessedJuly 26 2007 .References
External links
*worldcat id|id=lccn-no2004-117761
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