VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Becky Sauerbrunn finds herself in a classic Catch-22.
The consistent play of the U.S. center back during the Women's World Cup deserves to be noticed. The Americans are in Sunday's final against Japan, have given up only one goal in the tournament and Sauerbrunn has been nearly mistake-free. Yet such is the plight of defenders that oftentimes the best thing you can say about their performance is you forgot they were there, despite shutting out the opposition.
Thursday witnessed a twist in Sauerbrunn's struggle for attention. FIFA's nominees for the Golden Ball, awarded to the best player in the tournament, were announced, and the eight-player list included three defenders: right backs Lucy Bronze of England and Saori Ariyoshi of Japan, as well as U.S. center back Julie Johnston. Sauerbrunn, who plays in the NWSL for FC Kansas City, was nowhere to be found.
To be clear, such awards have built-in limitations. There is a desire to spread the nominees among different teams, and if there was an unofficial country quota for the Golden Ball, the United States probably reached it. Along with Johnston, U.S. midfielders Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe also were listed. The majority of the players nominated for such awards tend to be attacking players as well. The fact that FIFA saw fit to nominate three defenders was certainly more than was expected.
But without question, Sauerbrunn should have been nominated. When the topic was brought up to her Friday, Sauerbrunn was philosophical but revealed an awareness of the snub.
"I thought, 'Okay. I'm not in control of that, which is fine,' " she said. "I was just happy that three players of the eight were American so we're well represented, and all three of them absolutely deserve to be on there. Would it have been an honor to be on that list? Absolutely, but I can't control it."
When it comes to what Sauerbrunn can control, she has been brilliant. There have been several occasions during the Women's World Cup in which the U.S. defender has had to engage what she calls her "oh crap" speed, but those moments have been rare. More frequent have been incidents where she has anticipated well, intercepted a pass and then dished it off to one of her more offensively gifted teammates.
"The way Sauerbrunn plays, she's reading two, three passes ahead," espnW analyst Julie Foudy said. "She's not having to come in and make the big tackle. It's just simple, she simplifies everything. She never has to leave her feet half the time because she's breaking plays down before she needs to."
Sauerbrunn's 32 clearances rank eighth in the tournament, and she's tied for sixth in interceptions with 22, all while having to make only seven tackles. But U.S. assistant Steve Swanson, who coached Sauerbrunn during her collegiate days at the University of Virginia, notes that those numbers don't do justice to the defender's contributions.
"I've always thought she was a special player," he said. "I think some of her qualities as a defender, they're so sophisticated. There aren't stats for being in the right position all the time, the timing of your tackles or the ability to get out of pressure and solve pressure when you're the last line."
That reliance on positioning and reading the game was something that was drilled into Sauerbrunn growing up in the St. Louis area, and later during her collegiate and youth international career. It was all an outgrowth of her physical limitations.
"I know that I'm not the fastest, or the strongest, or the best in the air," she said. "So from a very early age I had to be positionally sound or I was going to get beat. So you just kind of learn as you go and luckily I've had amazing coaches like [former U-19 U.S. soccer coach] Mark Krikorian and Swanson, who really emphasized positioning on defense. I've watched so many clips; so the more you do it, the better you get at it."
There seems to be more to Sauerbrunn's lack of notoriety than just style. On the field, she projects an unassuming air mixed with a quiet confidence. That's not to say she won't communicate with her teammates. U.S. manager Jill Ellis spoke of how Sauerbrunn is the clear leader of the back line, and a mentor to the younger players. But you won't see Sauerbrunn leading huddles or pounding her chest, either.
Her long journey to U.S. national team mainstay is also a factor, and she really hasn't been a consistent presence in the lineup for that long. Sauerbrunn earned two caps under former manager Pia Sundhage in 2008, but recalled how, "I wasn't a complete player in her eyes." The now defunct Women's Professional Soccer helped keep her international dream alive.
"Without WPS, without training against Abby Wambach and all those great players in WPS," she said, "I absolutely would never have made it back to the national team, because there's no platform to show that I could compete with those players."
Even when Sauerbrunn stuck with the U.S. side in 2011, it was made clear to her that she was there to back up starters Christie Rampone and Rachel van Hollebeke (formerly Buehler). Not even an impressive stint replacing van Hollebeke in the 2011 Women's World Cup semifinal against France was enough to alter the pecking order.
Some substitute appearances planted a seed in Ellis' mind. Ellis recalled how Sauerbrunn came on for an injured van Hollebeke in the 2012 Olympic final against Japan with the United States leading 2-1 and the Nadeshiko pressing for an equalizer. With Sauerbrunn's help, the U.S. women hung on to claim the gold medal.
"Here's a player that had to step in under the most unbelievably pressure-packed moment, and the poise there, it resonated with me," Ellis said at Friday's news conference. "It was like. 'Wow, she's got some grit and some resolve.' Just [Sauerbrunn's] confidence to step into that moment, for me it was a big indicator of what she had inside of her."
Sauerbrunn's fortunes began to change for the better when Tom Sermanni succeeded Sundhage, and the defender started getting more opportunities for playing time. That trend continued when Ellis replaced Sermanni in 2014.
Now Sauerbrunn finds herself at the center of a defense that hasn't conceded a goal in 513 minutes. The Americans could even break Germany's Women's World Cup record of 540 scoreless minutes on Sunday.
No doubt, Sauerbrunn will trade records and awards for a victory Sunday. That will lead to the biggest accolade of all: world champion.