Greg Ryan Continues to Pay the Price for His Misdeeds

Everyone wants to turn back the clock, and wish that things were different. When a person looks back at what he or she had done to get here, he or she wistfully wonders this pondering thought: "If I had not made this decision or that decision, I would be in a much better position than I am right now."

Michigan Wolverines women's soccer coach Greg Ryan, is the epitome of a tragic hero. He is an embattled manager of many years, a pitiful person who, indeed, could have done things much differently when at the pinnacle of his career during 2004-2007 as head coach.

To his credit, he helped lead the Women's National Team to victories in the 2004 Athens Games, as well as a victory in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, a victory in the 2006 Peace Queen Cup, as well as victories in the Algarve Cup and Four Nations Tournament.

He would still be managing the Women's National team had he not disrupted the chemistry that made it, and still makes it, one of the most intimidating national sides in the world. There were a number of ill-advised decisions whose lasting impact Greg Ryan can never escape.

And those choices came against a Brazilian side that would get their comeuppance a year later under current manager Pia Sundhage in Beijing.

First, Ryan benched Hope Solo, the starting goalkeeper for the USA throughout their successful campaign to that point, which included a comprehensive 3-0 shutout of England. Solo's complaints fell on deaf ears, and she was dismissed from the team for her dissent.

Second, Ryan chose to start Brianna Scurry, who showed flashes of brilliance nearly a decade ago, but would be ineffective against Marta, Cristiane, and Brazil.

Scurry was clearly past her prime during the 2007 Women's World Cup, and one may even wonder why she was still on the team at a time where a majority of her teammates moved on. The decision that not even the most ape-like of managers would consider still scratches scalps and shakes heads from side to side.

Finally, a number of defensive-minded substitutions disrupted the already compromised chemistry. Already the team was at a disadvantage with Solo benched, and later dismissed. But Ryan's tinkering made the match a mere formality for Brazil.

The USA rebounded with a 4-1 win over Norway, but the damage had already been done. The backlash from these three choices was the last straw for US Soccer Federation boss Sunil Gulati. On October 22, 2007, the bottom fell out with Ryan being sacked.

He was replaced with Pia Sundhage, and the USA women regained their form with a gold medal performance against Brazil in Beijing. As for Ryan, he was consigned to a managerial post in one of the doormats of Big Ten women's soccer...Michigan. The 2008 team finished with a laughable 4-10-5 record, 1-6-2 in Big Ten play.

And to think that Ryan himself would not have had to suffer through this type of season had he not committed those managerial misdeeds on that rainy, gloomy night in Hangzhou more than a year ago .

As the Wolverines' season ended on Halloween with a 1-1 draw against rivals Michigan State, even he will admit that he continues to pay the price for his fall from grace.

Many will agree that it didn't need to be this way at all for him. But it's that cold reality of unfulfilled ambitions at the pinnacle of his career that will continue to haunt him for the rest of his life.