There’s a reason why training sessions are crucial for players. Beyond preparing for all kinds of on-pitch challenges and establishing chemistry within the team, it helps to build a strong sense of camaraderie. But something completely south of it transpired with Emily Sonnett during a typical training session that forced her to make amends with Alex Morgan.
“The Tale of the Handball,” as many address it, was reminisced by Sonnett during a recent chat with Sam Mewis-hosted ‘The Women’s Game’ podcast. It all began when a few of the WNT stars were playing a small-sided match. While Sonnett took the center-back spot, Morgan took the No. 9 role. As goalie Alyssa Naeher threw a long ball to Alex, it bounced behind the forward, which somehow led Emily to shout ‘Handball.’
“People tell the story it’s like I’m ripping my shirt off, screaming handball—you would think that I was face red, steam out of my ears,” Sonnett admitted, with Morgan stating her it wasn’t a handball. In the meantime, as the play stopped, instead of giving back the ball, Emily kicked it far, only because Alyssa already had another ball in her hand.
As the training ended, while Sonnett thought it wasn’t a big issue to call it a handball, little did she know it would turn out to be a big blunder. “I had random people saying, ‘Oh my God, you called a handball in training?’” said the Gotham FC star.
“Later that day, we went to the beach. People were bringing it up, saying, ‘You should apologize.’ I go, ‘To who?’ They were like, ‘No, you need to go apologize to Alex,’ and I said, ‘I’m so uncomfortable. Do I actually need to?’” recalled Emily, adding that even Sam Mewis had asked her to make amends during the team’s breakfast.
While this seemed Sonnett was trying to stand her ground, that apparently wasn’t the case as she insisted on hearing Morgan’s take as well during the podcast. Then again, the question looms: did she actually apologize for what happened?
Here’s how Emilly Sonnett patched things up with Alex Morgan
Having made the 2016 Olympics roster as an alternate, the American ladies had failed to reach the final. But as the team came back and were having drinks later at a bar, something saw Sonnett finally bury the hatchet. “I stood up on the table and I go, ‘I have something to say.’” Shedding light on what compelled her to extend the olive branch to Morgan, she added, “Unfortunately, I didn’t know this handball thing was holding over me. I would have apologized a lot sooner.”
Interestingly, even Sam Mewis reminded Emily that everyone in the dressing room cheered for the two as they hugged each other to say ‘Water under the bridge.’ Turning over a new leaf didn’t just signify that the rift between Sonnett and Morgan had been resolved; it also marked the beginning of a new era, as they went on to win the World Cup later in 2019. Tell us a better cinema than this!
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