The past few hours have kept Alex Morgan quite busy, emotionally, to be precise. Already being caught up in a domestic drama after San Diego Wave sacked her manager Casey Stoney, the forward was again met with bad news, this time on the international front. Morgan was left out of Emma Hayes’ Paris Olympic roster. While she looks to swallow the hard pill, her new Waves coach Paul Buckle is taking her out of the dumps by commending her as a ‘top professional.’
Ahead of the San Diego Wave’s clash against the Chicago Red Stars on Saturday night, the interim boss was asked to address his star player’s national team snub in the pre-match presser. Interestingly, while commenting on Hayes’ 22-women roster, Buckle replied, “Big highs and then obviously, some disappointment.” He then had some uplifting words for the 34-year-old: “Regarding Alex, she’s a top professional. What I can say is that you wouldn’t know that she’s had some disappointing news, but because she’s trained brilliantly. That just shows what a top professional that she is.”
Notably, while Morgan failed to make the cut, her fellow teammates, defender Naomi Girma and forward Jaedyn Shaw, were called up by the iconic Chelsea manager for the summer games. Buckle wished both of them well for their trip to Paris and claimed it was a proud moment for the club and its supporters to see their two stars represent the nation on such a prestigious stage.
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.@sandiegowavefc Interim Head Coach Paul Buckle on his words of encouragement to Naomi Girma and Jaedyn Shaw who made the @USWNT olympic roster and Alex Morgan who did not.
Q: @elchiva97 pic.twitter.com/gZ28GHGE0I
— SanDiego.Futbol (@SanDiego_Futbol) June 26, 2024
Certainly, these words will hopefully uplift Morgan. While the 2x World Champion has come to terms with her snubbing from the national team, the question remains as to why Emma Hayes decided not to take Morgan to France.
Here’s why Emma Hayes didn’t choose Alex Morgan for the Olympics!
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Many may slam Emmay Hayes for her decision to snub the USWNT veteran. However, even the English boss herself was at a crossroads and took the call with a heavy heart. “It was a tough decision of course – especially considering Alex’s history and record with this team, but I felt I wanted to go in another direction and selected other players,” she explained, suggesting a focus on next-gen talents to lead the team ahead.
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Of course, Hayes’ tough call left Morgan ‘disappointed‘ as she addressed her snub from the team on X. While expressing her sadness of being left out of the tournament that was close to her heart, she decided to make peace with Hayes’ conclusion. “I look forward to supporting this team and cheering them on alongside the rest of our country. LFG,” she wrote. The only thing left for Morgan is now to focus on helping San Diego Waves.