Hamm Deserved POY Award

By Heather Mitts
Special to ESPN.com

The future of women's international soccer was on display last month in Zurich, Switzerland, where Birgit Prinz of Germany beat out Brazilian phenom Marta and United States veteran Mia Hamm to claim her second straight FIFA Player of the Year award. It's hard to quibble with the decision, but in this instance, Hamm may actually have been more deserving.

Prinz represents a unique challenge to defenders due to her size and power. She's a tough matchup since she also combines her strength with sound technical skills and deceptive speed. Furthermore, Prinz was definitely helped this year by some incredible displays in the early games of the Olympics.

Even so, I thought my U.S. teammate Mia Hamm deserved to go out on top to cap her final season of international play. Mia didn't find the back of the net as many times as she would have liked this season. However this was largely due to double-teaming and her unselfish play. Mia's not just a one-dimensional goalscorer, she's an equally adept playmaker. Since she's always so heavily marked, she creates room for her teammates to get open and provides them with opportunities to finish.

Prinz and Hamm both scored 14 goals last year but did so in vastly contrasting styles. Prinz uses her speed and power to her advantage. Mia's not quite as fast, but has various signature moves that can leave a defender in the dust. Both played well enough individually to win the award, but I would have chosen Mia after all she did in leading the U.S. to the gold medal in Athens.

It was also interesting that Prinz praised Mia profusely after winning the award - calling her the best women's player in the game and a great ambassador for women's football - yet did not vote for Mia on her ballot.

The third finalist, Brazilian youngster Marta, would not have deserved to beat out either Prinz or Hamm this year. Having said that, she definitely belongs in any conversation when talking about the top players in the world, and is a potential POY in the future.

Marta still has some maturing to do, but her technical skills are superb. She has the ability to be the difference-maker in any game she plays in. She's tough for defenders to mark because she's so active and constantly wants the ball, and like Mia is equally comfortable as a playmaker or goalscorer. If she maintains her focus she has all the necessary skills to potentially become an even better player than Brazilian women's legend Sissi.

Hermann Trophy

University of Portland forward Christine Sinclair is taking home a trophy of her own, the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy, awarded each year to the top player in women's college soccer.

I was among those who thought North Carolina's Heather O'Reilly was a shoo-in of sorts to win the award, but that may be because I saw firsthand her outstanding play with the U.S. national team at the Olympics last summer.

Conversely, that chance to show her skills on the international level may have hurt Heather where the college season is concerned. Consider that she trained very intensely from January through the Olympics then dove right into the college season. That makes for a long year both mentally and physically, and Heather may have been a little fatigued.

Although Sinclair and her teammates on the Canadian national team did not qualify for the Olympics, that doesn't mean she's not deserving of the trophy. Sinclair helped a good Portland program take things to the next level during the last three years, She was the key to the school's first NCAA championship in 2002, and getting them back to the quarterfinals this season with 22 goals that included 10 game-winners.

Sinclair's a force to be reckoned with and has had a similar impact on the Canadian team, where national team observers feel that she has a chance to be the one of the best players Canada has ever produced. Since both will be back in college again next season, I would think the Hermann Trophy will come down to these two again.

U.S. men's labor dispute

The U.S. women's national team avoided a strike back in 1999, and we can all be grateful the U.S. men have resolved a dispute that prompted the United States Soccer Federation to consider sending replacement players into the upcoming opening rounds of World Cup qualifying.

The success of the men's team in the 2002 World Cup helped soccer make huge strides in the United States. It convinced some of the top American men to come home and play Major League Soccer, and it would have been a shame to see that progress wasted.

Had the strike been prolonged and protracted, the U.S. players may have gone overseas and stayed there without the lure of international games to bring them back. This combined with the possible failure of replacement players to qualify for the World Cup would have struck a huge blow to the game and the foothold it has gained in the United States.

As a fellow national team player, I can tell you the U.S. women's team was behind the men but we're glad to see this come to at least a temporary agreement.

Heather Mitts covers women's soccer for ESPN Soccernet.com and is also a member of the U.S. women's national team and former WUSA All-Star.