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Queen Nay. La Capi Junior. GirmaGod. Naolo Girdini. Homegrown Player 1. La Cuatro, pocketing world-class strikers with the brightest smile in San Diego since El Mister himself.
San Diego Wavé announced a contract extension with Naomi Girma that will see her at the Snap through the 2026 season.
It was a nice touch to get this done on her birthday, but more importantly eliminates a looming issue that could have disrupted the season, and yeah maybe even the trajectory of the franchise.
Girma’s importance cannot be overstated. She’s a calming force in a sensitive and high-pressure position where mistakes are glaring and consistent play goes unnoticed. In her first year, at the age of 22, she captained her club and solidified herself as an everyday starter on an international footie powerhouse. And she’s the only Wave player who could probably be a superstar at any position.
“There’s very few players in my whole tenure that have stepped in and it’s just like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s a first person on the team sheet’ type of player every single time.”
Rapinoe? More like RapiKnows ball…
Let’s reflect on the importance of getting an extension done in season, on the final year of her contract.
(Ave Maria protect every ligament, bone, muscle in her body please)
Girma will be CB1 for the World Cup favorite this summer. Not only will American casuals (not derogatory) learn the name, so will the world. She’s the popular local band opening for a big act on a world tour. By the end of the tournament, Girma could be seen as the best defender on the planet. European teams would have turned Wave’s front office into a call center.
And they wouldn’t be the only ones calling. Earlier this year, NWSL announced Bay FC as part of their expansion for the 2024 season. Girma is from San Jose and went to school at Stanford. You can bet they would have moved mountains to bring her home.
But the extension got done! The team avoids the speculation circus from Europe in September and October, when Stoney and Co. are in the final stretch of the season, and eliminates a bidding war against Bay FC that SDWFC wouldn’t have won.
Sidebar: I don’t know how NWSL financials work, I just assume the spending rules are flexible for the betterment of the league (looking at glam and glitz Angel City FC signing any name available. HOW?!) so bidding against Bay FC was probably going to be an auto L.
Girma the human matches or maybe surpasses the player’s on-field excellence. I’m going to link a bunch of stuff at the end if you want first-hand reporting that dives deeper into who she is.
I’m hoping she stays longer than her contract extension. A championship with Wavé would easily put her on the Mount Cowels of athletes to begin their careers in San Diego.
Naomi Girma profiles:
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/jul/14/naomi-girma-uswnt-center-back-world-cup-soccer-2023
https://justwomenssports.com/reads/naomi-girma-uswnt-womens-world-cup-stanford-nwsl/
https://defector.com/what-is-this-uswnt-players-deal-naomi-girma
