Quotes from Carli Lloyd

My biggest benching was before the 2012 Olympics. It kind of came out of nowhere. I just kind of had one bad half, 45 minutes, and it pretty much cost me my starting spot.

Playing in Wembley Stadium in front of 83-some-thousand fans to win a gold medal was unreal.

The harder you work and the more prepared you are for something, you're going to be able to persevere through anything.

Work hard at everything you do. Never give up. Never quit. Many people have talents but without the hard work you won't get anywhere.

I had one girl tell me last night that I'm the greatest thing ever, that she wants to aspire to be me. Just stuff like, 'You're my idol. I love you.' It's awesome. It's what it's all about.

For so long, I've been a little misunderstood as a person. You know, I do have this strut about me. I don't know if it's the Jersey girl in me. I like to think of myself as an egg, you know? Hard on the outside but soft on the inside.

If you have a dream, it's definitely achievable through hard work, through dedication, sacrifice, everything.

In men's sports, people criticize coaches and managers all the time, call out teammates, too, and it's not that huge of a deal. Often, the guy speaking out is even lauded for having the courage to tell the truth. When it happens in women's sports, though, it always seems to be viewed as a nasty, claws-out cat fight.

I'm loyal. I'm real. I'm not afraid to say what I'm thinking.

The end goal is to become FIFA Women's Player of the Year.