This week we review former U.S. international forward Abby Wambach's new book, Forward, and look at the last eight in the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League competition, including interviews with two North Americans who turned their backs on NWSL to pursue a professional career in Kazakhstan.

Abby Wambach's memoir

Abby Wambach's new memoir Forward has come to market a little over a year since the U.S. women's national team won the World Cup in Canada—her long stated goal after three previous attempts fell short after third place finishes in 2003 and 2007 and a runner's up medal in 2011—even though in 2015 she was no longer the prolific scoring leader of the front line as in so many years past, but was still an emotional leader for the squad. The book releases nine months after she retired from the game at the international and club level and six months since her well-publicized Drinks Driving Offense in Portland, Oregon.

Wambach provides an honest look at her struggles with accepting her gender identity—including how she opened up to others about being gay—self-worth struggles, marital problems and addiction to perception drugs and alcohol. The first chapter begins with her marriage in freefall, compelling the reader through the following chapters on her life story, anxious to find out what she went through and how it was resolved. Wambach's writing resembles how she was as a player, direct and blunt at times, but still engaging to the reader.

The all-time leading scorer in international soccer with 158 goals—the most by a male or female—Wambach has a deep love for and a long background with the game; the World Cup veteran provides some interesting perspectives on the sport. Her discussion on the difference in salaries between men and women on the U.S. national teams is fascinating as is her statement that: “When the U.S. men win, they get the coverage, but when the U.S. women lose, we get the coverage."

The soccer relevant material at times does not have the level of analysis that a soccer-savvy reader would like or expect. Wambach had some reflections on the three U.S. pro leagues but more analysis would be illuminating, particularly since she played in all three leagues. One glaring omission was that there was no discussion of her role in ostracizing teammate Hope Solo and to a lesser extent Carli Lloyd after the 2007 World Cup semifinal loss to Brazil 4-0, when Solo told the media after the game that then head coach Greg Ryan should have continued to use her in goal rather than bringing on 1999 World Cup hero Brianna Scurry to play that match. Ryan banished Solo and Lloyd faced some pressure as well because she continued to sit with and talk to her friend (as described in her own recent bibliography that this column reviewed recently) but the senior players—with Wambach hugely influential—were instrumental in his decision.

There was information on the Women's Professional Soccer side magicJack—the 2011 team that was purchase by telecoms service executive Dan Borislow—who moved the Washington Freedom side to Boca Raton, Florida and simply named them after his company. Wambach is hugely appreciative and complementary of the now deceased Borislow; which runs contrary to many other's impression of the brass and outspoken team owner. He tried to create a super team with Wambach, Hope Solo, Christie Rampone and other national team stars. He paid them above league averages and Wambach became a spokesperson on television advertising spots for magicJack as well as player-coach from mid-season on. Borislow treated many of the players as chattel however, putting curfews on them, fining them for spurious offenses and asking them about their sexual behaviors. One player commented, after being traded away from magicJack, that leaving the club was like: “leaving North Korea." Borsilow was blamed for ruining WPS with contentious lawsuits, both as plaintiff and defendant. Many viewed Borislow as misogynistic and egotistical. This reporter had a lengthy conversation with a WPS executive before the 2011 Championship final in Rochester in which they detailed his level of harassment and degrading treatment of magicJack players, who had complained to their union and the league. Curiously, Wambach does not discuss these issues and thus the message is clear that he treated her fine; apparently the other issues that people had with him are not important.

Towards the end of the book, Wambach spends five pages discussing her pregame ritual of getting ready in the locker room and in warm-ups. This material is completely out of place and frankly uninteresting, particularly since she has retired from the game at both the club and international level.

Wambach wants to continue developing her role as a champion of equal rights. There were reports that she might have had a formal government role if Hillary Clinton was elected president. She also wants to be a soccer analyst on television broadcasts, but this seems more unlikely after a less than stellar role on the UEFA men's championships this past summer. She says that she does not prepare her speeches and just talks from her heart. Advanced preparation of her message could definitely help her in the future, to hone and focus her message and reduce the amount of tangential points in her public addresses.

Abby Wambach is in the pantheon of women's international players of all-time, including having been named as FIFA's player of the year in 2014. Her memoir is certainly an engaging read about her personal struggles as well as her soccer path. It is a solid contribution to the growing selection of books on the women's game.

- Abby Wambach, Forward; A Memoir. New York, Harper-Collins, 2016 -

Champions League Last Eight Resume in March

Debutants Manchester City continued their march in the Champions League, winning their Round of 16 tie earlier this month over Brondby of Denmark 2-1 on aggregate, with a 1-0 home win and a 1-1 tie in the road return leg, with English international forward and 2015 World Cup Bronze Medalist Toni Duggan scoring the crucial aggregate winner in the 65th minute to seal their quarterfinal spot. Swedish international striker Kosovare Asllani, a new signing this season, was a 2014/2015 Champions League runner-up with Paris St. Germain. City is the lone UK representative for the quarterfinal stage. Denmark (Fortuna), Spain (Barcelona) and Sweden (Rosengard) also have single representatives while France (Lyon and Paris St. Germain) and Germany (Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg) each have two.

UEFA drew the matchups for the March legs on Friday November 25 and City will play Fortuna Hjorring, Rosengard drew Barcelona and the other two quarterfinal match-ups are German-French encounters as Wolfsburg plays Lyon—in a rematch of last year's CL Final that the French side won on penalties—while Bayern Munich faces PSG.

Fortuna Hjorring had two second half goals by Danish international forward Camilla Kur Larsen (who played three games for the Western New York Flash in 2015 in NWSL as well as a few matches with Verona in Italy that season) to win 3-1 at home over Brescia and take the tie 4-1. They are in their first quarterfinal since 2002/03 when they finished runners-up to Umea of Sweden (with Brazil's Marta at the time) falling 7-1 in the final game.

Bayern (like City) are in the quarterfinals for the first time, but the German champions are participating in their third tournament. Dutch international scoring sensation Vivianne Miedema (20-years old) has 7 goals and American Gina Lewandowski (who has won one full-international cap and played briefly with the Western New York Flash in 2011 in WPS but has spent years with both Frankfurt and Bayern Munich) has 2 goals. U.S. U-23 international defender Claire Falknor is also on the roster. Scottish international forward Lisa Evans is in her second season in Bavaria, after three seasons with Potsdam after time with Glasgow City.

Barcelona could surprise in the next round and even make the final with a favorable draw.

This is their third appearance in the quarterfinals in the last four seasons and Spanish international forward Jennifer Hermoso—who played with now defunct Tyreso in Sweden for one season--leads the team with 4 CL goals.

Defending champions Lyon hope to win their fourth crown and tie Frankfurt for the CL record. Their compatriots Paris Saint-Germain are led by head coach Patrice Lair who took Lyon to the title in 2011 and 2012 and was appointed head coach by PSG in May of this year.

Rosengard made the finals in 2004 (as Malmo) and is led by Cameroon international Gaelle Enganamouit's 3 goals in the competition. Brazilian soccer superstar Marta is a fixture on the side as is English international defender Anita Asante, Dutch international attacking midfielder Lieke Martins and defender Ali Riley (who also played for Western New York Flash in their WPS title winning season in 2011 but has since played in Sweden and is a lynchpin for New Zealand's national team).

Wolfsburg won the title in 2012/13 and 2013/14 and their long time Hungarian international forward Zsanett Jakabfi has 8 goals in the CL this season to lead all scorers among the quarterfinalists. She scored a hat trick away to Chelsea in the round of 32 and scored 4 away to Eskilstuna United in the round of 16. Germany international Anja Mittag, who played for three and one-half years for Rosengard/Malmo in Sweden where she won two league crowns before playing last season for PSG, is a recent addition and a powerful asset in Wolfsburg's attempt to win their third title in 5 years. Swiss international midfielder Lara Dickenmann (ex-Lyon) played in the States at Ohio State University before winning the UEFA title with Lyon.

UEFA Champions League 2016/17 Round of 16 results:

Manchester City 2-1 over Brondby (Denmark)

Paris St. Germain (France) 7-1 over BIIK-Kazygurt (Kazakhstan)

Bayern Munich (Germany) 8-0 over Rossiyanka (Russia)

Wolfsburg (Germany) 8-1 over Eskilstuna United (Sweden)

Lyon (France) 17-0 over FC Zurich (Switzerland)

Rosengard Sweden) 6-1 over Slavia Prague (Czech Republic)

Barcelona (Spain) 5-0 over Twente (the Netherlands)

Fortuna Hjorring (the Netherlands) 4-1 over Brescia (Italy)

Americans Players Head to Kazakhstan to Gain Professional Experience

For North American-based professional players and those close to graduating from college who are considering a move abroad, Jordan Roseboro (ex-University of Miami) and Chinyelu Asher (ex-University of Louisville and a Jamaican international) present a different model for a path to pursuing a career in professional soccer—heading off to Eastern Europe. Roseboro and Asher's club, BIIK-Kazygurt, qualified for the UEFA Champions League Round of 32 for the third straight season and advanced to the round of 16 this season (the first time ever for a team from Kazakhstan) under Bulgarian Coach Kaloyan Petkov. Petkov also doubles as the Kazakhstan national team coach. Petkov was an assistant coach in the U.S. at FC Indiana in WPSL and the W-League and utilizes his contacts that he established there to scout and find talented North Americans for his side.

BIIK has become a destination for imports from around the world, not just Americans. This year, besides Asher and Roseboro, Petkov utilized a wide variety of foreign talent: defenders Kristina Mashkova of Russia and Darya Kravets of Ukraine (both played at FC Zorky Krasnogorsk in Russia), midfielder Annette Jacky Messomo of Cameroon (but who has played internationally for Equatorial Guinea and club ball in Germany, Czech Republic and Serbia) and two Nigerian youth internationals at forward: Chinwendu Ihezuo (who played in the 2014 U-20 WWC in Canada) and Charity Adule (who played in the U-20 WWC in Germany in 2010 and Japan in 2012). Other capped imports on the forward line include Gulnara Gabelia of Georgia and Alina Litvinenko of Kyrgyzstan, who at age 13 was the youngest player ever to score an international goal for her country against Palestine in a 2010 Asian Cup qualifier.

Petkov explained in a recent interview that his extensive use of imports—he started nine in the first Qualifying Round match against Gintra Universitetas of Lithuania (who made the Champions League Round of 16 for the first time in 2014-15) and only two from Kazakhstan—helps to improve the level of play among the native Kazakh players. Petkov said that the gulf between soccer in Kazakhstan and that of Western Europe is still substantial.

Jordan Roseboro played at the University of Miami in Florida, choosing the school over Connecticut, Virginia, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Maryland, Purdue, Ohio State, Santa Clara, Illinois, Boston University and Georgetown. She then was on the roster of the Western New York Flash in 2014 but did not appear in a league game. She explained in a recent interview for Tribal Football.com that: “I felt frustrated with the situation." With an 18 player roster at the time (typically with 2 goalkeepers) her chances were limited and that, under then head coach Aaron Lines, younger players were overlooked. She acknowledged that: “It was a phenomenal opportunity to practice with and learn from such world class stars as Abby Wambach and Carli Lloyd."

However, she felt that in her situation as a young rookie with the Flash: “I was not being used and felt scared all the time because you are seen as replaceable." People would tell her that, as a young player, she needed experience but she wasn't receiving the playing time in NWSL to acquire that necessary experience. She called her move abroad in early 2015 to join BIIK: “A no brainer, where I could come in, get that experience that I needed and impact a squad." She felt that NWSL sides needed larger squads (24-25 players) to help encourage the younger players who did not have a national team resume, but roster expansion has a cost impact for a league that is growing well but doesn't want to spend itself into oblivion like the WUSA, which burned through over a $100 Million in capital in just three seasons (2001-2003).

Roseboro found the style of play much different in Kazakhstan from America and she had to adjust her game as a holding midfielder. She was used to an aggressive style of play at home, with constant pressure, spreading the ball around and not holding back, but had to integrate with the Kazakhstani style, which she described as “calmer, more direct play." She found that the Kazakhstanis were not as tactical in their game approach but Petkov has been emphasizing that more and ultimately: “We have met in the middle to play to both of our styles….Petkov has brought in imports to help with more style (i.e. “flashy Brazilians") to help his players grow and he wants Americans who have tactical knowledge and determination."

Roseboro acknowledges that her transition to Kazakhstan wasn't completely seamless off the field, as she struggled to learn the local language (Russian), with the food, and even medical care, where she found that doctors had a much lower access to medicine and machines (there was no STEM machine for muscle massages at training) than at home.

Besides increased playing time, another advantage besides playing in the local league and UEFA Champions League is that the salaries are much higher than at home. Petkov said that: “A player in Kazakhstan can earn a monthly salary that is among one of the top salaries for a women's player in the region." In NWSL as a rookie, the minimum salary is just over $7,000 for the season; Roseboro lived with a host family but still had to pay for food and other living expenses: “There is not much savings and you need an off-season job, which can cut into training time." Petkov said that: “For BIIK's foreigners, the range of monthly salaries can reach a few thousand dollars a month (depending on if the player signs a multi-year contract). For the imports, they can save most of their salary as their meals and lodging is provided free of charge—even internet, shampoo and other supplies is taken care of." In addition, BIIK pays a full year contract, not 6-7 months like NWSL clubs. For a young American college graduate that is not on a full-year national team contract, they can save considerably more money than if they were to make a NWSL team and have to pay living expenses. In addition, they can play in an exotic location with top class training facilities and compete in the UEFA Champions League. Petkov said: “Once they see the set-up (team hotel with accommodation for 80) with eight fields (one artificial) and team stadium right there, they find the arrangements are much better than many NWSL teams." Chinyelu Asher agreed: “The living/training facility is perfect for developing your game and the small town atmosphere of Shymkent helps me truly focus on how to become a better player."

Asher went to Purdue University before finishing at the University of Louisville. She trained with the Washington Spirit Reserves this spring and summer before moving to Shymkent, Kazakhstan in August to join BIIK: “I came to Kazakhstan more of on a whim and golden opportunity to learn about this level of soccer and develop as a player accordingly. It was a time crunch because he [Coach Petkov] needed a player in time for the qualifications round for the Champions League; in one week I was in Shymkent, the next week I was in Wexford, Ireland playing in the Champion's League."

Like Roseboro, Asher sees her transfer to Kazakhstan as her first real professional experience: “BIIK Kazygurt is my first legitimate step into the professional game. I love to play against the best, which is why the Champions League is so enticing. We have a really great group of girls, I hope we can showcase our quality against the top teams; personally I look forward to the opportunity to match up against the top players in the world and prove my own quality as well." Already an international with Jamaica, Asher was born in the U.S.; her father Kevin played collegiately at Howard University and he told her about an opportunity to play with the U-20's in World Cup qualifying a few years ago. She has since moved up to the full Reggae Girlz side under Orlando-based head coach Hue Menzies.

Jordan Roseboro and Chinyelu Asher have shown that the NWSL is not the only professional avenue for post-college North American players. Drawn by a coach who is well-known in the American game, they go to Kazakhstan for the pay, increased playing time, Champions League action and training facilities. It will be interesting to see where their careers go, particularly if they come back to America; they currently are trailblazers for other North Americans who have not made NWSL sides or are one of the last signings. With BIIK qualifying as league champions for the 2017-18 Champions League, it will be interesting to see what imports Petkov brings in for next season, both from America and beyond.

Tim Grainey is a contributor to Tribalfootball. His latest book is Beyond Bend it Like Beckham on the global game of women's football. Get your copy today.

Follow Tim on Twitter: @TimGrainey