Solo blasts Chastain's analyst skills after American win

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Don't expect Hope Solo to laugh it up with Brandi Chastain any time soon. (WALLY SKALIJ / LOS ANGELES TIMES / MCT)

• London 2012

  Complete coverage of the Paralympic games in London.

GLASGOW, Scotland -- U.S. soccer goaltender Hope Solo went on a Twitter rant against former player Brandi Chastain on Saturday for comments made during the broadcast of the Americans' 3-0 win over Colombia at the Olympics.

Solo was apparently unhappy with Chastain's criticism of U.S. defender Rachel Buehler during the NBC telecast.

At one point, Chastain, a colour analyst for the Games, pointed out that a defender's responsibilities are: "Defend. Win the ball. And then keep possession. And that's something that Rachel Buehler actually needs to, I think, improve on in this tournament."

After the game, Solo rattled off four tweets about Chastain. Among them: "Its 2 bad we cant have commentators who better represents the team&knows more about the game."

Solo also told Chastain to "lay off commentating about defending" and goalkeeping "until you get more educated" and "the game has changed from a decade ago."

"I feel bad 4 our fans that have 2 push mute," tweeted Solo, adding that she likes NBC soccer announcer Arlo White.

Chastain is one of the top all-time defenders for the U.S. team. She played in 192 international games from 1988-2004 and is best known for taking off her jersey to celebrate the decisive penalty kick in the landmark shootout victory over China in the World Cup final at the Rose Bowl in 1999.

A spokesman for NBC said the network would have no comment and Chastain was unavailable for comment. A spokesman for the U.S. team also declined comment and said Solo would address the matter the next time she meets with reporters.

Solo is one of the most outspoken players on the U.S. team. She was essentially kicked off the squad at the 2007 World Cup and sent home from China separately from the rest of the players after she criticized coach Greg Ryan for benching her for the semifinals.

Fences were mended, and she made her way back onto the team to become arguably the best goalkeeper in team history, anchoring the gold-medal run at the 2008 Olympics and winning the golden glove award for top goalie at last year's World Cup in Germany.

Solo also recently appeared on Dancing With the Stars, finishing in fourth place.

-- The Associated Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 29, 2012 B3