Germany's Steffi Jones returns to Washington, this time as a coach

By American soccer standards, you have to have been around for a pretty long time to have watched Steffi Jones play for the Washington Freedom in the old Women's United Soccer Association.

Even those of us who followed the game back then sometimes can't believe it's been 14 years since Jones was a stalwart midfielder for the Freedom, backstopping superstar strikers Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach. That trio helped lead the Freedom to the last ever WUSA championship.

Jones also played at RFK Stadium at the 2003 World Cup, in a 6-1 Germany win win over Argentina. Sadly, her most memorable moment came when she ruptured a knee ligament in the 62nd minute. Germany went on to win the title as Jones watched from afar.

On Tuesday, Jones will return to the city she once called home. This time, she'll be there as a coach instead of as a player, overseeing the Germans as they play England in the SheBelieves Cup (4 p.m., FoxSportsGo.com).

After the U.S.-Germany game this past Wednesday in Chester, Jones spoke about how it feels to be going back to D.C. She also shared some thoughts on the U.S. team that beat hers at Talen Energy Stadium.

What do you make of the United States trying to play a 3-5-2 formation? Do they seem different from what you've seen of the team before?

Well, it looks like their offensive line is hard to take. They have fast players, they want to attack you real early. So it's tough for you as a team to play out of the back. That showed in the games they had against Switzerland, against they teams they played [since the Olympics], and what we saw on video.

Lynn Williams is a new player for the United States. From what you have seen of her on tape and in your game against the Americans, what do you think of her?

I would say that the U.S. team has many good players, young players that Jill [Ellis] is always getting on the team, trying to build up a younger team for the future. So it's not only Williams. They have many, many players for whom you should watch out as an opponent. We were, I would say, prepared, but still, they have so many good points as a team that you have to defend as a team.

For you to see an event like this come together, that is officially "friendly" games but clearly has more meaning than that for fans and the teams, what does it mean for you?

It's very important. You've got three really good teams that we're playing against. It's a great test for us, since we're going for the European championship in July in Holland. These are very good games for our team, and for me to see which players I want to take to the European Championship.

When you go back to Washington, there will be a lot of people in the stands who watched you play for the Freedom back in the day. Do you still have a lot of good memories of that time?

Sure. I had two great seasons here in the U.S., and I was really honored playing in the WUSA at that time. Now I'm coming back to Washington, knowing that my host family is going to come, friends are probably coming. And hopefully we show better game with a win, and not having jet lag, and being tired.

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