The final season of his illustrious 22-year career started with a glorious free kick in April at RFK Stadium and it ended quietly Sunday night on the New York Red Bulls bench at the same venue. Youri Djorkaeff bid adieu to soccer, not even playing as the French World Cup winner was sidelined with a strained left Achilles.
The injury occurred Thursday as he and the Red Bulls prepared for the second leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series against rival D.C. United. Djorkaeff was hoping to extend his final season by at least another week, but instead the Red Bulls were eliminated from the MLS Cup Playoffs by a 2-1 aggregate score.
Instead, Djorkaeff sat on the bench, cheering on his now-former teammates.
"We showed a nice face tonight, it was one of the best games of the season," Djorkaeff said. "It was one of the best New York Red Bulls [games] of the season. We fought until the end."
After he was the then-MetroStars MVP a year ago, Djorkaeff had a tough final season. The 38-year-old was sidelined with a variety of injuries and took a monthlong leave of absence from the team in July to tend to his ill mother in France.
But Djorkaeff became the center of a worldwide controversy when television cameras caught him and his wife enjoying themselves at France's upset of Brazil in Germany.
Djorkaeff also missed a critical late-season game against Chicago to take an official visit of Armenia with French president Jacques Chirac.
When he was on the field, and when he was healthy, Djorkaeff was one of the best players in MLS, a player who could change the game by himself.
"I really enjoyed to live here, to play here, to meet you guys was good," he told the team's beat writers.
In two seasons in MLS, Djorkaeff scored 12 goals and tallied 11 assists in 45 games. This year he stumbled a bit, scoring only twice and adding four assists in 21 games. Despite the drop in production, Djorkaeff was not ready to see his team play its final game of the season.
"I was really frustrated for the players, not for me," he said in the locker room after the game. "To be honest, no. I was really feeling if we go through I would be ready for the next game, but that's it. I'm not caring about what was the end."
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
