Often celebrated as the best defender the United States has ever produced, Eddie Pope announced Thursday that he will retire from Major League Soccer at the end of the 2007 season.
At 33 years old, Pope will end his career with a Real Salt Lake team that has struggled to find success since its inception. Still, Pope considers Utah the perfect place to end his 12-year MLS career.
"I love it here and I've had a good time playing here in front of the amazing fans," Pope said. "It's been a pleasure for me, so to be able to retire here is a great thing for me. I'm very, very happy about that, to retire in such a great place."
Pope has played in 236 MLS games, and he has another 21 league games to go on RSL's schedule before the end of the season. He will play in even more games if RSL achieves its goal of making the MLS Cup Playoffs. Pope would love to see that happen, to end his career on a high note.
"It's my last year, and it's certainly not a lackadaisical type of decision, so yeah, it's my last year, and let's get something done," Pope said.
Pope is the latest player from the league's inaugural season to announce his retirement at the end of the years. Chris Armas and Cobi Jones also have decided to hang up their shin guards at the end of the season; for many original players like Pope, the game is beginning to take a toll on their bodies.
"It's just time," Pope said. "You get up in the morning and you're in pain, before practice you are in pain, and after practice you are still in pain.
"It's interesting how the timing of our bodies all coincided into one year. It wasn't like we called each other up or anything like that, it's just that you hear about one guy, then you hear about another guy, then you hear about another."
Between his lengthy MLS career and his accomplishments with the U.S. national team, Pope has been hailed as arguably the best defender in U.S. history. He could be compared to other great defenders such as Marcelo Balboa and Alexi Lalas.
Pope began his MLS career with D.C. United in 1996 when he was acquired in the league's inaugural college draft as the second overall pick. In the league's first season, Pope scored the golden goal in overtime with a header that gave United the first MLS Cup championship.
"I hadn't really won anything up to that point, so to win the championship in my first year in the league was incredible for me," Pope said. "Additionally for me, because we were down 2-0 with 15 minutes to go ... and to be able to come back from such a deficit was incredible as well."
In the seven years he played with United, he won MLS Cups in 1996, 1997 and 1999; he also became team captain of the MetroStars before being acquired by Real Salt Lake prior to RSL's inaugural season in 2005.
Pope also made a name for himself in international play. Pope made 82 appearances with the U.S. national team, all starts, and he started nine games of the 11 he was available for between the 1998, 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups.
"Any of the championships that I was able to win was a good feeling; those were exciting moments for me," Pope said. "And the 2002 World Cup, that was unbelievable for me as a player. Beating Mexico is exciting any time, and when you can to do it in the World Cup in a game like that, that was one of the greatest days in my career."
Pope retired from the U.S. national team last August, so his retirement from MLS play a year later might not come as too much of a shock.
RSL coach Jason Kreis, another MLS original who retired this year, will be sad to see Pope leave his team.
"For me, as the coach of Eddie, I would like to not have it happen. He is my captain, and he is probably the most important figure on the field for us at the moment," Kreis said. "He's the best defender in the league, he's the best defender the league has ever seen, he is the best defender this country has ever produced, and so it is difficult as the coach of this team to be losing that sort of talent and that sort of leadership and that sort of experience on the team."
Peter Richins is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
