a dozen in MLS with the Chicago Fire and Los Angeles Galaxy and two with the Long Island Rough Riders (United Soccer Leagues).
A key member of the U.S. national team, serious knee injuries kept him out of soccer's promised land -- the World Cup.
Ditto for the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney.
"The timing of my injuries has been bad," he said. "They kept me from two World Cups and an Olympics, but in terms of games played for the Fire, L.A. and the national team I'm really proud in that fact that I've been able to stick around as long and do well."
The 35-year-old Armas admitted he learned a lot about himself during those trying times in 2000, 2002 and 2006.
"Had I achieved those things it would have been a thrill and the pinnacle for me as a soccer player," he said. "I didn't get there but I did all I could to get there. You deal with the injuries, you come back and you are stronger. It's an easy statement but I find it very true: 'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.' And I've always come back stronger mentally. Physically it's taken its toll on my body but the timing in those injuries and them keeping me from such competitions. It doesn't really take away from what I think I've achieved as a player."
Armas will never be remembered for his playmaking (48 assists) or goal-scoring prowess (12 goals in 264 MLS matches), but rather for his tenacious attitude as the best defensive midfielder the league has ever seen. For the record, he played a key role in the Fire's MLS Cup championship side and was a member of four Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup winning teams as an MLS original player.
In 1998, for example, the tenacious Armas merely shutdown the four best midfielders in the league -- legendary midfielders at that, an accomplishment that will be next to impossible to duplicate.
The quartet of Marco Etcheverry, Mauricio Cienfuegos, Preki and Carlos Valderrama totaled 35 goals and 60 assists in 100 games that season. When they went up against Armas, there was a precipitous drop in their production. They combined for only two goals and four assists in 15 games against the Fire, including the playoffs.
Armas was way too modest to take full credit. He praised then Fire coach Bob Bradley -- now the U.S. national team coach -- and his defensive midfielder partner-in-crime, Jesse Marsch (now with Chivas USA).
"Before those games, Bob Bradley -- and he still does it today -- he looks at key players on other teams and guys that can hurt you and typically can do the damage," Armas said. "Back then, a lot of the teams depended on a few guys. Things have changed a bit now because so many guys can hurt you. So, if you could take Etcheverry out of D.C.'s attack, you had a pretty good chance of winning."
Armas's goal was to make life difficult for the playmaker.
"Each one of them had something extremely special they brought to the table," he said. "The frustrating thing is over 90 minutes they're making plays. You try to make it uneventful as much as possible. You try to make them play sideways and backwards.
"I always took pride. The other guys realized how much respect I had for them. They brought out the best in me."
Armas's philosophy? Keep it tight.
"You watch these players around the world, like (Zinedine) Zidane," he said. "You look at the space they get and the respect they get. I don't agree with it. I always thought you have to make the guy earn it, even if they beat you. I don't think you should let a guy like that with time and with space. You have to try to give yourself more time and give them less time. In any sport, time is the thing. If you give them time, they can take out guys, they can hurt you.
"In reality, who wants someone in your face all the time, someone is trying to disrupt you? Not in a dirty way. You do take some professional fouls. You take a foul here and there to let a guy know that its part of the game. The contact, in your face, being tight, that's always a quality that I tried."
After Fire midfielder Peter Nowak retired, Armas showed he learned his lessons well by becoming team captain.
"Who are the young guys supposed to look up to for leadership and guidance?" he asked. "It's got to be us and you got to put that on yourself. I've enjoyed that role, that responsibility and I've taken it seriously. I compete everyday in training and I complete in games to keep my starting spot. The fact that I've been able to stay at a good level all the years is something that makes me proud."
Armas' superb play obviously caught the eye of then U.S. national team coach Bruce Arena, who had watched the midfielder shut down Etcheverry when he directed D.C. United.
As it turned out, Armas almost did not make the big international stage. For some reason he was overlooked by the U.S. national team several years prior. Instead, he opted to wear the colors of the Puerto Rican national team. After Armas began turning heads in MLS, the USA wanted him. However, he couldn't because he already had represented another country.
But FIFA ruled in 1998 that since the Caribbean Shell Cup that Armas participated in was not an official competition leading up to the World Cup, he still could wear the red, white and blue of U.S. Soccer.
"Obviously, it was a great thing," he said. "It catapulted my career. It gave me some of the great life experiences I'll always be grateful for."
Bradley, who coached Armas on the Fire, called the defensive midfielder "a great competitor."
"He did a lot of little things on the field that made other players better and helped the team win," Bradley said. "He leads by example. He's not someone who is yelling all the time. He just does the right thing on and off the field almost every time.
"To have a player that comes in every day and is excited about the team and training, gets along with people, and just has such a positive way, it's special," Bradley said. "On the field, it's just incredible to see a player who does the dirty work and makes the extra effort to always take care of plays, covers for other people, tackles, runs, makes the simple pass."
Nowak, now a U.S. national team assistant and also the national under-23 coach, remembered how difficult practices were when he had to play against Armas.
"It wasn't pleasurable to play against him," he said. "There was always a battle because he wanted to shut me down, and I wanted to show him that I was still better. That work made us both better, and there was always respect from both sides. I played with a lot of good players, and I would put Chris in the best category of guys who played behind me on the field -- even ahead of guys like Jens Jeremies from the German national team."
"Through his excellence on the field and his exemplary character, Chris Armas has made the Chicago Fire, Major League Soccer and his country very proud," MLS Commissioner Don Garber said. "Chris dominated his position both for the Chicago Fire and for the U.S. national team for years and he is exactly the type of player and role model that our society needs. We congratulate Chris on a phenomenal career and look forward to his on-going involvement with the league and the sport for years to come."
As for his life after playing, Armas plans to keep his options open, although he wants to stay inside the game. He would like to coach, whether it is at the college or professional level. One of his mentors, Bradley, guides the national team. Who knows, there might be something there as well. Armas also has indicated he would like to return home to his roots on Long Island in suburban New York City.
"I don't see myself doing anything outside the game," Armas said. "I guess the next step will be coaching. I feel like I have some good feel for the game. I understand it well and I'd like to coach whether it's MLS or at any level we'll see when opportunities come my way, and we'll go from there."
Contributing: Raquel Ortiz in Chicago.
Michael Lewis covers soccer for the New York Daily News and is editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He can be reached at SoccerWriter516@aol.com. Views and opinions expressed in this column are the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com.
