six goals and seven assists in 24 games with the Quakes and one goal in six games with the Rapids -- it would be reasonable to say the 35-year-old is departing with plenty of gas left in the tank. But the Canadian-born, Florida-grown player is perfectly comfortable walking away.
"People recognize me and I think that's great," he said. "It kind of shows what I've done with MLS over the years. I look at it that I had a great time, I had a lot of fun playing, and I got paid for it. It's put my family in a great position financially. I did something that I loved."
Chung is also comfortable with his place in history. He wasn't the best player to ever put on a pair of soccer cleats, he says, and he knows all but the most dedicated MLS fans will one day forget who he was.
"I think I'll be another leaf blowing in the wind," he said. "I've come to the conclusion that if you're not Pele or Maradona, it's very hard for people to remember who you were. Maybe the soccer people who saw you play will remember, and that's fine. That's great. People forget and then the next younger person comes in, and that's who they concentrate on next.
"Freddy Adu is the next young person coming up, but he'll eventually get old and someone younger than him will take his place," he added. "That's one thing I hope soccer players and all athletes realize. You can never constantly hold on to that stuff. It's got to be released when you move on to the next part of your life."
That's not to say he doesn't value what he did in the league. Chung takes immense pride in the fact that he was chosen as one of the top players in the league on several occasions.
"Over the 10 years, I showed consistency, and I think making three Best XI's ... I mean, it's hard to make one Best XI," he said. "Making three Best XI's in 10, I think, was something I was really proud of because the players in this league -- Lothar Matthaus and Marco Etcheverry ... (Carlos) Valderrama -- to be alongside them on stage, to be one of the top 11 players in the league three times, I think it was a great accomplishment for me."
The first of those Best XI nominations came with the Wizards in 1997 (the others were in 2002 and 2003 with the Rapids), a year in which he notched 10 goals and eight assists.
Despite the success with the Wizards, however, Chung was unhappy in Kansas City. He was granted his wish to leave the club on Jan. 20, 1999, when he was traded to the Metros along with goalkeeper Mike Ammann in exchange for goalkeeper Tony Meola and defender Alexi Lalas. Six years later, Chung regrets how things ended with the Wizards.
"I wish I hadn't left Kansas City the way I did with (then-coach) Ron Newman," Chung said. "I was young, I was inexperienced in the way that I saw New York: 'Oh, they're going overseas. They're going to play A.C. Milan. Why don't we do that?'
"One thing Ron Newman did is he took care of his players. He treated his players well," he said. "That's one thing I regret doing is leaving Kansas City because Ron Newman was a good coach, good friend, good person."
Now that he's no longer a professional player, it seems Chung is putting soccer behind him -- with the exception of his daughter's team, of course. Though he said it's possible he could get involved in the game at a higher level at some point in the future, he's "not sure" where he'll end up.
And while he said he won't discuss whether he believes he should be inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, N.Y., when he's eligible in three years, Chung joked that if he could, he wouldn't vote for himself.
"I wouldn't vote for myself because I'd have to travel to go there," he said. "I've traveled enough for 10 lifetimes."
Jason Halpin is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
