Now, it is Becky Sauerbrunn’s flip.
The longtime U.S. ladies’s nationwide workforce captain — and one of many biggest defenders in program historical past — is retiring. She joins a prolonged checklist of generational superstars like Alex Morgan, Kelley O’Hara and Alyssa Naeher who introduced the tip of their respective careers earlier this yr.
Sauerbrunn, 39, posted her information on social media.
Sauerbrunn, who had 219 USWNT caps, finishes her profession as a two-time World Cup champion and 2012 Olympic gold medalist. She performed in three World Cups, and would have performed in a fourth, however missed out on the roster for the 2023 event resulting from a foot damage.
“I discovered early on that we have been all simply renting our jerseys,” Sauerbrunn mentioned in an announcement. “That I acquired to put on the U.S. Soccer crest as soon as was an honor and a privilege for which I am without end grateful. The truth that I acquired to do it over 200 instances is really humbling. I competed with and discovered from among the biggest gamers and leaders this sport has ever seen, and I think about myself past fortunate to have been capable of play a small half on this program’s storied historical past.”
Sauerbrunn did not play a small half, nevertheless. She was nicknamed the “folks’s captain” and served because the USWNT Gamers Affiliation’s president for years. She performed an enormous position within the combat for equal pay, and her teammates all the time mentioned that whereas Morgan and Megan Rapinoe have been the face of the general public battle, Sauerbrunn was the brains behind the scenes.
She has additionally been an outspoken chief and advocate for plenty of points corresponding to ladies’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, racial inequality, pay fairness and extra. She by no means wished the eye on herself, and all the time led by instance. As U.S. Soccer famous in an announcement, “She leaves behind a legacy of excellence and humanity each on and off the sphere.”
Sauerbrunn famously by no means scored a aim for the USWNT, and holds the document for essentially the most caps with no aim. She did have seven assists throughout her profession, and is ninth all-time in minutes performed for the USWNT with 16,909. She’s one among solely 14 different People to have 200 or extra appearances for the nationwide workforce.
Sauerbrunn was additionally a three-time NWSL champion with FC Kansas Metropolis and the Portland Thorns, and was a four-time NWSL defender of the yr. She was named to the NWSL Greatest XI seven instances, greater than every other participant.
Sauerbrunn wrote in her retirement announcement that she will not be leaving the sport of soccer for good. “I really like this recreation an excessive amount of,” she mentioned. She’s already a co-host with Sam Mewis on “The Ladies’s Sport” podcast and can certainly discover different methods to proceed making an affect.
Laken Litman covers faculty soccer, faculty basketball and soccer for FOX Sports activities. She beforehand wrote for Sports activities Illustrated, USA In the present day and The Indianapolis Star. She is the creator of “Robust Like a Girl,” revealed in spring 2022 to mark the fiftieth anniversary of Title IX. Observe her at @LakenLitman.
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Becky Sauerbrunn
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