Claudio Reyna calls it quits a month too late

Submitted by fortheinfo on Sat, 06/24/2006 - 2:29am.

We come today to not praise Claudio Reyna, but to bury him. Isn't that how the famous quote goes?

Oh.

Today, Claudio Reyna announced that he was retiring from the United States National Soccer team . Based on his performance in the 2006 World Cup, one could hardly blame him for taking this action. Sure, his decision to dribble instead of clear the ball led to Ghana's first goal, but shouldn't you look at more than that?

No.

On the world's largest stage, in the most important game the US National Team has faced in years, Claudio Reyna failed. He failed his teammates, he failed his nation and he failed himself. To make matters worse he wouldn't take himself out of the game when he was "hurt."

I wish Claudio well. He's had a good career for the US National Team, and he'll continue to find work in the soccer leagues in Europe, but man, what a awful taste he's left in everyone's mouths.

Bruce Arena shouldn't escape blame either. A good manager knows when a player is at the end of their professional lives and makes the decisions that need to be made. Arena acted like Reyna had pictures of Arena and farm animals. Never once did Arena even surface the possibility of moving Reyna off the start.

Imagine the difference that would have been made had Reyna not started for the United States in the 2006 World Cup.