USMNT News: "I wanted to be the guy we can count on" – DaMarcus Beasley looks at his retirement career

DaMarcus Beasley says that he does not want him to be remembered for his records, and he has a lot of them. He does not want to remember his trophies, and there are many too. He does not even necessarily want him to be remembered for the ground that he has punctuated throughout his two-decade career.

Instead, as he approaches an end of career that never seems to want and could never end, the legend of the US National Team wishes to remember those moments, moments when he took a step forward and proved that he was a player and a man who could be counted on.

You can count on Beasley's latest professional season, as the 36-year-old, who has been widely described as an ageless wonder, has announced that he was reaching the end. The star of the Houston Dynamo revealed Monday that this season would be his last, thus ending a career of 20 years in the spotlight of American football.

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During those years, Beasley became the only American to compete in four World Cups. He became an American pioneer in Europe, appearing in a semi-final of the Champions League. He has become a well-known mentor and a felicitated player for his ability to adapt to a new position, a new team, a new challenge.

But, in Beasley's eyes, it's not what it's become, but what it's always been.

"I've had the question many times," said Beasley when asked what his legacy was. "I do not know, to be honest, it's hard to pin down a thing or two, I've never really been that person, I have not had so much hype for my own game or does any of these things … One thing I can say from memory is that I wanted you to know that you can always count on me in big games.

"In big games, under the lights, when it really meant something, whether it was in the finals or in the European Champions League, a World Cup match, whatever it was, when it was over. was playing a big game and it was necessary that the guys get up, demonstrate their personality, be recognized and that they are men, that they are stable, that the atmosphere do you not invade, it's something for which I'm pretty good.

"If I want to remember something, I think it will be one thing that would be really cool: to be the guy on which the locker room and the coaching staff can count and say:" We know what we are going to get Beas & # 39 ;.

Beasley broke through at a time when it was difficult to predict what one would get from a young American star. But, alongside his teammate in residence and fellow countryman Landon Donovan, Beasley helped break the mold.

He said his career was filled with ups and downs. There were strong moments like breaking through with the Chicago Fire and gaining his way to the PSV in what he called a "defining moment". At that time, he swam, helping the team reach the semi-finals of the Champions League before falling in front of a historic team from AC Milan, with including Paolo Maldini, Kaka and Andriy Shevchenko.

And there were lows, including a pbadage in Germany that left him outside looking for club and country. It was an experience that was a "blessing in disguise", and that made it all the more memorable when it resurfaced again and again, regardless of the league in which it was evolving. Dynamo all the more impressive.

In the weeks and months leading up to his announcement, Beasley reviewed his Rolodex from former teammates, and they are numerous. He spoke to Ante Razov, Josh Wolff, Chris Armas and Dennis Hamlet, all men who mentored him during his breakthrough. He spoke with Eddie Johnson and Maurice Edu, two former teammates of the national team who had recently made a similar decision in their own way.

And they all gave the same advice.

"[I talked] to different types, just to see what they went through, "he said. How did they know? Everyone has told me that you have to play as long as you can, as long as you have two legs and you can go up and down on the field, you should play. That's the advice that almost everyone has given me: play as long as you can.

But they also said: "When you know, you know," and for me, I know it – I'm 100 percent late and confident in my decision – it suits me perfectly. "

He informed Dynamo of his decision during the pre-season and toured his May birthday as a difficult moment to make his revelation. He had thought of it last season with the triumph of the Dynamo Open Cup in the United States. But, faced with this decision, he felt that he only had a little more to give him.

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And, now that the end date is set, Beasley knows that he is almost ready. He knows the day is coming and the games are coming to an end before he goes away for good. Before that, though, he hopes to play in one or two other important games, the games that really matter, and he will seek to create one or two other moments that have meant and that still matter so much to him.

"You like it more.You take into account the little things you did not do earlier in your career," he said. "You start thinking that this will be the last road trip in this city or the last time we will have that kind of meeting with this guy or something with the team or a team function, well Sure, it goes through your head, mind, but I'm happy about it.

"I have a whole season left in front of me, I still have a whole season to focus on, it's not my last game tomorrow, I know I'll have a different feeling when I play my last one." match with Dynamo, but I feel happy, I feel good, I come back to 100%, and this part is excellent.My goal is to be on the field.Is there that I want and it's where I'm most happy: when I'm on the field. "