TRANSFER TRACKER:Retirement
After a 15-year professional career that included nine years in Major League Soccer, midfielder Benny Feilhaber announced his retirement via Twitter on Wednesday morning.
He was an MLS Best XI and All-Star selection in 2015 while playing with Sporting Kansas City, the club where he won an MLS Cup title in 2013 and pair of U.S. Open Cup championships in 2015 and 2017. Feilhaber, 35, also had stints at three other MLS clubs: the New England Revolution, LAFC and Colorado Rapids.
“‘Making it’ in professional sports is about preparation, talent and, most importantly, opportunity,” Feilhaber wrote. “I was lucky enough to have some talent, but, more importantly, I was prepared because of the countless sacrifices my parents made as I was growing up.”
All told, Feilhaber’s MLS career included 262 appearances (232 starts), 41 goals and 60 assists. He also earned 44 caps for the US men’s national team and scored twice, most memorably rifling home a volley in the 2007 Concacaf Gold Cup final victory against Mexico. Feilhaber also notably featured during the USMNT’s run to the 2009 Confederations Cup final and at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Feilhaber played collegiately at UCLA for two years before turning pro with German club Hamburger SV in 2005. That paved the way for other European stops at Derby County in England and AGF Aarhus in Denmark, preceding a stateside return in 2011 with the Revolution.
Feilhaber spent two years in New England, then moved to SKC for a memorable five-year stretch. He was traded to LAFC before their expansion season in 2018, signed with Colorado in 2019 and was traded back to SKC last May. His final MLS appearance came in a 2-1 loss at the Portland Timbers on Sept. 7, 2019, when he scored a curler from range.
As for what comes next? Fans might not have to wait long – and perhaps more episodes of BSI: The Podcast are in store.
“I, now, look forward to my next career,” Feilhaber wrote. “I love this sport and will always be around it. I hope I can give the sport back what it gave me and also find opportunities for others as my coaches did for me throughout my playing career.”
