The End of the Road for Eddie Pope
By: Bob | October 15th, 2007
After a brief ceremony at midfield tonight, Eddie Pope will play his final game in front of the Real Salt Lake fans against the Houston Dynamo. He’ll then travel to Colorado for a final game on Saturday. With his team long eliminated from the playoffs, this is an understated way for a player who is arguably the best American defender in history to end an MLS career that dates back to the league’s founding in 1996.
In that time, Pope has played in 220-some games in MLS. He has won three MLS champions, has been named all-star ten times and has received the MLS Humanitarian of the Year award. He has also played 82 times for his country and he has taken part in three World Cups.
Impressive numbers for a guy who a player who simply went about his business and did so in a way that could hardly be called flashy. There will be some who will knock Pope because of his frequent injuries and because he never headed overseas to play in a more competitive league, but for many years Pope was the model of consistency both in MLS and for the US national team.
If you look back at the MLS rosters in 1996, there are many players you won’t remember and many players you would likely want to forget. Eddie Pope is one of the players for which the league was designed. An American-born player who was able to develop his skills at home so that he could compete on the international level. He is a player who has made other players in the league better. He is a guy who hopefully stick around the game in some capacity and help develop defenders who are like Eddie Pope.
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Comments
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I get that he’s been great in MLS and I don’t want to belittle or demean those accomplishments…but for me, the most indelible memory I have of Eddie Pope is his sending off against Italy in WC 06. I know that’s not fair and he was a great force in the middle of the park but I will always hold that against him.
Posted from
United States
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i usually dont comment, but it seems like Eddie was a role model for kids and really stayed true to himself. hopefully, hel have a great time post-soccer
Posted from
United States -
Yeah, Joe, it isn’t fair, but that happens a lot, where a great player has one not-so-great moment attached to them for life. Eddie Pope has done huge amounts for US soccer, and deserves better than to retire on the last-place team in a still-mediocre league. But that sometimes happens too. At least Brett Favre is having a good last year.
Posted from
United States -
Hah. Brett Favre won’t be retiring until he’s broken every record there is or until he’s broken his hips.
Posted from
United States -
Eddie Pope is my hero. He is a role model to all those who aspire to be great players as well as defenders. Good luck to you in your future Mr. Pope. Please stick around after you hang up your boots, soccer needs you.
Posted from
United States -
Joe, you’re also forgetting how easy yellow-cards were to come by in the group stages of World Cup 2006. They were handing them out like candy. Plus, he was up against world class strikers. Honestly, Pope showed guts in the world cup. Perhaps it wasn’t his greatest performance against Italy, but he was one of the few on the USMNT to show guts and, as disappointing as the result was, the US was still the only team not to lose to the eventual champs, so that counts for at least a little.
Posted from
United States -
He’s obviously been awesome in MLS – just wondering anyone know why he didn’t decide to ‘test himself’ further in one of Europe’s top leagues?
Posted from
United Kingdom
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