Former United States men’s national team midfielder Benny Feilhaber announced his retirement Wednesday, capping a 15-year career that included stops in the German Bundesliga, English Premier League, Danish Superliga, and Major League Soccer.
Feilhaber, 35, represented four MLS clubs from 2011-19: the New England Revolution, Sporting Kansas City, Los Angeles FC and Colorado Rapids.
He’s coming off a disappointing season with SKC, who failed to reach the playoffs in 2019 and declined Feilhaber’s contract option at the end of the campaign.
That said, in a long post on his personal Twitter account announcing his retirement, recapping his career and thanking coaches and fans, Feilhaber singled out Kansas City as a place near and dear to his heart.
“Sporting KC and [coach] Peter Vermes brought to the club where I now call home,” wrote Feilhaber, who lives in Overland Park, Kansas. “I grew as a player and a person, became a husband and father, and ultimately had the best five years of my life, on and off the field.”
Feilhaber, who recorded 41 goals and 60 assists in 262 regular season appearances, had two separate stints with SKC (2013-17 and 2019) and helped the club win the 2013 MLS Cup and 2015 and 2017 U.S. Open Cups.
His career was well-established before he came to MLS. After two years at UCLA, Feilhaber joined Hamburger SV in the Bundesliga in 2005. He moved to England’s Derby County in 2007 and remained there until 2008 before transferring to Denmark’s AGF Aarhus, where he played from 2008-11.
Feilhaber was on the squad’s periphery at Hamburger and was utilized sparingly at Derby County as well, but former U.S. men’s national team coach Bob Bradley nevertheless started giving him consistent call-ups in 2006.
Arguably Feilhaber’s most seminal moment — for both club and country — was his game-winning goal against Mexico in the 2007 Concacaf Gold Cup final.
The extratime winner arrived off a corner kick, with a wide-open Feilhaber belting a perfectly-hit volley into the back of the net past a helpless Oswaldo Sanchez in front of 50,760 at Soldier Field in Chicago.
Feilhaber was on the field for many more of the U.S.’s noteworthy and notorious moments from the last decade.
He played in the “Miracle on Grass” game when the USMNT prevailed against world powerhouse Spain, 2-0, in the semifinals of the 2009 Confederations Cup.
He was on the field for Landon Donovan’s last-second winner against Algeria at the 2010 FIFA World Cup that sent the U.S. into the knockout round.
And he played in the U.S.’s 2-1 loss to Trinidad and Tobago in October 2017, which left the Yanks out of the World Cup for the first time since 1986.
The New England Revolution acquired Feilhaber in 2011 via allocation. He struggled in Foxborough as the Revolution failed to reach the playoffs in both seasons he was with the club. New England subsequently traded Feilhaber to Kansas City for two SuperDraft picks and undisclosed amount of allocation money.
After four seasons, Kansas City traded him to Los Angeles FC in 2018 for $400,000, a move which reunited Feilhaber with Bradley.
He recorded three goals and six assists in the club’s inaugural season, but left the next winter and joined Colorado as a free agent.
Feilhaber lasted less than three months with the Rapids, who traded him back to Kansas City last May. He scored two goals in 17 appearances with SKC last season.
“I would be remiss to not add a massive thank you to all the fans I’ve had along the way,” Feilhaber added. “All the fans that loved me and all the fans that hated me, you guys played an integral part on the many emotions I’ve felt throughout this wonderful journey.
“The Cauldron, the South Stand and everyone in between…you guys cheered me on for six season in the Blue Hell and I appreciated every single minute of it. I hope to, one day soon, be leading the ‘I believe’ chant with you all.”
I love this game but running is hard. So I’m out!! ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ pic.twitter.com/IQ03oUpFuY
— Benny Feilhaber (@b_feilhaber22) March 11, 2020