Jeff Carlisle, US soccer correspondent
Two-time World Cup winner Becky Sauerbrunnrefuge from United States in the women’s national team for over 15 years, as well as in NWSLannounced on Tuesday that she was leaving professional football.
The announcement was made via Instagram and also via USWNT.
“I learned early on that we all just rent our jerseys,” Sauerbrunn saidnot a statement via American soccer. “To have once worn the American Football crest was an honor and a privilege for which I am forever grateful.
“The fact that I had to do it over 200 times is really humbling. I have competed against and learned from some of the greatest competitors and leaders the sport has ever seen, and I consider myself extremely fortunate to have played a small part in the storied history of this program.”
A steady, consistent defender whose ability to read the game was considered one of the best in the world, coming from St. Louis was part of the U.S. World Cup winning teams in 2015 and 2019, and was also on the gold medal-winning team at the 2012 Olympic Games.
He finishes with 219 caps at international level. In total, she appeared in three Olympic Games and three World Championships. The injury kept her out of the 2023 World Cup squad. She has captained the USWNT 42 times in her career, which is the fifth most in USWNT history.
Sauerbrunn said on Instagram: “Nothing compares to the last sixteen years. How is this possible? The challenge of chasing victory. The courage to fail. Willingness to suffer. The joy and relief when you achieve it. The desire to act again. Sixteen years ago I woke up with dreams and I haven’t slept since. It seems easy. But I came back anyway.
“Because what a gift.”
As for Sauerbrunn’s club career, she made over 200 appearances in the NWSL for Kansas City FC (now Kansas City Current), then The Utah Royalsand recently Portland Thorns. She won two NWSL titles with Kansas City in 2014 and 2015 and another with the Portland Thorns in 2022. She was also part of the Thorns teams that won the Community Shield in 2020, as well as three titles in 2021. NWSL Challenge CupInternational Champions Cup and NWSL Shield.
Off the field, Sauerbrunn’s was among those at the forefront of the USWNT’s push for pay equity, which culminated in a landmark collective bargaining agreement in 2022 that saw the USWNT achieve parity with its USMNT counterparts. She was also a strong advocate for women’s rights and racial quality, expanding her already considerable legacy of excellence in all kinds of endeavors.
