'Captain America' hangs up his shield

The final chapter of a 14-year, storied career was a bit of a bummer, but despite the repeated injuries that kept him on the sideline more than in the game, Claudio Reyna will go down as one of the greatest American midfielders this country has ever produced.

He was, after all, the first Captain America.

Reyna was the first ambassador of soccer for the United States, traveling to Germany, England and Scotland, and not simply playing but earning respect and paving the road for those Americans destined to follow in his footsteps.

He is living proof of the American dream. The son of an Argentine immigrant, Reyna moved to the United States with his family when he was five. His family settled in the soccer-crazed area of North Jersey that produced other American greats like Tab Ramos and John Harkes. His greatness on the pitch would manifest early, as his high school team at Saint Benedict's Prep would go undefeated in his time on the team, an impressive 65-0 record. From high school, he was recruited by collegiate powerhouse University of Virginia. With the NASL out of business for quite some time and MLS years away, UVA was the place for a phenom to hone his talents. And, again, he was successful, as the Cavaliers took home the NCAA title each of his three years on the team.

It didn't take too long for Europe to come a calling for the swarthy maestro of the midfield. First, it was German giants Bayer Leverkusen who were signing the checks. But as Landon Donovan would discover years later, pitch time was at a premium for Americans in Germany (especially with Leverkusen), so Reyna made the most of a loan to VFL Wolfsburg, becoming the first American to captain a major European club.

After five years in Germany, and a disappointing showing at the 1998 World Cup, Reyna opted for a change in scenery and headed to Scotland to play for one of the biggest clubs in Europe, Scotland's Rangers for over $3 million in transfer fees. Among the Old Firm, Reyna would show his versatility moving from central midfield to right back and becoming a regular starter with the Scottish powerhouse.

Meanwhile, Reyna was continued to be the stabilizing force for a young, talented, but inexperienced, national team. "Captain America," as he was dubbed in Europe, helped this group of young Americans, like Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley, reach the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup, and a few bad calls from beating the World Cup runners' up Germany.

After two seasons with Rangers, Reyna transfered to the EPL's Sunderland, who paid nearly $6 million for his services, but in his second season, he suffered an ACL tear that would sideline him the entire 2003-04 season. Unfortunately, it was to be the start of an injury-riddled close to Reyna's career. In 2003, Reyna joined Manchester City but saw little action with his new club, as injury kept him in the trainer's room more than on the field. The 2006 World Cup? Well, we won't go into that. I come to praise Reyna, not to bury him.

With two kids of his own now, Cap turned toward home, hoping that a return to where it all began would provide him with one last accomplishment before he called it quits. Hopes were high that Reyna could indeed resuscitate his career with Major League Soccer's New York Red Bulls.

But the twilight of his career was over before it really began, as injuries again plagued the midfielder and forced him to the sideline once more. It has been a frustrating two seasons with New York. What could have been a glorious end to a fantastic career has turned into one nagging injury after another and conjectures by some (ok, by me) that his heart just wasn't in it anymore.

But there were moments, when he wasn't injured, beautiful moments when Red Bulls fans saw a glimpse of the old Cap, the maestro, threading the needle to the new hope for America Jozy Altidore or finding fellow EPL veteran Juan Pablo Angel.

And it should be these moments that U.S. fans remember and cherish now that Captain America has decided to hang up his shield. Happy retirement, Captain. You earned it.

Red Bulls are red faced

The above video is a clip from the celebrity soccer match for charity held in Chinatown in New York last Wednesday, hosted by NBA star (and want-to-be MLS franchise owner) Steve Nash and Red Bulls injured midfielder (and one-time Captain America) Claudio Reyna.

The event also featured English soccer players Steve McManaman and Robbie Fowler, and NBA players Jason Kidd, Baron Davis, Raja Bell, Leandro Barbosa and David Lee.

Sounds fun, right? So, then why are Red Bulls fans so angry?

Well, because their American DP, the once-great Captain America, hasn't played for the club since May 25, yet he was able to participate in this charity match. And by all video accounts, he seemed able to move around fairly well. Meanwhile, the team that is paying him a guaranteed $1,265,000 in 2008 (despite the fact that he's only showed up to work six times) is struggling. He's played in less than half of New York's matches, and according to coach Juan Carlos Osorio, it is likely that Reyna's injury (herniated disc) will keep him sidelined even longer.

"To the best of my knowledge, Claudio's condition was discovered as a long-term injury," Osorio told MLSnet. "Given the nature of his injury, what we're trying to do is monitor day-by-day his fitness. He is doing his own rehab. Until the time the head physio tells me he is fully fit, I'm not considering to bring him back to the first team."

I call shenanigans! In a ESPN series on injuries featuring a Dr. Watkins, Watkins answered some questions about herniated disks. In it, he calls the rehabilitation process key for an athlete to return to action. I'm not sure a charity match with your celebrity friends counts as a "Level 5 exercise."

Don't get me wrong. I love Claudio. He is far-and-away the best midfielder the U.S. has ever produced (so far). But playing in a charity match with your buddies -- when your club (the one paying you) is struggling to generate offense (without Angel or Altidore) and has just six wins in 15 matches -- is bad form. Charity or not.

“They knew I was playing in this,” Reyna told Big Apple Soccer. “They knew I’ve been training this week, not ready to play 90 minutes or travel with the team, but I needed a week of fitness. This fit in perfectly. I talked to coach and they knew what I was doing so there was no problem.”

But he misses the point. Whether or not the coach and your teammates are away that you're playing in a charity match is inconsequential to whether or not you should be. What kind of message does it send to your team when they see one of the club's highest paid players goofing around with Thierry Henry back home when they have to travel across the country for a 1-1 draw with Chivas USA, a draw that was due in part to a disorganized midfield. Do they think, gee, I hope he had fun?

Now I'm not saying that he shouldn't have hosted the event, or that his injury is not as serious as he says it is, but leadership involves sacrifice and he should have sat this one out as a message to his teammates that says, I'm working hard to get back and help and I'm not going to risk getting re-injured just to play against a bunch of celebrities.

You may be regaining your fitness, Claudio, but on Wednesday you showed bad form.