After a little hiatus, Babblin' Brooks has returned and I am already excited for the 2006 season. Unfortunately, I am here today to talk about a sad event in the world of soccer. As most of you know, MetroStars and MLS great Jeff Agoos announced his official retirement on Wednesday.
"Jeff Agoos is an American soccer legend," said MetroStars president and general manager Alexi Lalas. "He entertained a generation of soccer fans while being an ambassador for the sport, on and off the field. He was the consummate professional and found success wherever he went. He had an incredible career, and I'm sure he'll continue to have an impact on our game as he heads into this next chapter of his life."
The 10-year veteran of Major League Soccer is one of the most decorated athletes since the league's inception. Having won five championships and making nine all-star appearances, Agoos will go down in the books as one of the greatest defenders to ever play in MLS.
Agoos began his MLS career with D.C. United, winning three of the first four MLS Cups. Scoring one goal and leading the team in minutes in the league's inaugural season in 1996, Agoos made a statement to the nation that he was here to dominate.
The next year, when D.C. won its second consecutive MLS championship, Agoos received the Best XI honor, naming him the season's greatest player at his position. He received that same award in 1999.
In 2001, when Agoos was traded from D.C. United to the San Jose Earthquakes, he took over as captain for the struggling team. In one of the fastest turnarounds seen in any sport, Agoos led the last-place Earthquakes into first and eventually brought them their first MLS Championship. Once again that year he was named Best XI and also won the Defender of the Year award for the first time.
Two years later, Agoos did it again with the Earthquakes, winning MLS Cup for a record fifth time in eight years. New York Daily News and MLSnet.com reporter Michael Lewis said it best when he called Jeff Agoos the "King of Rings."
At the beginning of last year, the Red and Black wanted to do the same thing that San Jose did in 2001. They traded for Agoos with the belief that he could turn around some of the team's misfortunes.
Unfortunately, after using his veteran leadership to take the Metros into the playoffs, they came up short against New England in his last MLS game.
This year, Agoos was given another incredible honor, as he was named to the MLS All-Time Best XI team.
At the age of 37, Agoos not only made a statement in America, but also the world. He played 11 years with the United States national team, winning spots on the 1998 and 2002 World Cup teams. Second in caps with 134, Agoos also led the U.S. to its best-ever performance in the Olympics when the Red, White and Blue finished in fourth place in 2000.
Major League Soccer is losing one of its greatest, if not the greatest, defenders to ever play in the game. Whenever he was on a team's back line, the confidence level was high, knowing he had the leadership skills, aggression and overall quality of play to play against anyone.
The MetroStars are more than happy to have had Agoos on the team for a year, if only to lend advice to some of the younger defenders and other players.
That's all the babblin' I have time for this week. Go Metros!
