Pope reflects on his career and state of U.S. soccer

	Eddie Pope has been one of the most durable defenders in U.S. national-team history, with 87 caps and three World Cup appearances. Phil Cole/Getty Images
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CHICAGO -- Slowly, one by one, the old guard is making way for the new.

The latest U.S. player to retire from international soccer is defender Eddie Pope, who followed Claudio Reyna and Brian McBride by announcing that he'll focus entirely on his club career from now on.

Pope's national-team legacy will be as one of the best defenders in U.S. history, a mainstay of three World Cup teams and the owner of 87 caps. Unlike Reyna or McBride, though, Pope has played his entire career in MLS, turning down an opportunity to go to Germany's Bayer Leverkusen in the late 1990s.

Quiet by nature, Pope has always been one of the most thoughtful U.S. players in a one-on-one setting, and we sat down to discuss his thoughts on his career, the 2006 World Cup, the next step for the U.S. and his hope that African-Americans continue to play a bigger role in soccer here.

SI.com: What are your emotions in making this decision?

Pope: It's weird. You think about it and say that it's time, then you think about how much you're going to miss it, being with your teammates and all the hard work. You forget about how hard it was and remember how much fun it was. But for everyone it has to come to an end at some point.

SI.com: When you look back at your national-team career, what are the biggest highlights in your mind?

Pope: For me [the] 2002 [World Cup] was unbelievable. I still remember every emotion like it was yesterday. I'd say that and probably my first game [in 1996] and how excited and nervous I was for it.

SI.com: Now that you've had some time to think about the '06 World Cup, what's your take on it?

Pope: Obviously we would have liked for it to have gone better, but sometimes you have to step back and not be so negative. First of all, you're lucky to be playing in a World Cup. It's such a hard event. We qualified pretty well, and then you get to the finals and we're in one of the toughest groups. We should have been seeded and didn't get that even though we'd earned it. In '02, things fell our way a lot and we earned a lot of our success. This time things didn't fall our way and we took some knocks, but that's how it goes.

SI.com: Have you seen any video of the second yellow card you got against Italy?

Pope: I probably watched enough of it in Germany [laughs]. Even when I came off, [my teammates] were like, "You got so screwed." I felt like I got the ball. But the first yellow was [a] bad [call] when I looked at that again. We're not everyone's favorite around the world.

SI.com: A lot of folks are saying now that if the U.S. wants to take the next step it needs more players in Europe. You always turned down chances to go to teams like Bayer Leverkusen. What's your stance on that debate?