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'Following my heart' Wizards defender Alexi Lalas retiring from soccer
Posted: Thursday October 14, 1999 07:58 PM
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Alexi Lalas, the red-haired, goateed defender who became one of America's best-known soccer players as well as an off-field celebrity, is retiring at the end of the current MLS season. Lalas, 29, has spent this season with the Kansas City Wizards of Major League Soccer. His plans were announced by the team Saturday night. "I have decided to leave the game and I am looking forward to starting a new chapter in my life off the field," Lalas said. "I want to make it clear that my decision has absolutely nothing to do with wins, losses, trades or being in Kansas City." "On the contrary, the people in KC have gone out of their way to express their support and to make me feel at home. "This is simply a question of following my heart and thus makes it difficult to explain to people how or why I came to this decision," he said. "At 29, I feel I could definitely continue to play for some time, but this is not about age or ability. It is a personal choice and something that I feel is right at this moment in my life." Lalas, a four-time MLS all-star, was traded to the Wizards in January by the New York/New Jersey Metro Stars. He had four goals and one assist this season. Lalas played at Rutgers, where in 1991 he won the Hermann Trophy and Missouri Athletic Club Award as the nation's top college player. He played on the U.S. teams in the 1994 and 1998 World Cups, as well as in the Olympics in 1992 and 1996. Lalas was named U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year in 1995, and he is the only American to have played in Italy's Serie A, the world's top professional league. "This game has given me so many things that have nothing to do with kicking the ball," Lalas said. "It has enabled me to travel, learn languages, meet interesting people and explore new cultures, all from the unique perspective of an American soccer player." Wizards coach Bob Gansler said Lalas' decision to retire was a "total surprise." "Obviously, Alexi had made his decision and there was no way to talk him out of it," Gansler said. Lalas is a musician with a band, Nectar Drop, which has produced a CD, and he hosted a weekly radio show in Kansas City.
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