BERLIN --
Former USA captain Carlos Bocanegra has announced he will retire at the end of the 2014 season.
Bocanegra, 35, announced his intentions to draw a close to his 15-year professional career on his personal Twitter account Thursday.
The current Chivas USA skipper and the former Chicago Fire, Fulham and Glasgow Rangers defender said he started to contemplate retirement prior to this season. He eventually decided to call time on his career at the end of this MLS season after weighing his options over the past few months.
"I'm still hungry for the game and I want to play, but unfortunately you can't play forever," Bocanegra said in a statement. "I was thinking about this in the offseason, and it took me about six months to come to a final decision. The timing is right for me. I've known for a little while now in my mind and in my heart. I'm happy with it, and I'm looking forward to the new challenges."
Bocanegra departs the game as one of the most accomplished and successful defenders in the history of USA Soccer. He made 110 appearances, played in two World Cups (2006 and 2010) and scored 14 times (a record for an American defender) during his career with the national team. He also captained the side on 64 occasions (he guided the team to victory on 34 occasions, tops in USA Soccer history) and led the team through the 2009 Confederations Cup and the 2010 World Cup campaigns.
Congrats to @BocaBoca3 on an amazing career. Couldn’t have asked for a better person to serve as the #USMNT captain. pic.twitter.com/ZGdZOga1mk
— Sunil Gulati (@sunilgulati) September 4, 2014
"Carlos has been an outstanding ambassador for U.S. Soccer," United States Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati said in a release. "As a player, a captain and a leader, he has epitomized the best of what it means to be a member of the National Team throughout his career. We are all extremely proud of everything he has accomplished, and look forward to working with him in continuing to help grow the sport in the country."
His success with the national team coincided with a lengthy career overseas. Bocanegra joined MLS in 2000 after a successful college career at UCLA and earned a move to Fulham in 2004. He quickly entrenched himself as a regular and eventually worked his way up to captain the side.
After his time with Fulham ended in 2008, Bocanegra moved to French side Rennes on a free transfer. He played two years for Rennes before making a switch to Saint-Etienne. Another move to Rangers followed the next year, but he departed after the club went into liquidations in 2012.
Bocanegra concluded his time in Europe with a brief spell at Racing Santander in the Spanish second division before returning to MLS and his native southern California by securing a move to Chivas USA in July 2013.
Injuries have limited him to 30 matches over the past season-and-a-half, but his presence with the Red-and-White remains firm nevertheless. Chivas USA has not won a regular-season match without him since he joined the club.
Bocanegra will hope to take the field before the end of the season after missing the past seven matches with a concussion, but he plans to remain active in the game once he ultimately wraps his career.
"When I finish my playing career, I'm looking to stay involved with soccer at the top level," Bocanegra said in a letter released by USA Soccer. "I'm eager to be a part of something special. I have the hunger and the drive and the desire to keep being involved, and that's not going anywhere. I'm excited, and I look forward to what's coming next."
