McCarthy's Musings: The Emperor's Reign Ends

By Kyle McCarthy

Claudio Suarez wasn't supposed to end his career this way.

Not with a bitter interview to La Opinion slating Chivas USA for not offering enough money. Not with a club seemingly ambivalent about his return and unwilling to offer anything more than a sum Suarez dubbed “ridiculous.” Not at 40 years old and ravaged by a body that couldn't hold up to the rigors of a professional season any longer.

Suarez deserved more than this unseemly denouement. A veteran of three World Cups and 176 appearances for the Mexican national team, Suarez joined Chivas USA in 2006 and immediately gave the Goats a dependable cog in the back. A truncated 2006 – Suarez spent some time bench sitting at his third World Cup – showed fans Suarez could still compete at MLS level. A fantastic 2007 distinguished Suarez as one of the premier defenders in the league.

Age finally caught up to Suarez in 2008. An assortment of injuries and the death of his father limited Suarez to 14 games. Never the fastest player, it seemed like Suarez could no longer make up for his lack of pace as his body started to fail.

At the end of 2008, Suarez said that he wanted to return for another season. Chivas USA didn't appear to share Suarez's enthusiasm because of those injuries and because of those indifferent performances. Protracted negotiations over a new contract failed – one wonders how the club couldn't scrape up a deal to match the $125,000 base salary Suarez earned in 2008 – and led to Suarez's retirement.

Neither party looks like it will benefit from the divorce in the short term. Suarez now will play in the local amateur leagues and run soccer camps with Ramon Ramirez instead of playing one final year. Chivas USA will head to battle with Bobby Burling, Shavar Thomas and Jim Curtin as its primary central defensive options and will give Abel Xavier a look on trial.

But in the long term, the instant pain will fade away and the circumstances surrounding Suarez's retirement will be forgotten. All that will remain is the totality of Suarez's contributions to Chivas USA and to Mexican soccer. Those who will reflect upon Suarez's career over the next few years will give him the proper send off, even if that retrospective won't include one last year in MLS.

Around the League

- ESPN SportsCenter anchor Hannah Storm will interview David Beckham on Wednesday morning. Expect lots of candor from Beckham, who generally opens up a window to his soul in these sorts of interviews. Or just imagine every cliché you can and grab a cup of coffee instead of watching the interview.

- Galaxy teammate Landon Donovan was far more candid in a Tuesday press conference. Potshots at Beckham and Bayern Munich show that Donovan has come back with guns blazing.

- Jon Conway is now eligible to practice with New York during the regular season after MLS Commissioner upheld an appeal from the MLS Players Union. Conway and former teammate Jeff Parke had been barred from practicing with the Red Bulls while serving the first six games of a suspension for performance-enhancing drugs.

- Parke won't be practicing for Seattle or any other MLS team any time soon as he continues his tour of Belgium. After stops with K.V. Mechelen and Anderlecht, Parke is currently on trial with R.A.E.C. Mons.

- New York has signed former Barcelona and Real Madrid midfielder Albert Celades, 33, to a contract for 2009. Celades could also feature in the back for the defender-needy Red Bulls.

- With Louis Crayton out with a hip injury, D.C. United acquired Josh Wicks for a conditional SuperDraft pick in 2010. Hard to imagine Wicks as anything other than a stop gap measure.

- United will also have to hope Santino Quaranta and Fred can recover quickly after suffering hamstring injuries over the weekend.

- Interested in what MLS players make? Check out the alphabetical and team-by-team lists released by the MLS Players Union.

Kyle McCarthy writes the Monday MLS Breakdown and frequently writes opinion pieces during the week for Goal.com. He also covers the New England Revolution for the Boston Herald and MLSnet.com. Contact him with your questions or comments at kyle.mccarthy@goal.com.