‘Even through the ups and downs’ - USMNT say goodbye to Tim Ream, the defender who defined and transcended eras

Despite the fact that it was now reality, Ream was still struggling to say the word "retirement". It's a tough one to say because of its finality. It means, after everything, the time has come to step away. That's one way Ream described it: stepping away. U.S. Soccer called Tuesday's ceremony a "recognition". Whatever you call it, it is real, though. Ream's time with the national team is officially over.

It ends after 86 caps spread across 16 years, making him the second longest-tenured outfield player in USMNT history. Only DaMarcus Beasley had more time between his first and last caps.

"I'm not surprised by that," Ream said.

Ream also wasn't surprised that this moment arrived. It wasn't sudden, and it wasn't a knee-jerk call. No, this decision was a long time in the making, and one that Ream has grown more comfortable with despite it still being hard to really articulate.

Ironically, he'd discussed it before. After the USMNT's elimination at the hands of the Netherlands in 2022, Ream said that was it for him. It was up to the next generation to take things forward, he said on that day in Qatar, and that next generation wouldn't involve him.

And then it did. He earned 36 of his 86 caps post-2022 World Cup. His 2022 wasn't a goodbye; in some ways, it was a prelude to an even bigger run through 2026. That run, though, was actually final. There would be no more late surges from a player whose career was defined by them.

"This has been discussed," Ream said of his conversations with Pochettino. "It was discussed before camp that I would not be a player with the national team anymore... That's it for me, and I'm proud of being a part of something for 16 years, but it is time to step away and stay away from playing with the national team."

He added: "I know I've said in the past that I won't retire from the national team until I retire from the game, but the kids are getting younger and younger, and I don't mean my own kids."

The rising kids of the USMNT are one reason that Ream, now 38, knew it was time to step away. The USMNT squad is littered with teenagers, all of whom could only dream of having a career half as long as Ream's. Two World Cups, two trophies, dozens of games with the armband - it's a career that few in national team history can match.

It wasn't just the USMNT's kids that convinced Ream it was time; his own kids played a part, too.

As Ream was honored on the field, he was surrounded by family. Standing alongside him in a jacket emblazoned with his No. 13 was his wife, Kristen. They were surrounded by their three children, all wearing the USMNT's home kit with their family name on it. Even the normally-stoic Ream couldn't quite hide his joy. Despite all Ream had said about being uncomfortable with the honor, it did make him crack a smile.

"It wasn't my idea," Ream said. "This is not my idea of something that I'm comfortable with. I'm more just a guy who just thought I was just doing my job, playing my role, but I'm grateful to be sitting here after all of that."

What made Ream more grateful was that his family has been there through it all. His kids are old enough to have seen him captain his country in a World Cup. His wife, whom he met in college, has been there through a journey that has brought him to Europe and back. And, in the stands, there were thousands of people with connections to him, either as a fan or friend, via his hometown of St. Louis.

All the sacrifices, then, were worth it, but they were sacrifices. Ultimately, it was those sacrifices that made Ream consider his future.

"Especially since the World Cup ended," he began, "it's kind of figuring out, 'Okay, how much longer do I really want to do it?' Can I continue to do it? Yeah, physically, I feel good, but do I want to do it? Do the long hours before a training session match the time that it takes to recover after a training session?"

As he gets closer to finishing, Ream has thought more about everything it's taken. For much of his life, his goal was to get to a World Cup. Then, once he got there, he spent three-and-a-half years fighting to go to one more. Ultimately, it was mission accomplished. He did it, and he got to wear the captain's armband, too.

It took a lot of people to get him there, though. It took his wife being understanding when Ream would jet away for weeks at a time to represent the national team. It took his children knowing that their dad was doing something special that meant he wouldn't be around every single week. And it took Ream's desire to represent his country, despite knowing the moments he may miss along the way.

"For me, it was a goal of mine to make it to another World Cup," Ream said. "I achieved that. I was able to do that. I was able to contribute in a big way and be a part of something that is so much bigger than you. At the end of your career, I think it gives you a really big appreciation for all the time and effort put in - not just of yourself and the time that you put in yourself, but the time that your loved ones don't get with you, the time and effort that they put in to help you get to reach those goals.

"It's something that that I've I've reflected on a lot in the last couple months: how much effort and love and care it takes, from family to friends to yourself to staff at U.S. Soccer to backroom staff, that no one gets to see."

Ream's USMNT teammates got a first-hand look at that work for years, and it's those within U.S. Soccer who are now tasked with trying to find a way to replace everything Ream offered.

When Pochettino entered St. Louis City SC's press room for his pregame press conference, there was a gift waiting for him: a Caesar salad left on instruction from Ream. The first time Pochettino's USMNT came to St. Louis, Ream picked the restaurant, and it was at that restaurant that Pochettino had a Caesar salad that remains an inside joke all these years later.

"Tim was really great for us from the day that we met," Pochettino said. "He remembered where that conversation went, and I think he remembered everything, our salad, too. He was great for us, and for me, in a personal way, because, as a human being, he's great. The way that he performed, too.

"He was an amazing part of my career because, to meet a person like him and a human being, he helped me to adapt here to the culture in the USA. He was humble enough. He was always defending his team and teammates and helping us in every single decision."

The salad was one of many Ream stories. Chris Richards laughed as he recalled Ream's behind-the-back pass to Sebastian Berhalter. Pochettino has plenty of his own. Of all the players he's worked with during his career, Ream is among his favorites. There is no shortage of Ream stories, but there are none left to be written in a USMNT shirt.

Well, there was one more: that speech, which served as both a welcoming to the new generation and, in many ways, a goodbye to a 38-year-old defender that was in a generation of his own.

"I actually got a text message on the way to a Q&A last night that I was a senior at St. Louis University when [Cavan] was born," Ream said with a level of self-deapprecation. "He's only four years older than my oldest."

So what's Ream's message to those youngsters? What does he want to see from the next generation that is quite clearly on the rise?

"I think the thing that stands out to me with them is the same thing that stood out with the Westons, the Tylers, the Gios, these guys who stepped into the national team, is that they have a ridiculous amount of confidence. It's refreshing, and it borders on being cocky, but I think you have to have that little bit of swagger. You have to have that belief in yourself.

"They're still learning. There are times to vocalize that and be about that, and times to step back, but they know who they are, and they're not shy about it. "

In the two games of this camp, Pochettino has leaned on Tyler Adams and Antonee Robinson as captain. Chris Richards, too, has worn the armband. Ream will be hard to replace, particularly on the field. His career was full of comebacks, but in his final years with the USMNT, his composure, experience and leadership made him a trusted presence in the back line. Now his place is open, and it's there for the taking.

Ream is leaving more than just an armband or a place on the field behind, though; he's leaving a legacy that he's now a little bit more free to think about.

Ream can't pick a favorite moment. He can't narrow it down. From his first cap in South Africa to his last in Seattle, there were too many moments and too many eras. There were the initial years, then the years out in the wilderness. Then there was the sudden revival in 2022 that led to his leadership role in 2026. There were multiple times along the way where Ream thought it was over. Now it is.

"It's what makes the journey the journey," he said. "There's not one thing that I can point to and say, 'Oh, I'm so happy that happened'. I can tell you, the last four years have been the most enjoyable time I've ever had with the national team, and that's not to say that it was better than the rest, but it was the most enjoyable.

"I look at the other times that were difficult times, and I think, 'Yeah, you made it through the turmoil and the whatever it was, the setbacks, and you came out the other side, and you continued to push and plug away'. I don't think I can separate any moments."

So what's next for Ream? For now, he's focused on Charlotte FC. There's still an MLS regular season to play and a playoff chase ongoing. Ream is stepping away from the national team, but he's not done playing yet.

"I've kind of taken each day and week as it comes along," he said. "But I know that I'm much closer now than I was six months ago to being finished completely, and then we'll see. There I go again: closer to, not saying retirement, but finishing."

He added: Once the season finishes, then you figure it out from there. That won't be a decision made or vocalized until after the last ball is kicked."

During Tuesday's press conference, Ream was asked about his own place in history, for both his city and his country. St. Louis has produced some of the game's greats - where does he fit among them?

"This is already terrible for me," he said, "just sitting here. I just don't see that; I just see myself as me. I don't think about or try to compare myself to others, but if someone would have told me that [I was in those discussions], I would have said, 'That's amazing.'"

It's so long, then, to a player who had his own share of amazing moments. Whether it's a retirement, a recognition or a finish, whatever you want to call it, Ream has said goodbye, and it's safe to say that there won't be another one quite like him.