US midfielder Benny Feilhaber retires from soccer at 35

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Midfielder Benny Feilhaber retired from soccer on Wednesday after a career that included playing for the United States at the 2010 World Cup and nine years in Major League Soccer.

The 35-year-old scored two goals in 44 international appearances from 2007-17, including a tiebreaking goal on a 22-yard volley that lifted the U.S. over Mexico in the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup final. He made three appearances, all as a substitute, at the World Cup in South Africa, and also played for the U.S. at 2008 Olympics.

“I have had the humbling privilege to compete alongside so many great teammates and coaches for the last 15 years, and I am extremely thankful for the moments we have shared together on and off the field,” Feilhaber said in a statement.

Born in Rio de Janeiro and raised in Irvine, California, Feilhaber made the UCLA soccer team as a walk-on and appeared for the U.S. at the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship for players under 20.

He left UCLA after two seasons, signed with Germany’s Hamburg and made his Bundesliga debut in October 2006. He moved to England’s Derby for 2006-07 and appeared in 10 Premier League matches, then spent three seasons with Denmark’s Aarhus.

He moved to Major League Soccer with New England (2011-12), Kansas City (2013-17, 2019), Los Angeles FC (2018) and Colorado (2019), scoring 41 goals in 262 regular-season appearances.

Feilhaber made just three appearances for the U.S. when the team was coached by Jürgen Klinsmann, during exhibitions at the start of each year in 2012, 2013 and 2014, then returned for three matches in 2017 after Klinsmann was fired and replaced by Bruce Arena. His final appearance was as an 84th-minute substitute during the October 2017 loss at Trinidad and Tobago that eliminated the Americans from qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.