Former USA captain Becky Sauerbrunn retires after glittering 16-year career Two-time World Cup winner and former US national team captain Becky Sauerbrunn has retired from professional soccer after a 16-year career, the 39-year-old defender said on Tuesday.
Loved by fans and known for her steady presence in the locker room, Sauerbrunn was the heart and soul of the American backline through a critical period in the US program, helping the team to World Cup wins in 2015 and 2019.
The four-time NWSL defender of the year, Sauerbrunn hoisted the championship trophy in the top-flight American league three times and won Olympic gold with the United States in 2012.
Sauerbrunn won 219 caps in her international career, after famously breaking her nose in her national team debut in 2008.
“I learned early on that we were all just renting our jerseys,” Sauerbrunn said in a statement provided by US Soccer.
