Report: Ben Olsen to retire from D.C. United, professional soccer at 32

By Chris Hummer, Potomac Soccer Wire Editor

Steven Goff's Soccer Insider is reporting several reliable sources have told him Ben Olsen has decided to retire from professional soccer as a player.

Save a few month loan in 2000 to Nottingham Forest, the 32 year old from central Pennsylvania has spent his entire professional career with D.C. United after leaving the University of Virginia early.

He was MLS Rookie of the year in 1998, and won his first MLS Cup in 1999, contributing the second goal in the 2-0 victory over Los Angeles. The performance also earned him MLS Cup MVP.

The following season, Olsen started in 13 of 13 games in which he played, but had a bad ankle injury that cost him 40 days of the MLS season. He ended the season going on a much-publicized loan to Notingham Forest in England, where he quickly became a fan favorite. However, a gruesome ankle injury cut his time abroad short just when it looked like a permanent move to European soccer and a 2002 World Cup debut were imminent. Instead, the fracture required multiple surgeries, causing him to miss almost two solid years of professional soccer and nearly ended his career.

Fortunately, Olsen was able to rehabilitate his way back to MLS action in July 2002, returning to his beloved D.C. He won his 2nd MLS Cup in 2004, starting and playing the entire game in the 3-2 win over Kansas City.

Ironically, as Olsen aged, and his ankles become more bothersome, it was the 2007 season that was perhaps his best overall in MLS. Moving back to outside midfield after several years in a central role, the man with the "heart of a lion" tallied a career-high seven goals to go along with the same number of assists. The season included a first and only MLS hat trick while scoring twice in another match. The season-long performance resulted in a spot on the MLS Best 11 team, the only of his career.

In what appears to have been his final season with D.C., Olsen soldiered through 20 games, starting 18, in a near constant state of pain after a frustrating 2008 year of injuries and surgeries. He played over 1,300 minutes, scoring once and assisting once. As his team struggled down the season stretch, Olsen's frustrations boiled over near the end of near must-win game when he was ejected for pinging a 10 yard ball off the back of an opposing player's head after earning a foul. It was indicative of his passion, but not of his maturity as a player, and in hindsight, appears to have been a sign that he was nearly out of fight after a rollercoaster career where his greatness seemed constantly interrupted just on the cusp of consistent success.

Despite returning to action in the final game, when the playoffs still a possibility, Olsen and United were simply not able to do enough to squeak into the playoffs ahead of Real Salt Lake, a finalist in Sunday's MLS Cup.

If this was indeed his last season in MLS, Olsen's career stats will stand at 221 regular season games, 200 of which were starts. The appearance number is second in club history, behind the still active Jaimie Moreno. In those games, Olsen scored 29 goals and assisted 49 others, seventh and third in team history respectively.

Olsen has appeared for the full US Men's National team 37 times, scoring six goals. The team was 19-6-12 when he made an appearance. He made the 2006 World Cup squad, appearing as a substitute for injured Captain Claudio Reyna in a 2-1 loss to Ghana.

The man he played for in the World Cup was the same that had recruited him to Virginia, and the same to coach him his rookie year in MLS - Bruce Arena.

The news that Olsen was seriously considering retirement first broke on Goff's Soccer Insider Blog Friday morning then appears to have been confirmed through reliable sources in the afternoon. No formal announcement is expected until after this weekend's MLS Cup, in what appears to be a tradition of MLS teams not making any big news announcements in the week leading up to league's annual championship match.

Ben Olsen Career Summary - The Stats

High School - Middletown High School

Youth Club - FC Delco
- State, Region I, Youth National Teams
- Under-19 USYSA National Finalist - 1996

College - University of Virginia
- 1994-1997
- 34 Goals
- 41 Assists
- 56-8-8 Record
- 1997 Soccer America Collegiate Player of the Year

MLS - D.C. United
- 1998 MLS Rookie of the Year
- 1998 MLS All Star
- 1999 MLS Cup Champion
- 1999 MLS Cup MVP
- 1999 Supporters' Shield
- 1999 MLS All Star
- 2003 USSF Humanitarian of the Year
- 2004 MLS Cup Champion
- 2006 Supporters' Shield
- 2007 Supporters' Shield
- 2007 MLS Beset XI

2000 U.S. Olympic Team
- 9 caps in Australia and in Qualifying in Hershey, PA , just 10 minutes from Olsen's boyhood home.
- 5 appearances in Australia, 4 starts
- 4th place finish

US National Team
- 37 Caps, 21 starts
- 1,894 minutes played
- 6 Goals
- 1 Assist
- Team record of 19-6-12 when appeared
- 1 World Cup qualifying appearance, 2000 vs Costa Rica in Columbus, OH
- 1 World Cup Finals appearance, 2006 vs Ghana in Nuremberg, Germany


And on a personal note:
I only ever had the pleasure of playing on the same field as Ben Olsen one time, back in 1996 on a sod field in Lancaster, PA. The occasion was supposed to be a straight up scrimmage between his FC Delco side and my semi-pro team, but as is often the case on weekdays with men's teams, would you believe not enough guys showed? Fortunately, the few of us that did show, were invited to join Delco in an inter-squad scrimmage as part of their preparation for the US Youth Soccer National Championships. You could have seen from a mile away that summer evening in Amish country that Olsen was the by far the best player on the field - almost a literal blur of cuts, jukes, and flying feet - but always in control. Though I remember scoring a goal in that game, it was still the day I knew a true professional career had passed me by, at least if this "kid" wasn't even a pro yet and was basically walking around the rest of us as if we were standing still. In hindsight, perhaps a Ben Olsen at that moment in time was too high a bar for me to judge myself, but nonetheless, it was an honor to have been able to share that brief time in the presence of greatness. Clearly, it's a moment I've never forgotten. This is a sad sad day for soccer in America if this news is true, but American soccer is far far better off to have had a player like Ben grace our fields.


One final statistic:
Number of Soccer Editors for Potomac Soccer Wire who named their own son Ben = 1.

The Hat Trick Video: