HeyDude Retires

Hell of a career.

*Played in two World Cups, including a quaterfinal, and only injury kept him from a third WC.

*Played in two Olympics, including a run to the semis.

*Won three Gold Cups.

*Earned 85 caps.

*Played in the Champions' League (including a couple of Man of the Match games) and the Bundesliga.

*Won two MLS Cups, one as captain.

*Won 5 MLS Supporters' Shields (in 12 seasons).

 

Hejduk always made me smile. A true warrior who represented the US well.

Best of luck to his future endeavors.

 

I met him twice

Once in St Pete Beach Florida during the MLS off season. He ran a lot on the beach and we were running parallel on the beach. I realised who it was and we talked a bit and he was genuinely surprised that I knew who he was. He was a lot shorter than he appeared. He was cordial but had to leave to pick up his kid from school.

I bought him a beer once at a loca bar there a few months later . I almost took it back when I realized he was wearing a trucker hat and came in one Razor Scooter.

Quailty guy and I wish him luck in his future endeavours.

 

I heard he missed his retirement announcement cause he was out on the beach all night

 

One of my all time favorite US players.

 

Wow. While I knew a lot his accomplishments, it really doesn't hit you until seeing them all on paper (Ok. On screen). As a member of the 2002, he will always have a special place in my heart.

I don't have one specific memory, but rather, everytime he was on the field, he always gave 100% for country or club. He got the most out of his ability, and at the end of the day, it is all that I ask of a player.

Surfs Up!

 

I used to grill this guy a lot, but he was a hell of a contributor to US Soccer. His energy, his enthusiasm, his competitiveness got us results, and while his style wasn't pretty, he was actually a lot of fun to watch. He played his heart out and kept smiling and that won me and a whole lot of us over in the end.

 

We all did. Anyway remember the famous Heydude step over? The move that never worked...

How about his ability to cross the ball? We all gave him credit later in his career once he couldn consistanly cross the ball.

 

Thanks for the memories, Frankie.


[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s2MvYoV8A8"]All About Frankie Hejduk - YouTube[/ame]

 

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfRcJpy0fFo"]US Soccer - Frankie Hejduk - YouTube[/ame] (I like the German touch).

He never stopped running, and his commitment was fantastic. Enjoy retirement.

 

Frankie enjoys life. I am sure he will enjoy retirement. He was definitely not the best player to don a USMNT jersey, but there is no other player with whom you could ever question his effort and heart. I wish you will Frankie and thanks for the Mexico match in Columbus. It will forever be remembered by this fan.

 

Retired? He's only 50/50 to make the 2014 roster now.

Thanks Frankie.

Thanks for being one of the few busting his balls in '98.

Thanks for the two goals vs. El Salvador in the last qualifying cycle.

Thanks for the nutmeg and step over vs. Mexico in Dallas friendly 6 or 7 years ago.

Thanks for never getting a red card for a studs up, two-footed lunge tackle at an inopportune time, though we all fully expected you to do so.

And most of all, thanks for the 2006 Studio 90 cameo at the end with Donovan & Arena in the video game room. DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDE

 

Great. Now be a coach.







Too harsh?

I don't care what people say if he sucked or not, but this guy was a big fan of mine, now he's retired, maybe now he'll join Lalas and Wynalda doing game analysis.

 

Three years ago, Karl K started a thread about Frankie that turned into one of the nicest tributes to a US player I've seen around here. Here's the link:

https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=944220&highlight=Army+Frankie+Hejduks

My own favorite memory involving Frankie was a video put up a few years ago of the dreaded beep test at one of the national team training camps. It came down to Donovan and Frankie. And Landon can be heard muttering "not human" as he drops out.

 

Hejduk was that rare player that coaches love in a locker room who could strike the perfect balance between keeping things intense and keeping things loose.

It's a gift that can't be taught and it can be invaluable in big games. That's one of the reasons coaches loved having Frankie around. (Also a reason the Germans were baffled by him.) That, and the fact that he was always uber-fit and always busted his ass when he was on the field. And being able to play either flank, as a MF or back, didn't hurt either.

Bruce Arena, who knows a thing or two about winning big games in the US, absolutely loved him. Back when I had DCU season tix in the (pre-kids, for me) early days of MLS and the ticket reps were a lot more loose-lipped (or more in the loop) with player gossip, my rep told me that Arena had tried to get Hejduk from Tampa and that Kevin Payne thought he was nuts because Hejduk was, in Payne's eyes, such a poor passer. (In fairness to Payne, he was pretty erratic back then.)

But Bruce insisted and they made a play to get him from the Mutiny but Tampa asked for something like Eddie Pope and the deal got killed.

One other story that I've told before about Hejudk - my apologies if you've ready it already. At the 06 WC, Hejduk sat a couple rows in from of me for the opening game against the Czechs. He had been originally named to the roster for the 06 WC but got hurt shortly after the rosters were announced but rather than sit home and sulk, he flew to Germany to cheer on his boys.

And cheer, he did. As most of you painfully remember, the US was down in that game by the 5th minute and out of it by halftime. But Hejduk never gave up. He stood on his seat most of the game, shirt off and waiving in the air, encouraging any and all around him not to give up and continually pulling, very vocally, for his boys. Even towards the end of the game when the result was inevitable, Hejduk kept cheering.

He never quit. And that is what he brought to every team he ever played for and it spilled over to the rest of his team.

His effort will always be appreciated and his spirit on the team and MLS will be missed.

 

My favorite Frankie moment was him single-handedly willing the US to a draw at El Salvador in 2009. Had the assist on the first goal, and then pushed Jozy out of the way to score the equalizer.

The guy will probably still be match fit after retiring, and there is still a 50% chance that I could be talked into supporting him as the 4th fullback in 2014, retired or not.

 

That was the beauty of Frankie. He'd fight for it on days when others were either too intimidated or cocky or tired or whatever, and with those lungs he'd sometimes just run his competition right into the ground and then go for the jugular.

That kind of player doesn't really have many off-days, and he doesn't choke, and his teammates can feed off his energy. He'll be missed.

 

From that thread... "the heart of a lion," "the lungs of a horse," "the eye of the tiger," "the hair of a rock star," "the shorts of a nerd," and um... "the kick of an elephant."

Pretty much sums up the least-skilled player to make my all-time favorites list.

 

Frankie vs El Salvador, March 28, 2009.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI4ybPx0Ock&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI4ybPx0Ock&feature=related[/ame]

Thanks for the memories, Frankie . .

 

Frankie had many laudable intangibles but he possessed that one tangible that you can't teach and will always turn a coach's head: speed.

For so many years we complained when he was on the field but were eventually forced to acknowledge something important was missing when he wasn't.

 

Left back, 2002.

One of the most underrated performances in US Soccer history. Not the perfect solution, but he owned his side defensively

And he owned Mexico.

Will always be one of my favorites.

 

1) That doesn't surprise me at all.

2) You sure it wasn't this guy?



3) A US legend. Always brought his all, from the Frankie Dance against Austria in '98 to his goal against Canada in the Gold Cup in 2007.

In one of those ussoccer.com videos, the assistant coach from Bayer Leverkusen said it best: "There's only one Frankie Hejduk." Who else will fake ninja-kick in the hallways with hotel staff during the World Cup?

 

Farnkie was always a favorite of mine, and a great servant to the USA. Thank You Frankie, for all of the effort and the success you helped bring us.

If there ever is an American Style or an iconic type of American Player, I hope it turns out that Frankie's laid back life attitude, his passion and athleticism on the pitch, and his general 'coolness' are used as model traits.