how do I do an emoticon for that thumb-and-pinkie surfer greeting? Will always be a favorite of mine. Congrats on a great career and on being part of the bridge group of players that brought soccer (somewhat) out of obscurity for the mainstream American sports fan. Every time I shank a cross in my 40+ league, I'll think of you, Frankie.
For an idea of how long Frankie's international career spanned here is the info from his first cap: From suiting up with guys like Caligiuri, Harkes, Ramos, etc. to then playing alongside guys like Altidore, who are still considered young hopefuls for our program. Pretty impressive.
Hard to say much more, but Frankie was class. Effort, desire, passion in spades. Plus perspctive. Thanks for what you gave the shirt, Frankie. It was appreciated.
Seems that Frankie also earned the PK in that game. Check out the highlights: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-w1CpJ5eBo"]1996 (August 30) USA 3-El Salvador 1 (Friendly).avi - YouTube[/ame]
And every time Frankie shanked a cross in a game, he thought of us over-40 players. Signed, A right-footed left back
So, here's a question for debate - Should Frankie Hejduk be in the US Soccer Hall of Fame? On the one hand, there's all the positive stuff we've already discussed. It builds a pretty good case. On the other, he was never a Best XI player, in the prime of his career he struggled for playing time in Switzerland, he had three MLS seasons where he played fewer than 10 regular season games and never played more than 24 regular season games in any season. And while he split his time between being a midfielder and an attacking defender, he only averaged one goal and 2 assists per season (12 goals and 25 assists in 12 MLS seasons). I think he'll get in, in part because he was suck a warrior who played well in big games and won a lot of trophies and he was always great with the media, which never hurts. (And even if they don't vote him in, I'm sure the veterans will.) And because he won so many trophies. But if he gets in, it bolsters the cases for guys like Jeff Cunningham, Tony Sanneh, Jason Kreis, Robin Fraser and Taylor Twellman - none of them had the national team careers that Hejduk did but all of them were more accomplished in MLS than Frankie was.
Thank you for your service Frankie. March 28, 2009 will never forget! [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSPl5KhYnS4"]MNT vs. El Salvador: Highlights - March 28, 2009 - YouTube[/ame]
He was a fan favorite, and really, that is debatable over the course of time - he had his down times. Not a Hall of Famer. There's a difference.
I'm friends with a couple guys who grew up with Frankie, and man do they have some stories. There's plenty that I can't share in a public forum, but a couple that I can: - One of their older brothers had a pickup truck and a job. Sometimes when this guy would leave for work, Frankie would take off running after the pickup truck and jump in the back. This guy would constantly be late for work because he's have to drive Frankie back home. Finally the guy just left Frankie on the side of the 5 freeway one day, which was the last time Frankie jumped in. - This being 4/20 and all: Apparently on the soccer field isn't the only place that Frankie's lung capacity is world class. - These guys (and Frankie) grew up with, and are still best friends with, Rob Machado the famous surfer. When they were in high school, every one of them would have guess that Frankie would be the pro surfer and Rob Machado the pro soccer player.
`,,,´ (traditional) (´ is ASCII 0xB4 "Acute Accent") `„„´ (polydacduuudaly) („ is ASCII 0x84 "Double Low-9 Quotation Mark") .,||,. (Hannibal Lecter wishes you well)* * done (his having six fingers, and subsequent elision thereof, constituted two plot elements in the books)
If only players with more skill had half his heart. USA Legend. Hall of famer first ballot for me. Dominated in Korea, single handedly salvaged a point in El Salvador with his desire, mountains of video and press clippings to entertain us forever, and he even tailgated with the fans. The list goes on. When someone asks me to describe what being an American soccer player means I point immediately to this guy.
Thanks for all the memories Frankie... here's a little ode to ya... [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFstthQIWZw&list=HL1334941894&feature=mh_lolz"]KULA SHAKER-"HEY DUDE" - YouTube[/ame]
Let it not be forgotten that Hejduk continued to come up huge in some key matches even during this past cycle. Scored a crucial goal to get us to the finals of the 2007 Gold Cup in a 2-1 Semi-Final win over Canada. Had a strong outing in 1-0 win over Cuba in 2008 that helped us advance to the Hex. Started our first three matches of the Hex in 2009, all of them wins, including an immense performance against Mexico and a man-of-the match performance against El Salvador. This was all in his mid 30's as well.
January 2009, Steve Cherundolo had gone down with a hip injury at Hannover 96. The United States was facing it's first match in the Hex, a critical one vs Mexico. Who would get the call at right back, the experienced Frankie Hejduk or the up and coming Marvell Wynne? Big Soccer opened the inquiry . . . https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=930237 . . the rest is legend.
I'm tempted to neg rep some people from a thread that is 3 years old... Never understood all the Marvell love. He played decently in the Olympics, but all his other callups were not very good.
I will NEVER forget that El Salvador game. And the only reason I will never forget it is because of his contributions. I can't remember who else played that day, but I have vivid images of Heydude busting ass all over the place and then pushing one of his own teammates out of the way to make sure we got that 2nd goal.
I ran into him outside the stadium in Kaiserslautern in 06. He was just wandering around greeting fans. I too was surprised how small he was. Very friendly guy. I always enjoy his spirit and contribution to our team.