Shame. Was my fave USA player as well. I'll always remember: assist to Mathis in Daegu goal against Portugal non-call handbal in the Mexico game [/snicker] *sighs*
why are we still speaking about him? anyone who still has hope for him is either a saint or a lunatic.
Maybe USSF could get him to help be a technical director for the nationwide youth org there were rumors about. Sign him up along with Danny Karbassiyoon (although the USSF probably couldn't pay as much as Arsenal).
A friend of mine hangs out in Venice Beach with him every so often. My friend doesn't ever ask him about his plans (he feels that it wouldn't be cool to pester him), but knows that he's playing rec-league stuff, taking it easy, trying to heal.
Is John O'Brien's problem mental or physical? Judging by how long he's been out and his few appearances on Studio90 during the last World Cup my gut tells me he's got a mental problem. No joking here - we've seen players like Sebastian Diesler of Bayern Munich throw in the towel due to depression. That is the only explanaition I can see given that nobody has come out said anything and there isn't a simple medical/physical answer. I know a while ago he was working with the sports gurus at HDC and certainly with the USMNT he had benefit of Pierre and Hash to get him on the right track. Nothing seems to have worked - and he seems super trippy or zoned out in all of the interviews I've seen. He's now MIA and with his last grow your hair out look - seems like he's acting every bit the soccer Howard Hughes. Rec leagues? What's going on? How come nobody knows anything or nobody is talking - is it because he has a mental problem?
For the same reason people keep bringing up Cory Gibbs name. Both of them have to play a lot of club minutes somewhere, anywhere and prove they are healthy before they should be mentioned here.
Just a couple more years of rehab and he'll be all set for South Africa. Seriously, it's time to write the retirement letter and move on.
maybe we should let him rehab until 3 weeks ahead of the world cup, which then he plays 45 minutes against jamaica and is pencilled in at attacking mid. co...bruce...ugh
His birthday 08/29/77 so he'll be 30 this year. "Of all the words of tongue and pen, the saddest are 'It might have been'"
He tried out with the Red Bulls during there preseason training. The bad news is he could not stay healthy long enough to stay on the field. The guy became my favorite player during the 2002 cup and it sucks to see him like this. The injuries basically are going to end his career pretty soon.
I think his trippy-ness might have something to do with a chick by the name of Mary Jane. He did play in Amsterdam for a while.
Even if he never plays again at any level, he has contributed mightily to the US national team. When I think of O'Brien I always think first and foremost of the 2002 World Cup, and then of the injuries. Most people here reverse that, which is a shame.
JOB, when healthy and fit, was better than any other US international I have ever seen. He was easily our best player at the 2002 WC and 2005 Gold Cup. Unfortunately, he hasn't been both healthy and fit nearly often enough. I've assumed his career is over since before the Galaxy released him. I'm still pretty confident in that assumption. I do find the complete silence from everyone who should know something about his situation to be more than a little strange, though.
let's not forget that he was a young-yanks-abroad pioneer, going to Ajax as a teenager, learning the language, thriving at the club. A gold-standard, I think.
Where are all the writers who cover the sport nationwide? Can't any of them get some sort of update on this guy? I'm not saying he'll ever be on the NT again, but it's weird that he's just disappeared
maybe we should get a bunch of people together and hire a private investigator. how dare he go on with his life without even the consideration of letting BSers know what he's doing.