I hope he joins the FO in some capacity; maybe DCU youth teams like Moreno. His creative and skill abilities are still way above the average American player. My best wishes to him. Oddly, one of the best memories I have of him playing was for the USMNT in the 2009 Gold Cup at RFK. His goal was fantastic to witness in person. I loved it. It was great in so many respects. I also loved his first(?) goal at RFK upon his DC United return. And the photo (Matt Mathai's photo) of his celebration.
Damn... his return from the substance abuse problems were inspirational. I'm really sad he's done. Best wishes to a guy who really turned his life around.
Best wishes to Tino. IMHO bad call on the part of Ben/FO. He still has something to give at a lower cost (50-60K).
He may not want to play for that amount. I'm sure the team told him what they would be willing to pay for his services, but a) perhaps it wasn't enough; b) he really wants to move on and start the next portion of his life.
Good luck Tino. Thank you for helping DC the past decade and good luck with your future soccer endeavors. May your demons stay dormant.
kind of sad to see somebody retire this early when they're obviously talented. in the home match vs the Fire this season I recall some wow moments when he put some amazing cross-field passes right on Andy's foot. best of luck to him though.
My thoughts completely. Best wishes on the next phase of your life. You will always have friends on the supporters side of the stadium.
I'll miss him. Truly inspirational player. I'll never forget that USA goal at RFK two years ago. However, I doubt he'll be taking a job with the front office. According to Tino's quotes in the Goff article, it sounds like the whole thing may have been mishandled by Payne, Kasper, and Co.
He just turned 27. Is he retiring because he doesn't want to relocate? I know he believes his sobriety is helped a lot by the support network he has in Bal'mer, and I certainly respect that. But unless he would have been retiring regardless of what DCU did with him this winter, it seems really premature to hang 'em up just because you can't play close to home. Regardless, best of luck to him in the future.
Or very mature if you know it leaving home and your support system will cause you to fall back into an addiction and ruin your life.
Yeah, that was my thought too. Only he truly knows the beast that lurks in the cage as a result of his addiction issues. It takes a very wise man to take a pass on certain options to make sure that beast stays locked up in the cage. That said, I think of options like lacing up for Real Maryland or the like in this area that would allow him to continue the game he seems to still have a heart for and get some distance from DC United and the way this is ending. It'll be important for him to have something that 'comes next' in life to avoid being adrift.
I think it is easy to switch teams if you are making more than $200,000. Because the financials of the deal will take care of things. But he made $120,000 at DC and was definitely going to make less this upcoming year. The structure of the whole Re-Entry draft almost guarantees that. So with a wife, two kids, maybe a house, his connections to Baltimore...I completely understand his decision. $42,000 to $120,000 anywhere in the USA away from his family and support structure. Or, probably around $65,000 in Baltimore where he probably already has a house.
Very sorry to see this happen, but I can't say I'm surprised. I hope he goes into coaching at some level.
Good-bye and Good Luck, Tino I've met him several times, a bit before, evidently during and AFTER his addiction problems and rehabilitation - Always a really great, personable guy who would remember you from two/threes years back - I always appreciated that in him Oslen and Moreno made an emotional pitch as teammates to bring him back for another shot - There were more than a few times it was magical, Gallardo & UNMNT @ RFK to name a few However, in the end, he was evidently NOT as productive as Pontius- A not insignificant problem is that when he got slightly injured he was unable to receive painkillers (THIS was the addiction, NOT alcohol), and thus he couldn't go out and mask that pain and play up to his potential consistenly - Others are able to take these drugs, but Tino no longer could And in the end, DC United had a bunch of on the bubble players who because of age/injuries/inability to heal were never going to improve - Thus Olsen as the coach had to make the decisions to cut Simms, Morsink and Quaranta - Might as well go with three younger players who might only be as effective as the others, but at least as younger players they might improve - Unfortunately, Simms, Morsink and Quaranta weren't I still wish it coulda been handled nicer, but realistically these things rarely are
My favorite memory of Santino is not from any time on the pitch. It is from the press conference after he scored in the 2009 Gold Cup. When asked about his goal, his response was as if he suddenly realized all he had overcome. I remember Bob Bradley joyfully patting him on the back. A nice human moment. The video was on behindthebadge.com.
According to Goff, Tino will continue his work with youth soccer in Baltimore, but will also continue to work with Steve Cronin, the substance abuse counselor whom he credits with straightening out his life. Tino wants to work with Cronin to help others facing addiction problems, and good for him. So, I am sorry to see him go (the best long distance passer on DCU since Etch, IMO), but he has a plan and worthy goals for his life.
Shocking. I'm sure it's true and it's only a matter of time until this refrain becomes Payne, Kasper, Olsen, and Co.
Ya know, I'm not one to defend Payne, Kasper and Co, but I read Goff's blog post and trying to pin Quaranta's decision to retire solely on a front office foul up is one hell of a gigantic stretch. Especially if it's based on this quote: Personally, I have zero problem whatsoever with United not renewing his contract. And I have no problem with him deciding that he didn't want to move somewhere else, so he decided to remove his name from consideration in the reentry draft.