‘It’s bad’: In the last game of his career, he tore his Achilles tendon

“It’s just disgusting”
In the last game of his career, he tore his Achilles tendon

November 12, 2023, 11:23 am

In the final match of her career, Megan Rapinoe wanted to lead her OL Reign team to the US Championship for the first time. But things went very bitter in the final match against Gotham FC. Rapinoe faces a difficult rehabilitation process. There she can look back on a remarkable career that changed football.

In the final game of her career, soccer star Megan Rapinoe was seriously injured less than three minutes later. Then she had to watch her team’s defeat in the US Championship final from the bench. Two-time OL Reign world champion slipped her right leg on Saturday night in the 1:2 (1:2) draw against Gotham FC without any opposition from her. “I’m pretty sure I tore my Achilles tendon,” Rapinoe said. An MRI still needs to be performed.

The Olympic champion said: “It’s disappointing for it to end like this. Whether you win or lose, you want to play your last match. It’s really the worst possible result. I can only thank God that I have such a good feeling.” “Humour. But of course it’s devastating to have to leave the field so early in the final.”

From the second half onwards she wore orthopedic supportive shoes and walked on crutches. Rapinoe was denied her first US Championship win as the end of her successful career. “What really bothers me is that now I’m a completely normal person who has to rehab. It’s too bad,” Rapinoe said.

“I literally did everything.”

In her career, Rapinoe won two world championship titles in 2015 and 2019. She also won a gold medal with the United States at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. In 2019, she was voted the best player in the world. In total, she played 203 caps for the United States. 63 infections were recorded. Her career with the national team lasted more than 17 years.

The U.S. women’s national team praised her accomplishments after Rapione’s final international match in late September 2023: “You have made this sport, this country and this world a better place.” Her colleague Alex Morgan said: “Your legacy is much greater than what you left behind.” “I did it on the field, I literally did it all.”

The 38-year-old has not only drawn attention to herself on the field, but also through her social commitment. She campaigned for equal rights, and also had some skirmishes with former US President Donald Trump. “We fought hard off the field to give ourselves more space to be who we are, but also hopefully you have more space to be yourself,” she said after her last international match in front of fans at Soldier Field in Chicago. .

Former Frankfurter Krieger also ended her career

In 2022, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from current US President Joe Biden. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is one of the two highest civilian honors in the United States. At the ceremony, Biden praised Rapinoe as “a champion of the fundamental American truth that every person has the right to be treated with dignity and respect.” She was the first female football player to receive this award.

For Gotham defender Ali Krieger, Saturday’s game was also the final game of her career. During its time in 1. FFC Frankfurt won the Champions League, the tournament was now its first in the United States. Both Krieger and Rapinoe were active with the U.S. national team for the 2015 and 2019 World Cup victories. “I was devastated when she was replaced,” Krieger said. “You want to play against the best and beat them on the field.”

Rapinoe also praised Krieger. “I’m so happy for her that she was able to end her amazing career this way,” she said, then joked that her injury made another spotlight on her longtime U.S. teammate possible.