“A gift to the game”: After two-plus decades, Brad Guzan says goodbye

In the summer of 2024, while their children played in the backyard pool, Dax McCarty broke the news to Brad Guzan: after 19 seasons, he was retiring from professional soccer.

McCarty and Guzan had first shared a locker at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, their paths eventually crossing during the years on the United States men’s national team and as opponents in MLS.

Now, at Guzan’s house, an emotional McCarty — who’d signed for Atlanta that January — informed his teammate, the first person he’d told outside of his family, of his decision.

“He was supportive and encouraging, and it was a small moment between two guys who had crossed paths at certain points on the national team and played against each other,” McCarty, now a studio analyst on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, said. “He was there for me and supportive in a moment that’s difficult for all athletes to have to go and embark on.”

Neither man knew at that point that over a year later, it would be Guzan’s turn to say goodbye.

Saturday’s match against D.C. United, Atlanta United’s 2025 season finale, will mark Brad Guzan’s 616th and final professional appearance for club and country. It will mean an end to a career that has spanned continents and competitions — from the early days at Chivas USA to the bright lights of the Premier League, to an MLS Cup, a U.S. Open Cup, and two World Cup rosters with the U.S. men’s national team.

Two days later, the 41-year-old sat inside the press conference room at the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Training Ground. To his left sat his family, including his wife, Breanne, and their four young children.

“In sports, any professional sport, but certainly soccer, nobody outlives the sport, and the sport ultimately wins at some point,” he said. “At that moment, the decision was made.”

The early days at Chivas USA

To tell Guzan’s story, you’ll have to turn the clock back to 2005, the year then-expansion club Chivas USA selected him out of the University of South Carolina with the second-overall pick in the MLS SuperDraft.

Things didn’t start well. Under head coaches Thomas Rongen and, later, former Chivas de Guadalajara boss Hans Westerhof, Chivas finished its first year with 22 losses, tied for the third-most in MLS history, while allowing 67 goals.

“That first season, that was dreadful, I think one of the worst seasons in MLS history, and the way he carried himself, I just learned a lot from him,” said Sacha Kljestan, Guzan’s teammate at Chivas from 2006 to 2008 and later on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team.

After hiring Bob Bradley days after he was fired by the MetroStars (now the New York Red Bulls), Chivas’s fortunes eventually turned, starting with a third-place finish in the Western Conference in 2006. In 2007, it finished two points behind Supporters’ Shield-winning D.C. United, with Guzan keeping 12 clean sheets in 27 regular-season appearances en route to being named MLS Goalkeeper of the Year and to the league’s Best XI team.

“He was very bright-eyed, intuitive, and (you) kind of had this feeling about him that this guy was going to succeed something at a higher level,” said Ante Razov, Guzan’s teammate from 2006 to 2008. “(He was) just all around a good guy, a big bear. He was all about learning and getting better.”

European clubs took notice, with a successful two-day trial with Scottish power Celtic turning into a possible seven-figure transfer deal. That was until Premier League side Aston Villa landed his services after doubling Celtic’s offer. In fact, the nearly $4 million bid was more than Manchester United paid to sign Guzan’s future U.S. men’s national teammate, Tim Howard, from the MetroStars.

After Guzan’s work visa application was denied, though, he remained at Chivas, keeping four clean sheets in 15 appearances in 2008. That July, the move to Villa eventually materialized, and not long after, his work visa was approved in time for their season opener.

A new beginning in the Premier League

Around the time of Guzan’s arrival, Villa would bring in another American keeper: USMNT mainstay Brad Friedel, who’d spent the better part of a decade with Blackburn Rovers.

“There was a very clear pecking order,” Mat Kendrick, a U.K.-based journalist who covered Aston Villa for the Birmingham Mail, said. “When Villa signed (Friedel), he was very much the first choice goalkeeper, and Guzan would be the understudy.”

Those early days in England weren’t all business for Guzan. It included experiencing some of the comforts of home with his Olympic teammate, Kljestan, who played for Belgian top-flight side Anderlecht from 2010 to 2015.

“I would say the funniest thing that we would do is, during that time, Chipotle opened in London for the first time,” Kljestan, now a studio analyst for MLS Season Pass, said. “We were missing America. Being over in Europe, you start to miss the States a little bit. And when Chipotle opened in London, we would meet in London, we’d stay at a cool hotel, and be like, let’s go get lunch at Chipotle, because it made us feel like we missed home.”

Guzan’s initial role at Villa mainly saw him start during cup competitions. That included a match that served as his coming-out of sorts, a fourth-round tie against Sunderland in October 2009 in what was then known as the Carling Cup.

The sides played to a 0-0 draw with Guzan making six saves, including a stop of future Atlanta United teammate Kenwyne Jones’ penalty in the 83rd minute. It eventually went to kicks from the spot, where Guzan made three saves as Villa won the shootout 3-1.

“I’ve been a reporter for many years. I can’t remember giving 10 out of 10 very often, but I gave Brad Guzan a 10 out of 10,” Kendrick said.

Villa would go on to knock out Portsmouth and Blackburn on its way to the final at Wembley Stadium against Manchester United. Despite Guzan’s previous cup starts, manager Martin O’Neill called on Friedel, with Villa falling 2-1 thanks to Wayne Rooney’s winner in the 74th minute.

“We all thought that Guzan had done enough to play in the final, but he got he got bumped the final, and Brad Friedel played, and I think that must have been a little bit of a blow to his confidence,” Kendrick said. “But it was clear then that if he could find a manager who trusted him, he would be good enough to become Villa’s first-choice goalkeeper.”

That didn’t happen for a while, even after Friedel went on to sign with Tottenham Hotspur before the 2011-12 season. Instead of Guzan sliding into the starting role, Villa, by then managed by Alex McLeish, opted to sign Republic of Ireland international Shay Given from Manchester City.

After a loan to Championship side Hull City during the 2010-11 campaign and a spell of matches between the sticks after Given was injured thirteen matches into the 2011-12 season, Guzan was released by Villa before re-signing for the club ahead of 2012-13 under new manager Paul Lambert, finally taking the No. 1 shirt.

Unfortunately, the club’s fortunes took a downturn. Though it advanced to the FA Cup final in 2015, it hovered near the relegation zone under a succession of managers before a last-placed, 17-point campaign in 2015-16 saw it drop to the second division for the first time in nearly 30 years.

It was also suffering major financial losses, leading chairman Randy Lerner to put it up for sale in May 2014.

“Rather than being a team that could challenge for the top end of the table and challenge for the Champions League, they became fighting relegation every year, just trying to get to 40 points to stay in the division,” Kendrick said. “(Guzan) must have played upwards of 35 games a season for a couple of seasons, but it was just at a time when Villa were associated with being a bit crap, basically.”

Villa’s relegation to the Championship brought the end of Guzan’s time with the club. He logged over 170 appearances from 2008 to 2016, most during his final four seasons there.

“I can’t speak for all Villa fans (but they) probably see (Guzan) as a patient, loyal servant who gave his best. He never let the club down,” Kendrick said. “There’s gonna be occasions where you’re the hero, and there’s occasions where you’re gonna make mistakes, but I think if you ask people about their memories of Brad Guzan, I think it probably would be that … (Carling Cup) run. …

“That will be painted by the fact that he was in the team that got relegated, but that team that got relegated, let’s say there was a squad of 25 players, and during the course of that season, there’d have been at least two managers. So I’m talking about 25-30 people there. I think there’s probably 25 people who would be blamed ahead of Brad Guzan, do you know what I mean?”

In July 2016, Guzan signed with Middlesbrough, freshly promoted from the Championship, on a free transfer, appearing in 14 matches as a backup to Victor Valdes.

But, as it did with Chivas USA over 10 years prior, an opportunity with another MLS expansion club would eventually emerge.

A return to MLS — with Atlanta United

Before Michael Parkhurst played with Guzan in Atlanta, the two faced each other in college, Guzan with South Carolina and Parkhurst at Wake Forest. They later were in the same draft class — Parkhurst was taken ninth overall by the New England Revolution — before becoming part of a Brian McBride-captained 2008 U.S. Olympic roster that included Kljestan, McCarty, Jozy Altidore, Michael Bradley, Charlie Davies, Benny Feilhaber, Mo Edu, Stu Holden, and Freddy Adu.

“We got to know each other pretty good in those environments,” Parkhurst said. “Brad and I, being two of the overage players on the team, had a good bonding experience there, knowing our role within the team and (bringing) some leadership.”

When Parkhurst learned that Atlanta was signing Guzan, he was “excited.”

“I liked playing with him and just being around him off the field. We had a good relationship,” Parkhurst said. “We had played a bunch of national team games together between those two timeframes between the Olympics and 2017, so we had gotten to know each other better and better throughout these experiences with the national team. So I was pumped for that, obviously knowing that he would come in and be one of the best goalkeepers in MLS straight away.”

Parkhurst’s premonition proved true. After keeping eight clean sheets and helping lead Atlanta to the playoffs in its first season, Guzan backstopped the club to an MLS Cup in 2018. In 2019, they’d win the U.S. Open Cup and Campeones Cup. Another high point came in 2024 during Atlanta’s upset of Lionel Messi and Inter Miami in the MLS Cup Playoffs.

“To go into Miami and to be the underdogs and to be playing against the best team — I mean, shoot, obviously, Atlanta United needed every single one of those saves in order to advance, and he put the team on his shoulders. And it was so impressive,” Parkhurst said.

“It’s literally the best three-game stretch I’ve ever seen anybody play. Game after game, it’s just so crazy to watch, like, ‘Holy smokes, he’s gonna stand on his head again.'”

There were, of course, the low points brought along by injuries, including a season-ending Achilles rupture in April 2022. Then came a torn MCL nearly a year later that was originally projected to sideline him for 10-12 weeks. He was back in eight.

“He was always in the gym. He was always taking care of his body, and he knew that it breaks down a little bit over time. And good pros, as they get older, they spend more time taking care of their body. That’s just how it has to be,” Parkhurst said. “And he understood that, and he got it, and he did what he needed to do, because he loves the game and he wanted to play as long as possible.”

“He was never too big for anything”

More than for his shot-stopping abilities, Guzan quickly became a fan favorite in Atlanta due to his gregarious personality. His booming voice, accessibility in media settings, humorous quips to his teammates in the locker room, and his joking, playful manner in club-produced videos were common occurrences.

“I always remember him smiling and with this positive way about him. He wasn’t flustered,” Razov, now an assistant coach with LAFC, said. “Back then, the older guys were kind of hard on young guys. We’d get on them, and you couldn’t really get to him. You couldn’t really ruffle him. He just kind of smiled with you and actually turned into like a fun thing for everyone. It’s kind of an amazing part of his character.”

“When we would be waiting for him in the meeting room for our production meeting, you’d know he’d be coming from like, 10 hallways away, because you’d hear him, and he’d always be just taking the piss out of somebody,” said Jillian Sakovits, who hosted and worked the sidelines for Atlanta United broadcasts from 2018 to 2022. “Whether it’s office staff, technical staff, the kit man, Josef Martinez, it did not matter. He was messing with whoever he walked by.”

That away-from-the-pitch personality gave way to that of a ruthless competitor on the pitch, never shy to hold his teammates accountable on matchdays and during training. That included ensuring that Atlanta United Academy products and ATL UTD 2 players looking to break through to the first team were aware of the club’s high standards.

“He can be a big clown and he can be a big joke, because he’s funny, but when it came to business between the white lines, he was all business,” Tony Annan, the club’s former academy director, said.

Guzan’s drive to win also manifested itself in his exuberant celebrations after making a big save and his fervent congratulating and encouragement of teammates after a key defensive stop.

“When Brad would get really excited, we used to joke he’s handing out head butts, because the way he would just grab guys spoke to his passion,” said Sakovits, now a host for MLS Season Pass and the CBS Sports Golazo Network and co-host of The Athletic’s “Full Time” women’s soccer podcast.

And he had a big heart to match. He was an ambassador for Atlanta United’s Special Olympics Unified team, a constant presence during their matches regardless of the first team’s result minutes prior.

“That is a microcosm of Brad Guzan, the time that he put into the other arms of Atlanta United,” said Sakovits. “That’s Brad Guzan. He was never too big for anything.”

“He knew how important that stuff was, right?” said Parkhurst. “He knows you can make somebody’s day, and even though you might have had a real bad game and a real bad day yourself, that you can still have a positive impact on somebody else’s day. Not too many athletes get that, and he’s definitely one of them.”

Annan, the men’s soccer head coach at South Carolina since April 2021, recounted a time Guzan sent him a signed pair of gloves to auction off as part of a team fundraiser.

“He would do whatever you want him to do. He never said, ‘I haven’t got time. I just can’t do that,'” Annan said. “As far as a human being goes, he is loud, he’s in your face, but he’s funny and he has a huge heart.”

Guzan had a soft spot for children, too, interacting with school children of all ages as well as being a constant presence at local Atlanta hospitals to visit with sick children. Kendrick recalled a time when Aston Villa players were working with Acorns, a U.K.-based children’s hospice charity and the club’s shirt sponsor at the time, and Guzan playing FIFA with some of the kids during a visit to its facility.

“You could just see the human side of it, really. You could just see that not only was he a very driven professional athlete, but he was a good guy,” Kendrick said. “He realized that part of his job was not only to keep the ball out of the net for Aston Villa, it was also to be an ambassador for Aston Villa and to form connections with the community.”

What’s next?

Retirement for Brad Guzan will mean more time spent with his wife, Breanne, and their children. That includes being a frequent presence at their baseball, softball and flag football games, along with his daughters’ gymnastics and dance classes.

“As a kid, I wanted to be a professional soccer player, and being a dad is the best thing ever,” he said.

As his children — sons Aiden and Griffin and daughters Emerson and Everly — caught his gaze, he paused. The commanding voice that boomed across the pitch countless times over the past two decades was suddenly choked by emotion.

“Being a dad is the best thing,” he said, with tears in his eyes. “Nothing compares. They have been there since day one, their lives supporting me, traveling the world. The days I come home, hobbling through the house because my body’s sore, mentally I’m frustrated because it was a bad day or a bad training, I’m still Dad, and for that, I’m forever thankful.”

As far as career aspirations, he isn’t sure. He’ll remain in Atlanta and stay involved with the club in some form or fashion. He’s dabbled in TV, joining Sakovits and Kevin Egan in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium booth for the 2022 American Family Insurance Cup while recovering from his Achilles injury. During the summer, he was part of TNT Sports and DAZN’s studio team for the FIFA Club World Cup.

Could more TV appearances be in his future?

“If he wanted it, it would be an absolutely perfect career,” Sakovits said. “He would be a perfect TV guy because he’s animated, he’s loud … and he knows the game. He has European experience. He has national team experience. He has World Cup experience. What a gift to (viewers) Brad Guzan would be.”

Of course, he’d rather this season had gone much better than it has, resisting the potential of returning for one more year for a shot at a final trophy.

“I mean, listen, it’s no secret the year has been terrible,” he said. “You always want to go out on a high (and) finish on a positive note. But sometimes, the thing about being a professional athlete is you don’t always have control of everything around you, as much as everyone on the outside might think. And so, yeah, you certainly always want that storybook ending.

“The season we had, like I said, it wasn’t good in any sense. But unfortunately, us as players, you don’t always have full control of everything.”

Though his career has come to a close, Guzan’s impact on American soccer has been evident, whether on the pitch, in the community, or with the media — on both sides of the pond.

“He’s a great ambassador for our game and what is possible in Major League Soccer, being able to get drafted through the MLS SuperDraft and go over to Europe, have a successful career in Europe, come back, and be able to be such a cornerstone of a franchise in Atlanta United,” McCarty said. “He is one of my favorite teammates I’ve ever had.”

“You look at Friedel, (Kasey) Keller, Tim Howard, right? Guys that had amazing European careers. I would put Brad right in there amongst them, in terms of going over and having a successful career,” Razov said.

“Brad Guzan is a gift to the game on and off the field,” Sakovits said. “And while that sounds so cliche, this sport is going to grow as people connect with players, and Brad Guzan made it easy for people to connect with him by watching him and his success. But then, also from the media standpoint, he was so open and so honest that he allowed us to tell good stories that I think further made him and the team feel like the fans were part of something. Brad Guzan, right now, is Atlanta United (and) Atlanta United is Brad Guzan. It’s just unreal.”

So how does Guzan himself want to be remembered?

“As a competitor,” he said. “Someone that gave everything for his teammates, gave everything for those around him, as someone that could be counted on.

“I was certainly not short of any mistakes and whatnot, but (I want to be remembered as) somebody that was able to be resilient and bounce back and continue to fight, and if guys were going into battle, they looked back and they said, ‘Hey, I got Brad, and we’re gonna be OK today.'”