I can't help but feel a bit guilty that my overriding emotion upon reading that Claudio Reyna is retiring was relief, rather than appreciation. Reyna came to the Red Bulls last year as Bruce Arena's first Designated Player signing. Reyna was Arena's boy, the captain of Bruce Arena's USA. It was no surprise that Arena would look to bring Reyna in to run the New York midfield. Reyna had been having a tough couple of years with injuries in Europe and it looked like it was time for him to come home. Reyna's ties to New Jersey and his relationship with Arena made his arrival in New York a certainty. Red Bulls fans wouldn't have minded having Reyna on the payroll, even as they hoped against hope that the team would not use their designated player slot on Captain America. So, in true Metrostars fashion, that's exactly what they did. Reyna was signed by the Red Bulls for some $1.25 million dollars. The man's fate was sealed. The fans were outraged by the decision. Reyna would never play enough games to warrant a designated player salary, they argued. As it turned out, they were right. Reyna has played 27 games in 2 seasons to earn his $1.25. My trusty computer calculator tells me that's about $46,000 a game. Reyna did not score any goals for the Red Bulls and produced only three assists in those 27 games. Money well spent, it seems.

Based on that evidence, Red Bull fans' collective sigh of relief can be forgiven. However, as a US supporter as well, I feel that the man's accomplishments should be highlighted instead of focusing on his year in New York. Reyna was on the US team in the 1994, 1998, 2002, and 2006 but didn't play in 1994 due to injury. Reyna was named captain of the US team for the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, earning All-Tournament honors in the 2002 tournament. He remains the only American player to be so distinguished. He earned 112 caps, scoring 8 goals and providing 12 assists before retiring from international soccer after the 2006 World Cup. On the club side of things, Reyna began his career with Bayer Leverkusen before being transferred to Vfl Wolfsburg. It was at Wolfsburg that Reyna became the first American player to captain a European side. He would go on to play for Glasgow Rangers in Scotland, and Sunderland and Manchester City in England. It was during his time in the UK that Reyna earned the nickname "Captain America". In 2007, Reyna and Manchester City terminated his contract by mutual agreement and Reyna made his way 'across the pond', as they say, and began his long and storied career at Red Bull New York, cementing his status as an iron-man, and leading the club to their fifth, six, seventh, and eight titles.

Okay, it's time for full disclosure. I'm a big Tottenham Hotspur fan. This is despite the fact that I live in New Jersey and have never set foot in England. I've been a fan of the club since the 02-03 season. The 2002 World Cup had just ended and my 12-year-old self was on the lookout for more soccer. This was before I knew about Fox Soccer Channel or its ilk so a weekly highlights show on MSG called, I believe, Premier League Review had to suffice. My choice of club, having no actual links to England generally or North London specifically, came down to two factors. The first was that I didn't want to root for one of the big four clubs. Even at the tender age of twelve I desired the masochistic pain that comes with rooting for a club that flounders in perpetual mediocrity (I'm also a New York Red Bulls fan). I found Tottenham to be a sufficiently middling club: they finished ninth in the 2001-2002 season. The name itself may have given the club an advantage over its mid-table compatriots. Being an American, it's likely that I was preconditioned to prefer team names that resembled the American 'place'-'team name' formula. Tottenham followed that formula. The second factor had been born at the 2002 World Cup. I am entirely of Irish descent. Every branch of my family tree can somehow trace itself back to Ireland. So, I naturally had a soft spot for the Irish at the World Cup. The fact that the Irish and the Americans performed so well in Japan and South Korea is probably why it remains my favorite major tournament. In any case, I was spellbound by the play of Robbie Keane in Ireland's four games. From his late equalizer against eventual finalists Germany, to his spinning volley against Saudi Arabia, to his game-tying (all for naught) penalty against the Spanish in the Round of 16, to his manner of celebrating goals, the man played spectacularly. The fact that Tottenham had just signed one of my favorite players from the World Cup tipped the scales. I was hooked. Which is why I find the latest rumors about Keane asking to leave Tottenham for Liverpool to be particularly distressing, despite questionable veracity.

Perhaps it's denial, but I can't buy Keane leaving Tottenham. At least not for a few years. He's just about to turn 28 (in four days), undeniably in the prime of his career. At Spurs, Keane is already a legend and shares a magnificent partnership with Dimitar Berbatov. The pair of them form what is perhaps the only true, old-school style strike partnership in the Premier league. Keane has found stability at Spurs, something that eluded him when he was bouncing around from club to club before 2002. I doubt he'd want to leave just as the Juande Ramos revolution (fingers crossed) begins. Then there's the fact that Keane was on his honeymoon with new wife Claudine Palmer when the news broke. It's suspect that business such as transfer requests were at the forefront of his thoughts. In addition, Keane has reported for training for Spurs. Which is, incidentally, the last place you'll see former Aston Villa Captain and Liverpool target Gareth Barry. It's unlikely Keane would make the effort if he planned on leaving the club in the near future. Then there's the fact that the deal just doesn't make sense to me. What does Tottenham need a meager 5 million pounds and Peter Crouch for? They already have the far superior Berbatov to play the role of target forward, so unless Berbatov leaves (which I doubt will happen, despite relentless media links away from White Hart Lane), Spurs have no need of Peter Crouch. Keane also has to consider the fact that he would be relegated to the bench at Liverpool far more often than at Spurs in favor of a five man midfield with Fernando Torres by himself up top. I suppose you'd have to consider the unlikely (and horrifying) prospect that Robbie Keane simply does not figure in Juande Ramos' plans for the club. Ramos has many connections in the Spanish soccer world and if there's one thing Latin countries are good at producing it's creative withdrawn-forward, attacking-midfield players; precisely the role Keane plays for Tottenham. Yet, Ramos went to Croatia to find a central midfielder in Luka Modric to pull Tottenham's offensive strings.

All I know is, however unlikely the prospect, I may weep if this deal goes through.