Marcus Hahnemann announced his retirement last week and the Seattle Sounders effectively confirmed the decision a little later, but today it was made officially official. Hahnemann will no longer play professional soccer, calling it a career after 21 seasons.
"I'm excited for the next part of what's to come. There's all sorts of different opportunities ahead of me," Hahnemann said in a team release. "The cool part is that I got to start off my career as a Sounder and I got to end it as a Sounder."
After playing collegiately at Seattle Pacific, Hahnemann broke in with the A-League Sounders in 1994 (as the video above documents in all its glory). He quickly established himself as one of the top goalkeepers in the country, winning Rookie of the Year and leading his hometown team to a title in 1996 before joining the Colorado Rapids in MLS and then heading to England where he spent the bulk of his career.
Hahnemann was able to fulfill a longtime dream in 2012 when he returned to the Sounders late in the season, making five league appearances (including one in the playoffs), three U.S. Open Cup appearances and one CONCACAF Champions League appearance.
"Marcus was a pleasure to coach during the past two-and-a-half seasons," said Sounders FC Head Coach Sigi Schmid. "He is a Sounder through and through and we were lucky to have him here to end his career."