Tobin Heath Retires: USWNT Legend Hangs Up Her Boots

Tobin Heath Hangs Up Her Boots: A Women’s Soccer Legend Says Goodbye

The prominent American soccer player Tobin Heath has announced her retirement from professional soccer. The news comes almost three years after her last appearance on the field and after undergoing multiple surgeries due to a serious injury to her left knee. Heath, 37, leaves an impressive legacy after a 13-year career with the United States women’s national team (USWNT). The midfielder, considered one of the most talented players of her generation, won two World Cups and two Olympic gold medals. Her last participation with the US national team was in 2021. At the club level, Heath won two NWSL championships with the Portland Thorns, as well as two NWSL Shields, one with the Thorns and another with the Seattle Reign. His last appearance as a professional was on August 14, 2022, in the Reign’s 4-1 victory over Gotham FC.

In the podcast “The RE-CAP Show”, which she hosts alongside her colleague and former teammate Christen Press, Heath shared her feelings: “During the New Year, I completely accepted that I wasn’t going to play, which was a process of acceptance of two, some would say three years.”

I tried everything to come back, spent tens of thousands of dollars and [underwent] two surgeries, an incredible surgery. And all the time I believed I was going to come back. The truth is that the situation was clear, I just couldn’t accept that that was my end.

Tobin Heath

One of the most decorated figures in the successful US soccer program, Heath was named US Soccer’s Female Athlete of the Year in 2016. Heath also played in Europe, defending the colors of Manchester United, Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain.