WASHINGTON — Steve Birnbaum embarked to the East Coast a decade ago to begin his professional career and after a lengthy and successful run as DC United’s leader, the veteran defender has decided to call it a day.
Birnbaum took the field on Saturday night at Audi Field for the final appearance of his 10-year career. The 33-year-old started Saturday’s 4-0 friendly loss to Scottish Premiership winners Celtic before being replaced after the opening kick of the match.
After being reduced to only six appearances this season through multiple injuries, Birnbaum admitted that the end was approaching and that time officially came Saturday night in front of the DC United faithful.
“It’s definitely been an emotional time,” Birnbaum told reporters postmatch. “Credit to DC and everything they did for me, I did not expect all of this. It is definitely overwhelming but it gives me some good closure.
“I’ll be having a hip replacement in three weeks and although it might be scary, it’s an exciting time to get my body right. I am looking forward to being with my family and just be a healthier person too. I have been extremely lucky to be part of DC United for the last 11 seasons and just proud.”
Birnbaum was practically an unknown to DC United fans in 2014 when the club drafted him No. 2 overall in the MLS Draft. The Newport, California native played five seasons at the University of California, earning two All-Pac 12 honors before quickly making a name for himself in MLS.
He was a finalist for the MLS Rookie of the Year award in 2014, taking over for the injured Jeff Parke and never looking back. Birnbaum’s early DC United impressions eventually earned him 11 caps with the U.S. men’s national team from 2015-17, including one game-winning goal against Iceland in 2016.
“One of the key moments of my career was that 2014 season, “Birnbaum said. “I learned so much from the veteran group we had; Bobby Boswell, Chris Pontius, Shawn Franklin. Those types of players really showed me how to become a professional and they were really on the forefront of helping the league grow as a whole.
“Working with Wayne [Rooney] too was unbelievable,” he added. “Being part of the locker room for so many wins too were just special times that I won’t forget.”
Birnbaum’s durability was on display during the 2018-19 campaigns, both of which he featured in all 34 matches for DC United, however, injuries started to their take their toll on the club captain. A knee injury during preseason camp this year paired with growing hip problems forced the defender to play spectator for most of the first half of the season.
With 275 all-time appearances under his belt, Birnbaum ranks third in the club’s appearance list behind Jaime Moreno and Bill Hamid. He will go down as one of the better MLS Draft picks in league history, as well as arguably DC United’s best defender in the club’s 30-year history.
Although his playing days are over, Birnbaum has high expectations for DC United and is expected to stay involved with DC United in some fashion heading into the future.
“A huge two wins for us lately so I think that will do wonders for the confidence in the team,” Birnbaum said. “We have a few new players so it will be nice to incorporate them as well. The guys have bought into the process at the club and I think everyone is fighting to continue this run in Leagues Cup play.”
“We’ve had a really special relationship, even if we didn’t have a lot of time to work together,” DC United head coach Troy Lesesne said about Birnbaum. “It says a lot about Steve’s character and mentality to come back this year and try fighting to keep it going. We wanted to honor him in the right way.”
