The Other Cobi In LA Is Ready To Retire

At a press conference today held at the Home Depot Center, 36 year old Cobi Jones announced that he will retire after the 2007 season. Tim Leiweke, President and CEO of the LA Galaxy had this to say,

"A couple of months ago, Cobi and I had a chance to catch up and have lunch," Leiweke said. "And we sat down and Cobi said, 'Look, there's something I have to tell you. I'm going to retire.'

"And I said, 'Well, that's too bad. I think we've got David Beckham.'

"Then Cobi immediately said, 'At the end of this next season.'

This is pretty big news for me. Cobi is one of the main reasons why I really took an interest in soccer more than 15 years ago. I don't know if it was because I thought he was Bob Marley or if it was his skill with the ball. I remember watching Alexi Lalas and him in the 1994 World Cup. The first time we actually made it to the knockout round. We eventually got beat by Brazil of course, but that team just had something about them and I think Cobi had a lot to do with it. Coby also played for the 1998 and 2002 World Cup Teams and has 15 international goals during his time with the National Team.

I always thought that he would be one of the few Americans that would actually be able to play oversees. He did play one season in the EPL and half a season in Brazil until he eventually came home to help the MLS gain popularity. He has played for the LA Galaxy since the leagues inception and holds the records for games(281), goals(66) and assists(86) for the team. I'll be interested to see how he does with Beckham on the team this year. I think that the Galaxy will definitely be up there when the playoffs come around (which isn't saying much because the MLS sucks). I hope Cobi has a good year and scores some goals. I'm sure after the season is done and he retires he will be announcing games and we can finally get rid of Eric Wynalda.

Cobi Jones to retire (LA Times)