Even when it is necessary, saying goodbye is complicated. We have believed that beginnings are more difficult than endings because the butterflies of a debutante seem more complicated to control than those of a veteran. Maybe so. But all those who hang up their boots say that there is no greater vertigo than not knowing what to do when you stop doing what you have been doing for decades.
It takes courage to let go and a fond farewell is appreciated. This weekend we have had a few: Alex Morgan, Luis Suarez or the legends of Borussia Dortmund. All three explored different formats but all agreed on giving in with applause and displays of respect to the person who is leaving, thanking them for the legacy they leave in sport, in their country or in the club.
In San Diego, Alex Morgan played her last professional match. She announced in a video that she was retiring: she was pregnant again and wanted to hang up her boots after 15 years of playing. Her farewell was celebrated by 26,516 people and although her team lost and she even missed a penalty, it was a symbolic farewell.
Iconography helps to write history and soccer Morgan never tires of expanding her imagination. Morgan was substituted in the 13th minute, her number, just when her team had just tied the game. With the ball in the centre and surrounded by her teammates, she took off her shoes and walked off the pitch to a standing ovation, with her boots in her hand. What an image! At the end of the match she received a bouquet of flowers from her four-year-old daughter Charlie. Another great photo! “She says she wants to be a professional footballer. It’s something a girl can now dream of. I feel proud to have left a better women’s game than the one I found,” she said, aware of her legacy. Morgan retires having achieved equal pay in her national team and having ensured that the NWSL has a protection plan in case of abuse. Oh! And with twenty titles, more than 200 goals, 50 assists and 400 games.
Another goalscorer who said goodbye was Luis Suárez, who gave 60,000 people goosebumps at the Centenario stadium in Montevideo. Tears, hugs, gifts, videos of goals – the 69 he scored – and messages of affection from Neymar and Messi to close a historic era with the Uruguayan national team. It doesn’t matter how long you spend imagining that you’re leaving, when the moment comes, you break down. Suárez never stopped crying. Give it all once again, give it all until the last day.
That’s what Jakub Blaszczykowski and Lukasz Piszczek did in Dortmund, where Borussia took advantage of the international break to honourably retire them. The special thing about the tribute is that they were no longer playing for the club. They left in 2015 and 2021, but their memory was so fresh that the Signal Iduna Park was packed. 81,365 fans had a great time at a charity match with Klopp in the dugout and legends on the pitch such as Subotic, current coach Nuri Sahin and Mats Hummels, who joined in the farewell.
Finish well. Finish where you want. That is what Carolina Marín imagines, who a few days ago confessed that she does not want an injury to stop her, that she wants to finish the match. She visualizes a sporting finale where she has won everything: on a badminton court. With tears different from those that bid her farewell at the Games in Paris. What a hard image! I hope she has that luck and can say goodbye nicely.
