Christine Sinclair Announces Retirement
The legend announced that she is stepping away from soccer at the end of this NWSL season.
On Friday, September 27th, 2024 Christine Sinclair announced her retirement from soccer. She will finish the NWSL season with the Thorns, this marks the end of an era.
Since the club's inception, Sinclair has been a leader for the team, accumulating 62 goals in 176 appearances in 11 seasons, including the team’s first-ever goal in Portland’s debut match against the former FC Kansas City on April 13, 2013.
Last year, after a 23-year-long career, Sinclair retired from international football, ending her career with Canada after a record-breaking 331 matches. Sinclair retired as the reigning international goal-scoring leader, male or female, having found the back of the net 190 times for her home country, and finished as the leader in assists, helping her teammates score 54 times. In 2021 she was awarded special recognition by FIFA, receiving the Outstanding Achievement Award for breaking the international goal-scoring record.
Sinclair is the final player from the original 2013 roster left in Portland and she truly has left her mark. Her accolades on the pitch include:
2013, 2017, 2022 NWSL Champion
2016, 2021 NWSL Shield Winner
2018, 2013 NWSL Second XI
2021 NWSL Challenge Cup Champion
Four Olympic Games- winning gold at Tokyo 2020 after back-to-back bronzes at London 2012 and Rio 2016
And two NCAA DI championships with the University of Portland (2002, 2005)
She also fought for equal pay with Team Canada as they filed lawsuits against Canada soccer. The team reached an interim deal in July 2023 that ensured equal pay between the men's and women's teams.
While this announcement isn’t a surprise, it marks the end of an era for many fans. As someone who grew up playing soccer and then became a fan, I was familiar with Sinclair but at a distance. I didn’t however, expect to become such a fan of the Canadian.
I came to Portland to go to school at The University of Portland, I knew that Megan Rapinoe went there but I didn’t know that Sinclair did too. That was my first nudge in her direction.
While I had been following the NWSL for years it was always casual since living in Colorado didn’t lend itself to a local team. Coming to the city meant I finally had a team to follow; The Thorns, and with that came Sinclair.
This meant getting to watch the best of the best right here in my backyard. I’m sure any fans who have gotten to watch her play know just how fun it is and that we are so lucky to be a part of this era of soccer.
Honestly, my favorite thing has always been correcting the people who think that Cristiano Ronaldo has scored the most goals and bringing up Sinclair (I will forever indoctrinate people with women’s sports info).
She has been a beacon of women’s soccer in the mainstream long before the sports phenomenon we’ve seen in the last few years.
There are still at least 7 games left this season to catch her playing starting with The Thorns’ next match against San Diego on Saturday, September 28th. The last Thorns home match will also celebrate the legend herself on November 1st against Angel City.
What are some of your favorite Sincy moments?
My first real memories of watching soccer every week were at Merlo for Pilots games in 2001, and then in 2002 when they won their first national championship. The second national title UP team in Sinc's Senior year in 2005 --with both Rapinoe sisters, Stephanie Lopez (now Cox), Angie Woznuk (now Kerr), and Lindsey Huie-- remains one of my favorite teams to watch of all time. It's not often you get to see that collection of pro-level talent at a venue like Merlo, and those NCAA tournament nights and the rivalry with the early oughts Santa Clara teams are some of my favorite soccer-viewing memories as a kid.
For those who didn't watch Pilots-era Sinc, it's hard to describe how dominant she was. It's a shame she was already 30 by the time the NWSL came around, because young Sinc wasn't only big and smart, she was *fast* fast. I think she sometimes gets typecast as this Abby Wambach-type Striker, but that wasn't her game at all: She was a great hold up player and was smart enough to drop in the hole and create as she did for much of her time in the NWSL, but her combination of size and speed in behind was a much bigger part of her game than many (often including myself, after watching the last five years or so of her career) tend to remember. Just an elite, best-of-the-best, all around center forward, who also happens to be one of the greatest teammates of all time.
Bummed I'll be out of town for her final home game, but I'm sure it'll be a lovely night.
https://x.com/ThornsFC/status/1839702847845183747
Really cool that the Thorns have made their Twitter logo "Thank You Sinc."