When the Seattle Sounders shut down Clint Dempsey for the remainder of the year as he recovers from an irregular heartbeat, they weren’t the only team affected.
Dempsey is the United States men’s national team’s second all-time leading goalscorer and has been an integral part of its DNA for the past decade. As the team prepares for its match against Cuba in Havana on Oct. 7 - the first of two friendlies during the international break - it must do so for the first time since Dempsey has been officially ruled out.
“We all heard about Clint about a month ago and obviously our first thought was that we hope it’s not career-ending and we hope that he’s OK because after soccer there’s a lot more to life,” said midfielder Sacha Kljestan.