Considering the banner year the women's national team had in 2010, it's entirely possible that the following news was held off until the new year so as to not dampen the mood. But in any event, as first reported by John Molinaro at CBC Sports and first posted to CSN by Yvan (en français), Kara Lang will officially announce her retirement from the sport tomorrow.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
Ben Massey at 86 Forever has penned the definitive retrospective on Lang's career, and the injuries that prematurely ended it, so I won't attempt to replicate or top it. But I will echo his sentiment that despite her myriad knee troubles, Lang has been one of the CanWNT's two predominant marquee names for the better part of the decade (you know who the other one is). So, losing her at a critical juncture like this (with the World Cup only months away) is a significant blow to the team on the field, and from the all-important perspective of marketing.
The implications for the team notwithstanding, it's sad whenever an athlete is forced to cut their career short because of injuries -- especially so when they're as young as Lang is. Despite the feeling that she's been around forever (she scored her first goal for the nats in 2002), she's only 24. I'm sure she'll continue her association with the sport (possibly joining Jason de Vos at the Oakville Soccer Club, in some capacity?*), but it surely would have been nice to see what she could have done on home soil if (if) we end up being awarded the 2015 Women's World Cup.
But again, this isn't about us, the fans, and what we've been deprived of -- it's about Lang, who suited up for our national team 92 times in her career and was a tremendous contributor in growing the profile of the sport in the country. I don't doubt there are contemporary CanWNT players who looked to Lang as inspiration even though they may only be a few years apart in age -- and that's saying something.
So on behalf of Some Canadian Guys Writing About Soccer, a sincere thanks to Lang for all she's contributed to the national team and Canadian soccer in general, and best of luck in whatever her future may hold.*
Lang is on Twitter (@karalang15) if you'd like to send her your own thoughts. Don't forget to affix the #CanWNT hashtag.
*It's worth noting that tomorrow's press conference, to officially announce Lang's retirement, is being hosted by the Oakville Soccer Club (Lang's hometown) and de Vos, the OSC's technical director, will also be in attendance. Perhaps she's wasting no time in transitioning into a player development role of some variety.