San Jose Earthquakes English midfielder Darren Huckerby has probably finished his soccer career. He recently underwent surgery to repair a shredded hip joint that hampered his performance this season. “I’ve got to give it chance to see how it is but I’m 99 percent sure that I am done,” said Huckerby. “The second part of my career starts now. I’m one of those kind of people who make a decision and stick to it. I’m content with what I have done in the game. I look at people like Dean Ashton who is struggling and who may have to retire having never fulfilled his potential. I look at where I started at the bottom of the third division and I have done everything that I have wanted to do in the game.
“It’s true that you are a long time retired but is there any point playing just for the sake of it? I spoke to Gordon Strachan, he came out to San Francisco and we had a meal and had a chat about this and that and he said to me that if you can’t influence a game like you did it’s time to walk away. The last couple of months I haven’t been influencing games as I know that I can do.”
Huckerby’s contract with the Earthquakes runs out at the end of the current MLS season. At 33, he has 16 years of professional soccer behind him, including stints with Coventry, Manchester City and Norwich.