American Espen Baardsen, the only player to made the jump from the U.S. high school ranks to the sidelines of the English Premier League in a single season, is quitting soccer at the age of 25 after failing to find a new club in England.
Baardsen graduated from Lafayette (Calif.) Acalanes High School in 1996 and cracked the starting lineup at Tottenham by the next spring. He played 23 games for Spurs over four seasons. In 2000, he moved to Watford, where he played 41 games. He played one game this past season as an emergency acquisiton by Everton.
Baardsen played for the U.S. under-20 team in 1995 but opted to represent Norway, for which he had four caps and served as a backup keeper on its 1998 World Cup team.
''I have not enjoyed the last couple of years playing football,'' Baardsen told London's Evening Standard. My heart has simply not been in the game for the past couple of years. ''Other interests that I have, such as my studies in finance and economics and my desire to travel around the world, have aroused my enthusiasm far more than football has recently. I think it is fairly accurate to say that a footballer who is not passionate about football will not get much success or enjoyment out of the game.''