STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The United States opens its run in the World Cup with the game tomorrow in Los Angeles. And the man wearing the captain's armband is Tim Ream, a defender who's coming to the end of a long career. NPR's Becky Sullivan has his story.
BECKY SULLIVAN, BYLINE: Tim Ream isn't afraid of microphones or reporters or TV cameras. No matter the prompt, he's always ready with an articulate and thoughtful response. So the other day, it was a bit out of the ordinary for him to be speechless.
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TIM REAM: Wow. I am not sure what to say.
SULLIVAN: U.S. men's national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino had just announced that Ream would be the team captain in this World Cup.
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REAM: Yeah, this is more than a dream, you know, come true.
SULLIVAN: Ream is the grizzled veteran of this U.S. national team. These days, his blonde hair is always pulled back into a man bun. At 38, he's nearly seven years older than the next oldest guy on the team. That gives him a level of experience and maturity, his coach says, that made him an obvious choice for captain.
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MAURICIO POCHETTINO: He's amazing always. So lucky to have a player like him, with his personality and his character, involved and helping the young players and the players also that have less experience.
SULLIVAN: Ream grew up in St. Louis surrounded by family who played. He's old enough to remember the 1994 World Cup, the last time the U.S. hosted the tournament, as he recalled on a U.S. soccer podcast last year.
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REAM: It was always, you know, at 7, 8, 9, oh, like, it'd be great. And you're in the backyard. And you're playing what we called at the time was World Cup, and you're crossing a ball in from a corner. And it's, like, the last kick of the game. And, you know, you're in your backyard and trying to finish the playoff.
SULLIVAN: In 2010, he was drafted by the New York Red Bulls. And soon enough, he was making his presence as a defender known, as heard here on ESPN.
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UNIDENTIFIED SPORTSCASTER: Donovan's got an empty net. Can he get it there? Donovan - cleared by Ream. He didn't put enough pace on it. Tim Ream made a huge play.
SULLIVAN: Before long, England came calling. He played for Bolton, then Fulham, London's oldest professional soccer club. Meanwhile, for the U.S. national team, Ream had his first call-up in 2010. But he got passed over for the 2014 World Cup team. Then the U.S. failed to qualify for the tournament in 2018. Still, Ream never lost sight of that dream.
GREGG BERHALTER: Tim is an amazing American story of perseverance.
SULLIVAN: Gregg Berhalter was coach of the national team at the time. It was his job to evaluate all of the American talent. Ream was playing so well, he said last week, that it forced his hand.
BERHALTER: You know, the type of games he was playing were very physical games. You know, they had big strikers, and it was somewhat difficult. But as his team got promoted and moved to the Premier League, you started to see the best of Tim Ream. You know, he put himself in a position where we couldn't leave him off the team.
SULLIVAN: At the '22 World Cup in Qatar, Ream started all four U.S. games. He was 35 then, a dad of three, already the steady veteran presence anchoring what was then a very young U.S. team. Now, four years later, all of them have grown together.
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REAM: It's like watching my kids. Like, you watch them and you speak to them. And you're kind of having the same conversations that you're having with, you know, your 11- and your 9-year-old and your 6-year-old. But then at the same time, it's like, they're a little bit more grown up, but then they start to really grow up. And, yeah, it teaches you how to just be - right? - and be the person that they need.
SULLIVAN: U.S. goalkeeper Chris Brady is 22 years old. He was only 6 when Ream turned pro. He says he could tell from his very first call-up that Ream was a leader.
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CHRIS BRADY: Off the field, I think it's clear, like, he's the guy people look up to. Like, he's the guy who's been there, done that. And he's the guy with all the experience.
SULLIVAN: Ream has since moved back to the States. He now plays for Charlotte FC, where he was recently asked, has he thought much about this possibly being his last season of professional soccer?
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REAM: We'll see what happens after. I'm solely focused on the here and now, the World Cup, and then finishing the year out. And then we see what happens.
SULLIVAN: When Pochettino named Ream captain, he was clear to say this wasn't a guarantee that Ream would start for the U.S. or even that he'd play. But it is almost certain that Ream will see the field tomorrow when the U.S. takes on Paraguay in their World Cup opener.
Becky Sullivan, NPR News, Los Angeles. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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