As his former Puebla teammates prepare to face Tijuana in their opening Liga MX fixture, United States left back DaMarcus Beasley is enjoying a homecoming more than 2,000 miles away from the border city.
Tom Henry, the mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana, declared Friday "DaMarcus Beasley Day" in honor of the hometown World Cup hero, who said on social media that before this weekend he hadn't been to his home state in four years.
It's now clear that, as expected, Beasley will no longer be wearing La Franja across his chest. "(S)orry but no," Beasley wrote to a fan on Twitter who asked if he was going to return to Puebla.
That makes it very unlikely he'll return to Mexico at all, with the country's transfer system making it virtually impossible to make an intra-country move after draft day.
It's not the first time Beasley's club status has been up in the air. In December, Queretaro announced it had signed the American but released a statement a week later saying, "DaMarcus Beasley will not play for our team as he has decided to suit up for another club."
He's keeping his options open, with his hometown paper reporting he's considering domestic and foreign options.
“I would literally play almost anywhere,” Beasley told The (Fort Wayne) News-Sentinel on Friday during an event at his soccer school. “I'm excited to get back on the field, excited for a new journey. Where that will be I don't know yet.”
What is known is that NASL side Indy Eleven will honor the 32-year-old at their game this weekend. The 2014 World Cup was Beasley's fourth. He's had a successful career as a winger, accumulating 98 league appearances with MLS' Chicago Fire, then moving to PSV in the Netherlands, where he became the American to advance furthest in the competition by suiting up in the semifinals, and Rangers of Scotland, with a loan trip to Manchester City in between.
Jurgen Klinsmann transitioned the veteran into a left back role in March 2013, and he started all four of the Stars and Stripes' World Cup matches at the position.
Though it's been a long, successful career, Beasley isn't thinking of hanging up his boots just yet.
“I laugh about it and joke about it because I'm 32 and I will be 36 when it's in Russia,” he told The News-Sentinel. “But I'll give it my all. Some of my old coaches are here … they know I'm not going to give up and I'm not going to let someone take my position easily.
“If it happens I'm in the World Cup again, it does. But I'd be very, very surprised if there's not a young left back who comes in and takes my spot. I've got the passion; I'll keep pushing until my legs can't go anymore.”
