The Run of Play is a blog about
the wonder and terror of soccer.

We left the window open during a match in October 2007 and a strange wind blew into the room.

Now we walk the forgotten byways of football with a lonely tread, searching for the beautiful, the bewildering, the haunting, and the absurd.

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Darren Anderton Scores the Winner in His Last-Ever Game

Darren Anderton, who won 30 caps for England and 305 starts for Tottenham Hotspur between 1992 and 2004, retired today at the age of 36. A couple of minutes before he retired, he scored the winning goal for Bournemouth against Chester. His last act as a professional soccer player was to score a winner for his team, in the 88th minute, from 20 yards out.

It’s hard to imagine how that moment could be ruined. Which is why I’d like to leave the following message, on the off chance that he’s reading this: Never come back to play for the Washington Wizards, Darren. If you feel like suiting up again in three or four years—if a little voice starts telling you that you’re just the player to show Kwame Brown the ropes—ignore that voice, Darren. That voice is not your friend.

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Darren Anderton Scores the Winner in His Last-Ever Game

by Brian Phillips · December 6, 2008

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