Goalkeeper Sutton announces his retirement
Posted on 27 October 2012 in Around the Soccer World
Canadian goalkeeper Greg Sutton has announced his retirement after a successful career at the professional and international levels. Along with 14 seasons at the professional level, Sutton spent six years playing for Canada, including two cycles of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers and three editions of the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
At the professional level, Sutton will be best remembered for his time with Impact Montréal FC. In his first stint with the club from 2001-2006 (A-League / USL First Division), Sutton was a league champion and the league Most Valuable Player in 2004, a four-time league Best Goalkeeper (2003-2006), and a four-time league All-Star (2003-2006).
In 2012, Sutton played his final professional season with the Impact in Major League Soccer. Over the course of his career, Sutton had also played for MLS clubs Chicago Fire, New York MetroStars, Dallas Burn, Toronto FC and New York Red Bulls. With Toronto FC and Impact Montréal, he played in three editions of the Amway Canadian Championship (2008, 2009 and 2012).
At the international level, Sutton made his Canadian debut at age 26 on 18 January 2004 (a 1:0 away win over Barbados). He had previously been part of Canada's U-23 team, taking part in the 2000 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying tournament. From 2004 to 2009 at the international "A" level, he made 16 appearances and posted seven clean sheets.
In three consecutive editions of the biennial CONCACAF Gold Cup (2005 to 2009), Sutton made seven appearances and posted two clean sheets. He was also called to the national team for FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in 2004 and 2008, but did not feature. In 2005, he finished fourth in voting for Canadian Player of the Year honours.
