As D.C. United players went through their pregame routine Tuesday at RFK Stadium, Davy Arnaud walked to the home team’s bench and took a seat. Sidelined for months with concussion symptoms, he had to resist the natural urge, fueled by 14 seasons as an MLS midfielder, to join the exercises ahead of the CONCACAF Champions League match.
“I sat by myself, looked out there and reflected for a minute,” he said. “I realized, ‘It’s real. This is it.’ ”
Unable to shake the “drunk, dizzy feeling” of a head injury suffered heading the ball in practice last summer, Arnaud had decided this preseason to retire.