Santino Quaranta became emotional when he stood against his locker after scoring a goal in his first start of the season for D.C. United, knowing he took another step in salvaging a once-fruitful professional soccer career.
Quaranta was 16, barely old enough to drive, when he was drafted by the franchise in 2001. At the time, he was the youngest player to appear in a Major League Soccer game. He played like a man, scoring five goals in 16 games his rookie season, but then a series of personal missteps and injuries left his MLS career in jeopardy.
In a recent interview, Quaranta (Archbishop Curley) said he often took his life as a professional athlete for granted. Now, after turning an invitation to train with United this season into a full contract, he is eager to not only become one of the best players in MLS, but to also perhaps go overseas and leave his mark on the world. To do that, the forward must supplement his natural ability with an unyielding commitment to staying in shape.
"I didn't take care of myself. I didn't take care of my body. I didn't do what I was supposed to do as a professional," Quaranta said. "Yeah, I did take it for granted. That's the truth. A lot of people might look at that and say, `He was ungrateful.' But that is just the truth. That's where I was at that point.
"I thought I could just breeze by on my talent, and it worked for a long time. I rode that train for a long time."
Quaranta, 23, said he became absorbed in his new lifestyle and was doing things off the field, such as going out too much and not training enough, that were detrimental to his career.
He was once on track to make the 2006 U.S. World Cup roster because he was the type of player who could dazzle coaches with his deft touch and uncanny instinct for scoring goals. But he would sometimes leave those same coaches scratching their heads when he showed up out of shape for practice.
United traded Quaranta in 2006 to the Los Angeles Galaxy, where he played in 12 games and scored three goals that season. He was traded to the New York Red Bulls the next year and appeared in three games for New York before suffering a season-ending foot injury. This year, he was signed to United's 18-man roster after being waived by New York.
"I loved L.A., but I felt things slipping away from me," Quaranta said. "I was not doing what was right at all - in all aspects. Whether it was being on time or taking care of myself, I wasn't dependable."
