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Persistent injuries in his 17th and final professional season robbed Canada’s most decorated male soccer player of his grand finale.

Julian de Guzman never had the chance to run onto the field for one last game knowing that would be it for his decorated career.

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The nagging aches and pains that unceremoniously and prematurely ended his season last July 30 kept de Guzman from watching the seconds tick off the clock, then hear the referee’s final whistle and know that things would never be the same.

The Ottawa Fury FC captain was deprived of a victory lap around the field at TD Place stadium with the fans cheering for all he had done for Canadian soccer as de Guzman applauded back before exiting the field and disappearing from sight.

Superstars should always leave on their own terms and de Guzman never had that chance, or at least didn’t have it until a friendly showed up on the Fury FC’s schedule: a matchup with the Montreal Impact, Fury FC’s Major League Soccer affiliate, Wednesday night at TD Place stadium.