Alex Morgan defined a generation of women’s football – now she hangs up her boots and passes the baton
It is the end of an era for the iconic No. 13 jersey, but Morgan can retire knowing she has left the game in a much better place than she found it.
Football
Every once in a while, a player comes along in football that defines a generation.
For over the last decade, that has been Alex Morgan.
Since her professional debut in 2009, the 35-year-old has shouldered the growth of the women’s game throughout her career.
Dubbed the next Mia Hamm before even pulling on the famous Stars and Stripes jersey, Morgan took the insurmountable pressure in her stride.
Her achievements on and off the pitch speak volumes about her imprint not only in this sport but also in encouraging female athletes worldwide.
She has driven standards and pushed for change in each year that she has grown as both a person and a player.
But she has done so quietly on occasions, without headlines and sometimes without plaudits because that is who she is – someone who simply wants to leave football in a better place than she found it.
It is perhaps therefore fitting that she should bow out in a similar vein – announced with a personal video on an unassuming Thursday morning, followed by just another home game with adoring fans and loved ones looking on.
Where the number 13 is widely considered unlucky for many, those digits on the back of Morgan’s jersey came to represent hope at a time when women’s football needed it most.
On the pitch: My name is Alex…
Alex Morgan has always known what she wanted to be.
At the age of seven, seemingly on a whim, she wrote a note to her mother on a yellow stick pad.
“Hi Mommy! My name is Alex and I am going to be a professional athlete for soccer!”
By 2010, she was debuting for the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) in a squad full of superstar names unaware of the kind of career she was about to embark on.
At club level, she has bagged over 80 goals in almost 200 games.
For her country, Morgan scored 123 times in 224 appearances.
According to OptaJack, no player has been involved in more USWNT goals than the iconic No.13 since her debut, with 175 to her name (123 goals, 52 assists).
She has been an NWSL champion, a treble winner with Lyon—including lifting the UEFA Champions League—a two-time World Cup winner, and an Olympic gold medallist, while also receiving several individual accolades.
There is perhaps no greater gift in her career than inspiring the next generation of players, many of whom she has been able to share the pitch with of late.
For the last four years, though, it has also included inspiring her first-born child Charlie, who is always cheering her on in the stands.
In her retirement announcement, Morgan said: “Charlie came up to me the other day and said that when she grows up, she wants to be a soccer player.
“It just made me immensely proud – not because I wish for her to become [one], but because a pathway exists that even a 4-year-old can see now.
“We’re changing lives… the impact we have on the next generation is irreversible and I’m proud in the hand I had in making that happen and pushing the game forward and leaving it in a place that I’m so happy and proud of.”
Off the pitch: A fierce advocate and ally
One of the many things that made Morgan a true ally and advocate in sports is that she has always been willing to lend her voice to things that matter.
Her most public pursuit of equality was, of course, securing equal pay for the US women’s team following their many years of success.
But then there are the things Morgan has done away from the spotlight that some may not know about.
Just four years ago, she set in motion what is now known as the NWSL’s first anti-harassment policy.
“I asked for a player handbook last year,” Morgan told The Athletic in 2021, following abuse allegations against a former North Carolina Courage coach coming to light.
“It was an eight-page document, and I asked specifically to see the protections of the player in it. There’s absolutely none.
“I was shocked, but at the same time, if we don’t absolutely claw and fight for ourselves, we’ve seen that we’re not going to get anything.”
Led by Morgan, over 200 players went on to sign a letter outlining specific requests to ensure a ‘safe and inclusive’ workplace, including a way to submit complaints with the protection of the league.
She also continued to publicly back teammates and fellow professionals, who were brave enough to speak up, evidenced in a thread of tweets here.
There was also a point where the coach in question was in contention for the head coach job for the national team, but Morgan played her part in ensuring that did not happen.
Her commitment to raising standards extends beyond state lines, as she made a considerable impact during her short loan spell with Spurs in 2020.
“Alex came over here and made sure that the women’s team changed their training fields because where they were training was unacceptable,” Jess Fishlock revealed.
“It takes those kinds of people to create change.”
A fierce advocate and ally to those whose voices needed amplifying the most, Morgan has shown that what you do off the pitch can be just as important as what you do on it.
The outpouring of love from players of the present and past is unsurprising but can be perfectly encapsulated by former USWNT captain Becky Sauerbrunn, who wrote: “A true superstar when the game needed one the most.
“You shared with us your talent, your voice, and your platform. And fought to make life better for all of us on and off the field. Thank you.”
Alex Morgan: Awards and accolades
Western New York Flash
- WPS Championship: 2011
Portland Thorns
- NWSL Championship: 2013
Lyon
- Division 1 Feminine: 16/17
- Coupe de France Feminine: 16/17
- UEFA Women’s Champions League: 16/17
San Diego Wave
- NWSL Shield: 2023
- NWSL Challenge Cup: 2024
United States
- FIFA Women’s World Cup: 2015; 2019
- Olympic gold: 2012
- Olympic bronze: 2020
- CONCACAF Women’s Championship: 2014; 2018; 2022
- CONCACAF W Gold Cup: 2024
- SheBelieves Cup: 2016; 2018; 2021; 2022; 2023; 2024
Individual Honours
- U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year: 2012; 2018
- CONCACAF Player of the Year: 2013; 2016; 2017; 2018
- USWNT All-Time Best XI: 2013
- SheBeleives Cup Golden Boot and Golden Ball: 2016
- FIFA FIFPRO Women’s World 11: 2016; 2017; 2019; 2021; 2022; 2023
- IFFHS Women’s World Team: 2017; 2018; 2019; 2022
- IFFHS World’s Women’s Team of the Decade: 2011-2020
- IFFHS CONCACAF Women’s Team of the Decade: 2011-2020
- CONCACAF Women’s Championship Golden Boot: 2022
- CONCACAF Women’s Championship Best XI: 2022
- NWSL Golden Boot: 2022
- NWSL Best XI: 2022
- NWSL Challenge Cup – Player of the Final (MVP): 2024