DaMarcus Beasley lifted his first U.S. Open Cup in 2000. On Wednesday, he lifted his third, 18 years later.
The Houston Dynamo defender played the full 90 in the 2018 U.S. Open Cup final at BBVA Compass Stadium, as the Dynamo beat the Philadelphia Union 3-0. The triumph is Houston's first Open Cup title in their history, and their third major title in their history (they also won the '06 and '07 MLS Cups).
Following the game, the 36-year-old Beasley, in his fifth season with Houston, spoke about winning the Open Cup and what it means for him and the club on MLSsoccer.com's ExtraTime Live show, driven by Continental.
"This one is special," Beasley told David Gass. "To win this one at such an old age, obviously my career is winding down, this is something I'll never forget. The players, the coaches put so much effort into trying to win this cup for ourselves. It's even sweeter because of the season we've been having."
Beasley referenced the difficult season Houston have had in league play, where they are well out of the chase to get into the Audi 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs, but acknowledged that the USOC triumph is something to cherish.
"This doesn't save our season, but at the same time, this feels damn good to win the cup, to be champions, I'm glad everyone can feel how this feels. Throughout their career, I want them to keep this feeling, know what it takes, know how it feels to be champions, because that's what we are today, champions."
Beasley won his first two U.S. Open Cup titles with the Chicago Fire, in '00 and '03. In a career where he has played in the Netherlands, England, Scotland, Germany and Mexico, in addition to MLS, and racked up well over 100 caps for the US national team. The Fort Wayne, Indiana native has won six domestic cup competitions in his career now, to go with multiple league titles with PSV Eindhoven and Rangers, two league cups in Scotland and a Supporters' Shield with the Fire.
In that well-traveled career, Beasley has settled in Houston, and he made it clear in the glow of the victory that he is happy to be both part of the team and the city.
"I was always happy to be here," he said. "Win or lose, I'm happy to be part of the Dynamo family. They're always treated me with the utmost respect, from the top down, from Gabriel [Brener, the Dynamo owner] to Chris [Canetti, team president], to Matt [Jordan, GM], to the coaching staff. I've loved my time here. Even if we had lost this game, I would have said the same thing. I've loved my time in Houston, and I'm enjoying it."
He also had a chance to joke about how he would celebrate the Open Cup title win.
"I'm old. I gotta get my cane out to party with the young boys, but I'm going to try!" he said.
