The eyes of the footballing world will be on Washington DC on Friday 5 December when the FIFA World Cup 26™ Final Draw takes place at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
It is certainly not the first time that the United States capital has staged a major football event, with the city having also hosted matches at the 1994 FIFA World Cup USA™, 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup USA™, 1996 Summer Olympics at the recent FIFA Club World Cup 2025™.
Meanwhile, as FIFA examines, Washington DC has also been home to a number of global stars, ranging from a trio of Dutch icons to one of England’s greatest-ever talents.
Guus Hiddink
Before going on to become one of the world’s greatest managers, Guus Hiddink had a long career as a midfielder, mainly playing in the Netherlands with De Graafschap and NEC Nijmegen. In the late Seventies and early Eighties, he joined the growing European exodus to the North American Soccer League (NASL) — firstly with the Washington Diplomats and then later the San Jose Earthquakes, where he roomed with Manchester United legend George Best. Hiddink played just 13 games for the Dips in 1978 but he made his mark, scoring four goals and registering five assists in his loan spell at the club.
After ending his playing days with De Graafschap, Hiddink moved into coaching where he guided PSV Eindhoven to six league titles over two stints, as well as the 1988 UEFA European Cup. He also had huge success in international football, leading the Netherlands and Korea Republic to fourth place of the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups respectively, as well as taking charge of Australia, Russia, Turkey and Curaçao. Retiring from the game in 2021, he also coached Chelsea and Real Madrid among many other clubs.
Wim Jansen
The defensive midfielder had a stand-out career with Feyenoord, whom he led to multiple major titles, including the 1970 European Cup. He also played a central role in the Dutch teams who reached the World Cup finals in both 1974 and 1978. Towards the end of his career, he teamed up with his former international team-mate Johan Cruyff at the Diplomats in 1980 as part of a series of high-profile moves to try to bring the team to new heights in the NASL.
With Cruyff grabbing most of the headlines during his time at the club — for good and bad — Jansen played 27 games that season as the Dips reached the first round of the playoffs. Jansen then returned to the Netherlands where he won a league title with Ajax in 1982 alongside Cruyff. He then went into coaching, leading his old club Feyenoord to two domestic cups before guiding Celtic to their first league championship in ten years in 1997/98.
Johan Cruyff
After coming out of retirement, the Dutch maestro was lured to the NASL where he played for the LA Aztecs under his mentor Rinus Michels — the inventor of Total Football. In total, Cruyff scored 13 goals in 25 games to win the league’s Most Valuable Player award in 1979 before switching to the Diplomats after the Aztecs were taken over at the end of the season. “I am not a savior of soccer in Washington. The youth will do that in years to come. But I am here to help,” Cruyff told the Washington Post.
Looking to make a big splash, the Dips signed Cruyff to a big-money deal but the mercurial talent grew increasingly frustrated with the tactics of coach Gordon Bradley. After some early struggles, the Dips went on a late-season push to reach the play-offs where they were promptly knocked out by Michels and the Aztecs. When the Dips were revived under Jimmy Hill in 1981, Cruyff made a brief return to the club that summer after finishing his season in Spain with Levante.
Eddie Pope
A member of three USA World Cup squads, Pope is widely considered to be one of DC United’s greatest-ever players. The defender helped the Major League Soccer (MLS) club to three MLS Cups in 1996, 1997 and 1999, as well as continental glory with the 1998 Concacaf Champions League. Over seven seasons with the club, Pope had a knack for scoring clutch goals, including the winner in extra-time against the LA Galaxy to seal the inaugural MLS Cup final in 1996
During an 11-year international career, Pope made 82 appearances for the USA, scoring an impressive eight goals as a centre-back. He was part of the national team squads at the 1998, 2002 and 2006 World Cups. He also played a pivotal role in the Americans’ triumph at the 2005 Concacaf Gold Cup. The 51-year-old is now sporting director of MLS Next Pro club Carolina Core FC.
Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney’s spell at DC United as a player was brief but unforgettable. Then 32, Rooney joined a struggling DC United team in 2018 in a multi-million dollar deal in attempt to revived their fortunes on and off the field. The England legend was unable to lead the MLS club to glory but he was responsible for one of the greatest moments in league history against Orlando City, when deep into injury time he tracked back from the edge of the opposition box to make a goal-saving sliding tackle in his own half with the DC United stopper David Ousted still up front, having gone up for a corner. He then sprinted to the Orlando box and played a perfect pin-point cross-field pass to the diminutive Luciano Acosta, who to rose up to head in to seal an improbable 3-2 victory.
A little over a year after joining, Rooney returned to England to take charge of Derby County and be closer to his wife and young children. In total, he scored 23 goals and registered 14 assists over 43 games. The England icon returned to DC United in 2022, this time as a coach, and left the following year after failing to lead the team to the play-offs.
