ST LOUIS, MISSOURI – JULY 02: Tim Ream #13 of United States gestures during the first half of the Gold Cup 2025 Semifinals against Guatemala at Energizer Park on July 02, 2025 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Bill Barrett/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images)

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A belated Happy Birthday to Tim Ream.

The U.S. Men’s National Team and Charlotte FC center back turned 38 on Sunday, Oct. 5.

For any professional soccer player, that can be a telling age.

For someone who has hopes of performing in the 2026 World Cup, that can go double or triple.

While goalkeepers have been known to play into their 40’s, field players don’t always have their luxury. The endless miles they have run will catch up to them in many ways, especially slowing down. Injuries are more difficult to come back from. And some players can lose that desire.

Tim Ream is the complete reverse to that. Never say die, keep plugging away, he says.

If the St. Louis native is named to the U.S. World Cup team by head coach Mauricio Pochettino, Ream will be one of the oldest players to compete in the Greatest Show on Earth next year. According to www.oldest.org, Egypt goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary is the oldest at 45 years, five months and 10 days, at the 2018 World Cup.

In soccer age and parlance, Ream might be in the twilight years of a remarkable soccer career that has spanned 16 years, but he has gotten better as the years have rolled on.

He is a voice of experience and during a Tuesday afternoon media Zoom session, Ream put on exhibition of self-awareness.

The secret of his longevity

When Ream was asked about his “secret” of longevity and ability to fight Father Time, he replied, “I don’t think we have long enough to sit here and go through everything to be honest with you.”

So, Ream gave a Reader’s Digest version.

“Find a good girl to have your back and settle down with her,” he said. “Listen, I started from a young age. My focus from a young age was okay, I wanted to be a professional, and I want to play as long as I can. That, I think, first and foremost is, is important.

“And then I think, finding things that work for you. What works for me isn’t going to work for Cristian. What works for Cristian probably wouldn’t work for me.”

Ream was referring to USMNT teammate Cristian Roldan, who shared the Zoom presser with him.

“It’s finding even the small things that that kind of help you along in that path,” he added. “Adaptability is a huge one. We talk about being flexible, but being able to adapt to different coaching styles, to different managers, to different, different leagues, I think that’s the biggest thing, being able to adapt.”

It has been all about being resilient.

“Taking your lumps when they come, but also when you get knocked down, just getting up again. Because there’s so many times that you’re going to get knocked down in in sport and in life, and it’s how many times you’re going to get up. If you can get up one more time and you get knocked down, you’re going to keep on going for as long as long as you really want to. That’s been my biggest thing, adaptability. When you get knocked down, you keep just plowing forward.”

Right now, Ream is standing and plowing forward for club and country.

For club, Charlotte FC (18-13-2, 56 points), which is in fourth place in the MLS Eastern Conference, already has booked a spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs.

For country, the 6-foot-1, 176-lb. Ream has made 11 appearances for the Red, White and Blue this year, the third most on the squad, captaining the side 10 times.

While he made his international debut in November 2010, it wasn’t until in recent years that Ream has become a steady selection. Entering the FIFA international window in October, Ream has made 77 appearances for the USA. He likely will add to that number as the Americans will host Ecuador in Austin, Texas on Oct. 10 and then Australia in Commerce City, Colo. on Oct. 14.

“I’m going to continue to push and try to contribute minutes,” Ream said. “I said after the last World Cup that okay it could be my last. It could be my very first and last. I’ve always maintained that I’ll push myself to the absolute maximum and ring every ounce of playing time that I can out of my body and my mind. That’s what I’m going to continue to do. I’m going to continue to push to be a starter.

“It may not work out that way. Things change. Things happen, and you just never know. But I think it’s important, especially as you, as you start to get older, to set goals and set them high and try to reach those.”

Ream added that if “I’m the old guy in the corner handing out orange slices and giving pep talks to these guys. Then, okay, then, I’ve still contributed something to the team environment in the culture. My aim, and my goal is to be starting games. Whether that happens or not, is obviously down to me, but then also down to other decisions and down to other players and their form as well. So that’s where I see myself. I’m going to continue to push and to be an example that you can continue to push and contribute in big games and big moments and be a part of big teams.”

Getting some respect

Roldan, a member of the U.S. World Cup team that competed in Qatar in 2022, felt the veteran center back was a shining example of how to conduct himself.

“When I think of Tim, I think of poise, I think of leadership, I think of control in every aspect,” he said. “He brings a different aura to the team, and he creates a really good environment, a really welcoming environment for a lot of guys. That’s the type of leader that that we need. And one thing I will say about Tim is that he’s essentially kind of revitalized his national team career at an older age. It provided me with a little bit more added motivation to get back here with the team, to really believe that I could get here. He’s an example that you can not only play at a really high level, but sustain that throughout your career. What Tim brings to the team is something that is really hard to replace.”

Ream has no delusions of grandeur that he is a slam dunk to be named to the U.S. squad for next June’s extravaganza.

It’s all about never letting up – for club or country, when he answered a question about USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino’s messaging to the team.

“You have to push yourself in every single situation that you’re in, whether that’s at club, whether that’s with the with the national team,” Ream said. “Sometimes that is good enough, and sometimes other players may be doing something that you aren’t. I think the overall message is that nobody’s spot is guaranteed. Whether we look at a squad of 26 and say, okay, he’s on the list, he’s number one. He’s guaranteed a spot. There is no such thing as a guarantee.

“And I think that’s kind of the way you have to approach, not just the national team career and games and in sessions and camps, but your club form and your club situations as well. And that’s that should be your driver. You’re the driver of pushing yourself to the to the absolute limit, giving yourself every chance and every possibility to be called in. And it still may not be enough. That’s the way that the sport is, and that’s the way national teams go.

“Just because you were at a previous World Cup doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed another one. I said that after the World Cup in Qatar, and here we are eight, nine months out, and that’s still the case. … We have to continually earn, earn our spot. And hopefully that you know that puts you in a position to at least be in consideration for another World Cup.”

Making a big sacrifice

As for his “girl,” comments a bit earlier, he was referring to Kristen Sapienza. You’ve got to give Sapienza a lot of credit because she had to make a giant sacrifice when she and Tim got married in St. Louis on Jan. 8, 2012. The Reams had to put off their honeymoon because Tim had just signed with the Bolton Wanderers in England after playing two years with the New York Red Bulls.

The Reams were married for a day when Tim received a phone call from the Bolton Wanderers in England, telling him all of his paperwork had come through on his transfer. The club him to cancel his honeymoon and come to England.

“As much as we were disappointed that we had to pass up the trip, I think we both knew it was in our best interests,” he told me at the time. “Hopefully, it shows my commitment to being here and doing well here.”

Ream said his bride took a little more convincing.

“I can’t really repeat what she said,” he said. “But her and I have talked, and as long as we’re together in whatever we do I think both of us will be happy. She wants the best for me, and I just want her to be happy.

“If she says tomorrow that she wants something, then I guess I’ll have to give it to her.”

Tim and Kristen have three children.

No ready to hang those boots up yet

Ream has enjoyed a nice long career, playing three seasons with Bolton (114 matches) and nine with Fulham (281 league appearances) before returning to the states to play with Charlotte F.C. in 2024.

He isn’t ready to hang those boots up just yet.

“Along the way, to be able to kind of hit those other milestones, being in the Premier League, and being in England for as long as I was, making it to a World Cup and playing, coming back here and still playing, and still having the goal of being a part of next year’s World Cup, those are the things that kind of keep me motivated,” he told this writer earlier in this year.

“Truthfully, I could probably feel good enough to play another two or three years, and that’s physically, mentally, emotionally. I feel in a really good spot. But as we all know, things can change quickly. This game throws up so many different things, good and bad, that right now I’m just, I’m at the point where I’m thinking, ‘Okay, I have a singular focus, and that’s to play every game I possibly can, trying to make it to next year’s World Cup, and then, we see what happens.’ “

And there might be other factors involved, on the family side.

“I think my oldest will almost be driving another two to three years,” Ream said. “So maybe I don’t go that long, but that’s kind of where my head and my feelings are at the moment. If you ask me the same thing at the end of next season, that might be a different answer.”

Playing for and perhaps captaining the host team in a World Cup could be a nice bow to wrap up one memorable and remarkable career.

Michael Lewis can be followed at Soccerwriter on Twitter and Bluesky.