DC United’s Steven Birnbaum makes cameo appearance in loss to Celtic

But when United kicked the ball backwards and promptly kicked it out of bounds, the happy-go-lucky attitude was gone and reality took over. As much as Birnbaum would have liked to roam Audi Field for another 90 minutes — or 45, or 10, or two — the troublesome hip and knee that had sent him flying early wouldn’t let him. So Birnbaum made his scheduled farewell seconds into the exhibition, giving his teammates a hearty hug and applauding fans who held a “Thanks Captain” banner in his honor.

Birnbaum, the No. 2 draft pick out of California in 2014, played 275 games for DC — third in club history — in a career that saw him earn an All-Star nomination in 2016 and earn 11 caps for the U.S. national team. After missing the start of the season following knee surgery in February, Birnbaum played just six games before hanging up his boots, revealing irreparable cracks in the steely man’s armor.

After removing the captain’s armband and handing it to his replacement, Lucas Bartlett, Birnbaum hugged coach Troy Lesesne, picked up his daughter as she ran into his arms, and disappeared onto the DC bench. He was already in street clothes when he reappeared to address the fans during a halftime ceremony. “I gave everything I had on the field,” he told the announced crowd of 18,590. He said his final goodbye, shouting, “¡Vamos United!”

The friendly came three days after United (6-11-8) snapped a month-long regular-season hiatus with a 3-2 win in the final minutes at Minnesota. On Wednesday, defenders Aaron Herrera and Christian Benteke will compete in the MLS All-Star Game in Columbus, Ohio. United then opens the Leagues Cup — a tournament featuring all the teams from MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX — with a match in Atlanta on Friday.

Lesesne retained just one starter — defender-midfielder Matti Peltola — from the win over Minnesota. Among Saturday’s starters: new signings David Schnegg and Dominique Badji and academy player Graham Jones, a University of Virginia commit who spent preseason with United.

Despite a series of saves from third-choice goalkeeper Luis Zamudio, the makeshift DC team could not keep up with Celtic. O’Riley opened the scoring with a close-range shot in the 25th minute. Seven minutes later he doubled his tally by firing a Zamudio rebound into an empty net. Mikey Johnston converted a tap-in in the 65th minute before James Forrest closed the scoring with a counter-attacking goal four minutes later.

Here’s what else you need to know about United’s loss:

Schnegg, a left back signed from Sturm Graz in his native Austria, and Badji, a Senegalese forward who recently played in Turkey’s second division, each played 58 minutes in their first appearances since the MLS transfer window opened on Thursday. The reinforcements are desperately needed for a D.C. team that regularly fails to field a full 20-man squad on matchdays due to injuries and thin rosters.

Those injury woes reared their ugly heads again Saturday. Kristian Fletcher, a forward playing for the first time in more than a month because of an ankle injury, was forced off in the fifth minute after injuring his right hamstring. And Zamudio was replaced by rookie Nathan Crockford — who blocked Johnston’s penalty in the 78th minute — after suffering a leg injury early in the second half.

The friendly marked the start of preparations for a Celtic team that has won its 54th Scottish league title this season (and 12th in the last 13 campaigns). Celtic will continue their U.S. tour against Manchester City on Tuesday in Chapel Hill, N.C., and Chelsea next Saturday in South Bend, Ind.

Celtic, who played with a mix of regulars and reserves, retained recently signed Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel and American defender Cameron Carter-Vickers after playing at the European Championship and Copa America.