'I Should Have Been Dead'

"It would take weeks to pin him down just to talk," he said. "And when we would talk, it never seemed he was being truthful. I was worried about his conduct and professionalism. He was running the risk of wasting a prodigious talent."

Team officials said they first learned of his drug problem in 2006, when United players were subject to a random test conducted by MLS; Quaranta's result came up positive for cocaine use. As a condition to remain in the league, he had to submit to regular drug tests at home for several months, which meant he had to explain it all to his wife.

"He said he made a mistake and it wouldn't happen again," said Petrina, who first met Santino at an eighth-grade dance. "He used all the excuses."

Fearing another positive test, Quaranta kept away from cocaine but continued to swallow painkillers, which don't violate league rules. MLS's substance abuse program is included in the collective bargaining agreement with the players' union but is confidential.

Quaranta's behavior remained unchanged, and United had had enough. In August 2006, the day before United played world power Real Madrid in Seattle, the club announced it had traded Quaranta to Los Angeles for player acquisition funds.

"We knew what we were getting into," Galaxy President Alexi Lalas said. "With the appropriate leadership and right environment, you believe it is going to work."

Said Quaranta: "I would have traded me a long time before that. My attitude was terrible. . . . I told myself, 'Man, maybe this will be good for me; I'll get away from D.C. and Baltimore.' "

Every time he tried to quit taking pills, however, he suffered from withdrawal symptoms. "I started to meet people. I am attracted to people like me. I am attracted to the craziness," he said. Before long, he was hooked again and buying pills on the street. His wife and daughter soon joined him out west, and "Petrina knew what was going on [with the drugs]. I was changing as a person," he said. "I was chasing happiness, and my happiness were in these pills."

Back in Baltimore during the offseason, Quaranta said he was spending $300 to $500 per day on pills. When he returned to the Los Angeles area to prepare for the 2007 season, his weight ballooned to 205 pounds, 25 more than he carries now. He struggled to complete fitness runs and "ate pills all day long," said Quaranta, who, according to a report by the Department of Health and Human Services, was among 5.2 million Americans using prescription pain relievers for nonmedical use in 2006.

When his family rejoined him in Los Angeles, he again tried to quit.

"I said I was done, I can't do this anymore," he said. "The first four or five days, the bed was soaked because I was sweating so bad. It was emotional for [Petrina], but she didn't know it was this bad. That emotional attachment, the obsession, it had not lifted."

So Quaranta found a dealer and got his fix. His wife thought his condition had improved without pills, but soon she was finding them in his pockets.