Eric Lichaj

Eric Lichaj

Lichaj with Nottingham Forest in 2016
Personal information
Full name	Eric Joseph Lichaj[1]
Date of birth	November 17, 1988
Place of birth	Downers Grove, Illinois, United States
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current team	Nottingham Forest
Number	2
Youth career
2003–2005	IMG Academy
2007–2008	Aston Villa
College career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2006	North Carolina Tar Heels
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2006	Chicago Fire Premier	4	(0)
2008–2013	Aston Villa	32	(1)
2009	→ Lincoln City (loan)	6	(0)
2010	→ Leyton Orient (loan)	9	(1)
2011	→ Leeds United (loan)	16	(0)
2013–	Nottingham Forest	126	(2)
National team^‡
2003–2005	United States U17	25	(0)
2006	United States U20	2	(0)
2010–	United States	11	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 December 2016. ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of May 22, 2016

Eric Joseph Lichaj (born November 17, 1988) is an American soccer player who plays for Nottingham Forest in the Championship and for the United States national team. He started his youth career playing for Chicago Fire's youth side and participated in the youth residency program at IMG Academy. He later played college soccer for the North Carolina Tar Heels. After playing one year at the University of North Carolina, Lichaj left America to sign with Aston Villa in the Premier League.

Early career

Eric Lichaj was born as the third son of Stan and Ann Lichaj, both from Nowy Targ, Poland.^[2] He also has two older brothers, Andrew and Mark Lichaj. He joined the soccer residency program at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida at the age of 14.^[2] He began his youth career with the Downers Grove Roadrunners, later playing with Chicago Fire's youth side, and then spent one year at the University of North Carolina.^[3][4] He also played four games for the Chicago Fire Premier of the USL Premier Development League.^[5] After his freshman season, he signed with Aston Villa of England's Premier League. Lichaj holds a Polish passport, making a work permit unnecessary.^[6]

Aston Villa

Following a season in the Aston Villa youth side, Lichaj featured in all but two of Villa's Reserve matches during the 2008–09 season.^[7] During the 2009–10 preseason, he was selected in the squad for the 2009 Peace Cup and showed glimpses of his potential during the friendly tournament.^[8] However, this did not immediately translate into playing time for the first team.

Lichaj was loaned out to League Two club Lincoln City to gain first-team experience. He played two games for City before signing a one-month loan extension.^[9] Later in the season, Lichaj again went on a month-long loan, that time to League One side Leyton Orient.^[10] He scored the first professional goal of his career for Leyton Orient against Stockport County on April 17, 2010.^[11]

Lichaj scored his first goal for Aston Villa on July 19, 2010, in a pre-season friendly against Peterborough United. Following a successful pre-season campaign, he signed a new three-year contract with the club on August 11, 2010.^[12] He made his competitive debut for Villa on August 19, 2010, in a 1–1 draw in a Europa League qualifying match away to Rapid Vienna.^[13] He made his Premier League debut for the Villans on November 10, 2010 against Blackpool.^[14] Lichaj made his first start for Aston Villa on December 11, 2010 in a 2–1 win against local rivals West Bromwich Albion. He also started for Villa at right back against Tottenham Hotspur where he put in an impressive performance against in-form Spurs winger Gareth Bale.

Leeds United (loan)

On February 9, 2011, Lichaj joined Leeds United on a one-month loan deal.^[15] Lichaj made his Leeds début in a 2–0 victory against Bristol City.^[16] On March 14, Leeds extended Lichaj's loan for the rest of the season.^[17] He scored an own goal in Leeds' match against Yorkshire rivals Sheffield United who went on to win the match 2-0. After playing all his games at right back in place of the injured Paul Connolly, Lichaj was moved to left back when George McCartney was out injured.^[18] On May 9, Lichaj played the last game of his Leeds United loan spell in Leeds' 2–1 over Queens Park Rangers.^[19] Leeds announced on their official website that Lichaj would be returning to his parent club Aston Villa at the end of his loan spell.^[20] After his loan expired, Lichaj revealed that he would like to rejoin Leeds the following season to help them earn promotion to the Premier League.^[21]

Back at Villa

After impressing during his loan spell, in July 2011 Leeds manager Simon Grayson revealed he was interested in re-signing Lichaj on loan, as long as new Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish didn't see Lichaj in his first team plans.^[22][23] However, Lichaj went on to score his first goal for Aston Villa in their 2–0 win over Hereford in the League Cup on August 23, 2011.^[24] On March 31, 2012, having already assisted Villa's first goal by throwing the ball long for James Collins to score from a header, Lichaj scored his first Premier League goal in a 4–2 defeat at home to Chelsea.^[25] After the 2012–13 Premier League season, Aston Villa decided not to renew Lichaj's contract, releasing him on a free transfer.

Nottingham Forest

Lichaj signed a two-year deal with Championship club Nottingham Forest on June 19, 2013.^[26] He made his debut in a 1–0 win against Huddersfield Town on the opening day of the season.^[27] In December 2014, he extended his deal until the summer of 2017.^[28] On 20 October 2015 Lichaj scored his first Nottingham Forest goal in a 1-1 draw with Burnley at the City Ground.^[29] Lichaj captained Forest for the first time on 27 September 2016 for a home game against Fulham, and scored his second goal for the club in his next home game, opening the scoring in a 3-1 win over Birmingham City.

International career

Lichaj has been involved with various U.S. youth teams. He helped his country qualify for the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship. He was also named in the United States U-20 squad for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, although he missed out due to injury. He was called into the senior team as a "guest" for the camp preceding two World Cup qualifiers in June 2009.^[30] Lichaj received his first call-up to the United States senior team in October 2010 and was included in the squad for the friendlies against Poland and Colombia.^[31] Lichaj collected his first cap on October 12, 2010 in the friendly against Colombia.^[32] On November 17, 2010, Lichaj gained his second cap when he started for the US against South Africa. On March 21, 2011, Lichaj received a call up to the US national side for the games against Argentina and Paraguay.^[33] He was named in his nation's 2011 Gold Cup squad. After sitting on the bench for the first two Gold Cup matches, Lichaj played all 90 minutes of the last four, including the 4-2 loss in the final against Mexico.

In 2013, Lichaj returned to international duty after a two-year absence, making two substitute appearances for the US against Scotland and Austria in November.^[34] In May 2016, Lichaj was again recalled by the US, as part of the preliminary Copa América Centenario roster,^[35] and for a friendly match against Puerto Rico.^[36] Lichaj made a substitute appearance in the match against Puerto Rico.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 2 December 2016

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Aston Villa	2008–09[37]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2009–10[38]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2010–11[39]	Premier League	5	0	0	0	2	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	8	0
	2011–12[40]	Premier League	10	1	0	0	1	1	—		11	2
	2012–13[41]	Premier League	17	0	2	0	4	0	—		23	0
	Total		32	1	2	0	7	1	1	0	42	2
Lincoln City (loan)	2009–10[38]	League Two	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
Leyton Orient (loan)	2009–10[38]	League One	9	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	1
Leeds United (loan)	2010–11[39]	Championship	16	0	0	0	0	0	—		16	0
Nottingham Forest	2013–14[42]	Championship	24	0	2	0	0	0	—		26	0
	2014–15[43]	Championship	42	0	1	0	2	0	—		45	0
	2015–16[44]	Championship	43	1	2	0	1	0	—		46	1
	2016–17[45]	Championship	17	1	0	0	3	0	—		20	1
	Total		126	2	5	0	6	0	—		137	2
Career total			189	4	7	0	13	1	1	0	210	5

1. Appearance in UEFA Europa League

International

As of December 15, 2014

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
United States
	2010	2	0
	2011	6	0
	2012	0	0
	2013	2	0
	2014	0	0
	2015	0	0
	2016	1	0
	Total	11	0

References

1. "List of Players under Written Contract Registered Between 01/10/2009 and 31/10/2009" (PDF). The Football Association. Retrieved January 11, 2010.
2. Armour, Nancy (October 6, 2010). "Timing is perfect for Lichaj's first US call-up". CBS Chicago. Associated Press. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
3. Owen, Dave (August 21, 2009). "Downers Grove native Lichaj making international soccer impact". MySuburbanLife.com. Retrieved July 2, 2012.
4. "Player bio: Eric Lichaj". tarheelblue.cstv.com. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
5. "Chicago Fire Premier: 2006 roster". uslsoccer.com. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
6. Ubha, Ravi (November 30, 2008). "Lichaj making his mark in the reserves". ESPNsoccernet. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
7. "Eric Lichaj". Aston Villa F.C. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
8. "Player Database – Eric Lichaj". yanks-abroad.com. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
9. "Lincoln extend Villa duo's loans". BBC Sport. November 23, 2009. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
10. "Villa Defender Becomes Deadline Day Arrival No. 2". Leyton Orient F.C. March 25, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
11. "Leyton Orient 2 - 0 Stockport". BBC. 17 April 2010. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
12. "Lichaj pens new three-year contract". Aston Villa F.C. August 11, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
13. Stevenson, Jonathan (August 19, 2010). "Rapid Vienna 1 – 1 Aston Villa". BBC Sport. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
14. "U.S. midfielder Maurice Edu leaves Rangers match on a stretcher - ESPN". Espn.go.com. November 10, 2010. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
15. "Deal Done For Premier League Defender". February 9, 2011.
16. "News | News | News | United Victorious At Ashton Gate". Leeds United. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
17. "American Lichaj extends Leeds loan from Villa". CNN. March 14, 2011.
18. "News | News | News | Dominant United Held At Home". Leeds United. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
19. "News | News | News | United Upset The Champions". Leeds United. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
20. "News | News | News | LOAN MEN SAY FAREWELL". Leeds United. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
21. "Lichaj open to Leeds return". Sky Sports.
22. "Grayson drops Lichaj hint". Sky Sports.
23. "Leeds United: Grayson in Lichaj talks - Latest Whites News". Yorkshire Evening Post. July 10, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
24. "Aston Villa 2 - 0 Hereford". BBC. August 23, 2011. Retrieved August 24, 2011.
25. "Aston Villa 2-4 Chelsea". BBC. 31 March 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
26. "Eric Lichaj: Nottingham Forest sign ex-Aston Villa defender". BBC Sport. June 19, 2013. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
27. "Nottingham Forest 1–0 Huddersfield". BBC Sport. August 3, 2013. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
28. "Eric Lichaj: Nottingham Forest defender extends deal". BBC Sport. December 30, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
29. "Nottingham Forest 1-1 Burnley". BBC Sport. October 20, 2015. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
30. Goff, Steve (May 24, 2009). USA Roster Announced "USA Roster Announced" Check |url= value (help). The Washington Post. Retrieved January 4, 2010.
31. "Lichaj earns first US senior call-up for friendly double header". Aston Villa F.C. October 1, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
32. "U.S. Men's National Team Finishes October Camp with a Scoreless Draw Against Colombia at PPL Park". United States Soccer Federation. October 13, 2010. Retrieved October 13, 2010.
33. "News | News | News | Two More Set For International Duty". Leeds United. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
34. "Scotland 0 USA 0". BBC.com. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
35. "KLINSMANN SUBMITS 40-PLAYER PRELIMINARY ROSTER FOR 2016 COPA AMERICA CENTENARIO". USSoccer.com. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
36. Creditor, Avi (May 16, 2016). "Green, Hyndman among Klinsmann's USMNT extras vs. Puerto Rico". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
37. "Games played by Eric Lichaj in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
38. "Games played by Eric Lichaj in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
39. "Games played by Eric Lichaj in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
40. "Games played by Eric Lichaj in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
41. "Games played by Eric Lichaj in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
42. "Games played by Eric Lichaj in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
43. "Games played by Eric Lichaj in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
44. "Games played by Eric Lichaj in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
45. "Season Statistics". Nottingham Forest F.C. Retrieved 10 August 2016.

External links

• Profile at Aston Villa F.C. website
• Eric Lichaj career statistics at Soccerbase
  
• Eric Lichaj at National-Football-Teams.com