Jimmy Conrad

Jimmy Conrad
Personal information
Full name James Conrad
Date of birth (1977-02-12) February 12, 1977
Place of birth Arcadia, California, United States
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Playing position Defender
Youth career
1994–1995 San Diego State Aztecs
1996–1997 UCLA Bruins
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998 San Diego Flash 26 (2)
1999–2002 San Jose Earthquakes 84 (2)
1999 → San Francisco Bay Seals (loan) 1 (0)
1999 → MLS Pro-40 (loan) 5 (0)
2000 → Lech Poznań (loan) 8 (0)
2003–2010 Kansas City Wizards 204 (17)
2011 Chivas USA 2 (1)
Total 325 (22)
National team
2005–2010 United States 27 (1)
Teams managed
2011 Chivas USA (assistant)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


James "Jimmy" Conrad (born February 12, 1977) is an American retired soccer defender. During his 13-year MLS career, he was four-time MLS Best XI and the 2005 MLS Defender of the Year. He also earned 27 caps with the United States men's national soccer team and went to the 2006 FIFA World Cup. After his playing career Conrad has worked in the media industry [1] and currently stars on his YouTube channel The Jimmy Conrad.

Career

High school and college

Born in Arcadia, California, Conrad attended Temple City High School in Temple City, California and was a four-year letterman in soccer. Conrad played at San Diego State University in 1994 and 1995, and then transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles. While playing for UCLA, he was a member of the 1997 NCAA Championship team.

Professional

Undrafted by MLS, Conrad had an unsuccessful trial with the Los Angeles Galaxy. However, the Galaxy coaching staff recommended he play for one of their affiliated lower division teams. Consequently, Conrad contacted the now-defunct San Diego Flash of the A-League which gave him a contract. In 1999, Brian Quinn became the head coach of the San Jose Clash. When Quinn began searching for an additional defender and goalkeeper for the Clash, Ralf Wilhelms, head coach of the Flash and a former teammate of Quinn on the San Diego Sockers, recommended Conrad and Flash goalkeeper Joe Cannon.[2] The Clash signed Conrad that year. He played with the club, later re-branded as the Earthquakes, for four seasons, helping them to the MLS Cup in 2001. In 2000, he also played for Lech Poznań in Poland.

In 2003, Conrad was traded to the Wizards for a second-round draft pick, which the 'Quakes used to select Arturo Alvarez. Conrad's stock rose while with Kansas City; never a big scorer, he tallied four goals during his first season (he has ten in his MLS career). In 2004, he helped the Wizards to the US Open Cup and the MLS Cup Final as the leader of the league's stingiest defense and was named to the league's Best XI and was a finalist for MLS Defender of the Year Award. He won the award a year later.

Despite rumors of a possible European transfer following the Wizards' disappointing 2006 season, Conrad renewed his contract with the Wizards beginning the 2007 season, and new head coach Curt Onalfo rewarded him the club captaincy.

Conrad was out of contract after the 2010 MLS season and elected to participate in the 2010 MLS Re-Entry Draft. On December 15, 2010 Conrad was selected by Chivas USA in Stage 2 of the Re-Entry draft.[3] He made his debut, and scored his first goal for his new team on March 19, 2011 in their first game of the 2011 MLS season – ironically against his old club, Sporting Kansas City.[4]

After struggling with injury during the 2011 season, and suffering from side effects of six concussions, Jimmy Conrad announced his retirement from professional soccer on August 18, 2011.[5]

International

Conrad received his first cap for the United States national team on July 7, 2005, in a Gold Cup match against Cuba. Less than one year later, Conrad made the U.S. roster for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. In Germany, Conrad came in as a substitute against Italy in the team's 1–1 draw with the eventual champions, and played all ninety minutes against Ghana. On January 20, 2007, Conrad captained the national team for the second time, where the United States hosted an international friendly with Denmark. The U.S. won that match 3–1. On February 7, 2007, in an international friendly with Mexico, Conrad was named the Man of the Match. He scored his first-ever goal for the U.S. in the fifty-second minute of that match. On June 25, 2009, after not having played with the national team in previous qualifying, Conrad was named to the U.S. squad for the upcoming CONCACAF Gold Cup.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Laird, Sam (2014-04-20). "A Soccer Star's Transition From the Pitch to YouTube". Mashable. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  2. ↑ Often-overlooked Jimmy Conrad, now with national team, has proved doubters wrong
  3. ↑ "Wolff goes 1st in Stage 2 Re-Entry Draft, Ángel to LA". www.mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. 15 December 2010. Archived from the original on 19 December 2010. Retrieved 23 June 2013. Wolff's former Kansas City teammate Jimmy Conrad also went in the early going on Wednesday, taken second overall by Chivas USA. Conrad spent the last eight seasons in Kansas City and was a perennial All-Star during his time there, and could join a Chivas USA team largely in-flux after missing the postseason in 2010.
  4. ↑ Bravo's debut double for Sporting sinks Chivas USA
  5. ↑ Ratterree, Alicia (2011-08-17). "Jimmy Conrad Retires from MLS". The Goat Parade. Retrieved 2012-08-24.
  6. ↑ "Article from American Soccer News". Usmen.american-soccer-news.com. Retrieved 2012-08-24.
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