Maurice Edu facts for kids
Edu playing for Rangers in 2011
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Maurice Edu | ||||||||||||
| Date of birth | April 18, 1986 | ||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Fontana, California, United States | ||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||
| Playing position | Midfielder, defender | ||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | ||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | Toronto FC | 38 | (5) | ||||||||||
| 2008–2012 | Rangers | 96 | (9) | ||||||||||
| 2012–2015 | Stoke City | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2013 | → Bursaspor (loan) | 11 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2014 | → Philadelphia Union (loan) | 31 | (3) | ||||||||||
| 2015–2017 | Philadelphia Union | 22 | (1) | ||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | → Bethlehem Steel (loan) | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||
| Total | 205 | (18) | |||||||||||
| National team | |||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | United States U23 | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2007–2014 | United States | 46 | (1) | ||||||||||
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Honours
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Maurice Edu (born April 18, 1986) is an American former professional soccer player. He now works as a sports commentator.
Maurice was the very first player picked in the 2007 MLS SuperDraft. He won the MLS Rookie of the Year Award while playing for Toronto. His great playing in Toronto helped him get called up to the U.S. national team. It also caught the eye of big clubs in Europe.
He later joined Rangers in Scotland, where he won the Scottish Premier League three times. After some financial issues at Rangers, he moved to Stoke City. He then played on loan for Bursaspor in Turkey before coming back to the MLS with Philadelphia Union.
Today, Maurice Edu shares his soccer knowledge as a commentator for MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. He also covered the 2022 FIFA World Cup for Fox Sports.
Contents
Early Life and College Soccer
Maurice Edu was born and grew up in Fontana, California. He played college soccer at the University of Maryland, College Park from 2004 to 2006. He was a key player for the Maryland Terrapins. In 2005, his team won the national championship, called the NCAA College Cup.
Maurice decided to leave college early to join Major League Soccer. He was named a top college player in 2006.
Club Career Highlights
Playing for Toronto FC
Maurice Edu was the first player chosen in the 2007 MLS SuperDraft by Toronto. He played his first MLS game on April 25, 2007. He scored his first professional goal on May 12 against Chicago Fire.
In his first year, he played 25 games and scored four goals. He finished his first season by winning the MLS Rookie of the Year award. He also played his first game for the senior U.S. national team that year.
Time with Rangers in Scotland
On August 16, 2008, Maurice Edu traveled to Glasgow, Scotland. He was there to talk with the Scottish Premier League team Rangers. A deal was made for about £2.6 million. He signed a five-year contract with Rangers on August 17, 2008. He officially joined a few days later after getting his work permit.
Maurice made his debut for Rangers on September 13, 2008. He scored his first goal for Rangers on April 8, 2009. He helped Rangers win the league championship in his first season there. Sadly, a knee injury kept him from playing in the Scottish Cup final.
After recovering, Maurice returned to play for Rangers. Sadly, he faced some unfair comments from a few fans. His club, Rangers, strongly supported him and spoke out against it.
He scored a very important goal against their rivals, Celtic, on February 28, 2010, helping Rangers win 1–0. He also helped Rangers win the League Cup Final in March 2010. He earned another league medal that season.
In the 2010–11 season, Maurice played his first Champions League game against Manchester United. He played very well in that match. On October 20, 2010, he scored his first Champions League goal against Valencia.
Maurice played his 100th game for Rangers on November 5, 2011. During this time, Rangers faced financial problems. Maurice was linked with other clubs, but he stayed focused on playing.
Moving to Stoke City
Maurice Edu joined Premier League team Stoke City on August 25, 2012. He signed a three-year contract. He said it was a "dream come true" to play in the Premier League. He made his debut for Stoke on October 7, 2012, in a game against Liverpool. However, he didn't play many games for Stoke.
Loan to Bursaspor
Since he wasn't playing much at Stoke, Maurice joined Bursaspor, a team in Turkey, on loan. He played 12 games for them in the 2012–13 season.
Returning to Philadelphia Union
On January 27, 2014, Maurice Edu joined Philadelphia Union on loan. He scored his first goal for the Union on April 5. In the 2014 U.S. Open Cup Final, he scored a key goal, but his team still lost in extra time.
Maurice officially joined Philadelphia Union in January 2015. Even though he usually played as a midfielder, he often played as a defender for the Union. In late 2015, he got a groin injury that kept him out for the rest of the season.
After recovering from his groin injury, he got a stress fracture in his leg. This meant he missed all of the 2016 season. He played a few games for Bethlehem Steel FC, which is the Union's minor league team. He also played for Steel FC in 2017 while recovering.
Maurice left the Union after his contract ended in 2017. He tried out for Los Angeles FC, but no deal was made.
International Career for the U.S.
Maurice Edu played his first game for the U.S. national team on October 17, 2007, against Switzerland. He also played in the 2008 Summer Olympics for the U.S. team. He played in all three group games.
He scored his first goal for the U.S. national team in a friendly game against the Czech Republic on May 25, 2010.
Maurice was chosen to be part of the 23-man team for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. In a game against Slovenia on June 18, he scored a goal that would have won the game. However, the referee disallowed the goal, which caused a lot of discussion.
He continued to play for the national team in 2011 and 2012.
Career Statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Toronto | 2007 | Major League Soccer | 25 | 4 | – | – | – | 25 | 4 | |||
| 2008 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 1 | – | – | 16 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 38 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 6 | ||
| Rangers | 2008–09 | Scottish Premier League | 12 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 2 |
| 2009–10 | 15 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 2 | ||
| 2010–11 | 33 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 47 | 5 | ||
| 2011–12 | 36 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 42 | 3 | ||
| Total | 96 | 9 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 125 | 12 | ||
| Stoke City | 2012–13 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | |
| 2013–14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Bursaspor (loan) | 2012–13 | Süper Lig | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 13 | 0 | |
| Total | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | ||
| Philadelphia Union (loan) | 2014 | Major League Soccer | 31 | 3 | 5 | 2 | – | – | 36 | 5 | ||
| Philadelphia Union | 2015 | 22 | 1 | 5 | 0 | – | – | 27 | 1 | |||
| 2016 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2017 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 53 | 4 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 63 | 6 | ||
| Bethlehem Steel | 2016 | United Soccer League | 3 | 0 | – | – | – | 3 | 0 | |||
| 2017 | 3 | 0 | – | – | – | 3 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Career Total | 205 | 20 | 27 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 249 | 26 | ||
Personal Life and Interests
Maurice Edu's parents came from Nigeria. His father was a math teacher, and his mother was a chemistry teacher. He has a younger brother, Reggie, who is also involved in youth soccer as a coach. Maurice also has three older sisters.
Maurice was featured on the cover of the video game FIFA 09 in North America. He appeared alongside famous players like Guillermo Ochoa and Ronaldinho.
Awards and Honors
Rangers
- Scottish Premier League: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11
- Scottish Cup 2008–09
- Scottish League Cup: 2009–10, 2010–11
Individual
- MLS Rookie of the Year: 2007
See also
In Spanish: Maurice Edu para niños
