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Steve Cherundolo
Steven cherundolo.jpg
Cherundolo with VfB Stuttgart in 2018
Personal information
Date of birth (1979-02-19) February 19, 1979 (age 46)
Place of birth Rockford, Illinois, U.S.
Height 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 m)
Playing position Right-back
Club information
Current club Los Angeles FC (head coach)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2014 Hannover 96 370 (7)
National team
1997 United States U18 4 (0)
1998–1999 United States U20 25 (0)
1998 United States U23 1 (0)
1999–2012 United States 87 (2)
Teams managed
2014–2015 Hannover 96 (U15)
2015–2018 Hannover 96 (U17)
2021–2022 Las Vegas Lights
2022– Los Angeles FC
Honours
Men's Football
Representing  United States
Winner CONCACAF Gold Cup 2005
Runner-up CONCACAF Gold Cup 2009
Runner-up CONCACAF Gold Cup 2011
Men's Soccer
  • Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Steven Emil Cherundolo (born February 19, 1979) is an American soccer coach and a former player. He is currently the head coach for Major League Soccer team Los Angeles FC. As a player, he was a right-back and spent his entire club career with Hannover 96 in Germany. He was even the team's captain! Steve also played for the United States in the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cups.

Early Life and College Soccer

Steve Cherundolo was born in Rockford, Illinois. He grew up in San Diego, California, and went to Mt. Carmel High School. When he was younger, he played for a club team called La Jolla Nomads. His team won the California state championship six times!

Before playing professionally, Cherundolo went to the University of Portland. He played for their soccer team from 1997 to 1998. In his first year, he was named the West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year.

Playing Club Career

Steve Cerundolo 2011
Cherundolo playing for Hannover 96 in 2011

Cherundolo joined Hannover 96, a German soccer team, at the end of the 1998–1999 season. At that time, the team was in the 2. Bundesliga, which is the second-highest league in Germany. He quickly started playing for the first team.

He became a regular player at the right-back position in the 1999–2000 season. However, a knee injury kept him out for a while. In the 2001–02 season, he helped Hannover 96 get promoted to the Bundesliga, which is Germany's top soccer league. He played in 30 out of 34 games that season.

Cherundolo continued to play consistently in the Bundesliga. In 2005, a team from England, Bolton Wanderers, wanted to sign him. But he decided to stay with Hannover 96. He signed a new contract with the club in 2007.

He became a very important player and was named team captain before the 2010–11 season. He set a team record for the most appearances in the Bundesliga for Hannover 96. By 2013, he was the longest-serving player in the entire Bundesliga! On March 19, 2014, Cherundolo announced he was retiring from playing soccer. This was because he couldn't fully recover from a long-term knee injury.

International Career

Cherundolo's great play in Germany helped him earn a spot on the United States national team. He played his first game for the U.S. against Jamaica on September 8, 1999.

He was chosen for the 2002 FIFA World Cup team, but he got injured during practice and couldn't play. In the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup, another knee injury stopped him from finishing the tournament. On March 22, 2006, he scored his first goal for the national team in a friendly match against Germany.

On May 2, 2006, Cherundolo was picked for the U.S. team going to the FIFA World Cup in Germany. He played his first World Cup match on June 12, 2006, against the Czech Republic. Five days later, he played the full game against Italy, helping the U.S. get a 1–1 tie. The U.S. team was eliminated from the tournament after the group stage.

Cherundolo missed the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup and the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup due to injuries. However, he returned to be the captain for the U.S. team during the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

He was also part of the U.S. squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. He played every minute of every game for the U.S. in that tournament. In the second match against Slovenia, he even helped set up a goal for Landon Donovan. The U.S. won their group and made it to the Round of 16, where they lost to Ghana.

Coaching Career

After he stopped playing, Cherundolo stayed with Hannover 96. He became an assistant coach for their amateur team. In April 2015, he was promoted to assistant coach for Hannover 96's main team. After the 2014–15 season, he became the head coach of Hannover's U–17 youth team.

In January 2018, Cherundolo moved to VfB Stuttgart to be an assistant coach. In November 2018, he joined the coaching staff for the United States national team.

In 2020, Cherundolo said he would love to coach the U.S. national team or a team in Major League Soccer. On March 12, 2021, he became the head coach of USL Championship team Las Vegas Lights.

On January 3, 2022, Cherundolo was announced as the head coach of Los Angeles FC in Major League Soccer. On October 2, 2022, he set a new record for the most wins by a first-year head coach in MLS history, with 21 wins! His team, LAFC, also won the Supporters' Shield that year, which is given to the team with the best regular season record. Cherundolo was only the third coach to win the Shield in his first MLS season. LAFC then went on to win their first ever MLS Cup title in MLS Cup 2022.

Personal Life

Steve Cherundolo can speak both English and German very well. This is because he spent his whole professional playing career in Germany. Hannover fans really liked him and called him "Dolo" or even the "Mayor of Hannover."

He married Mandy Rosier on New Year's Eve in 2009. After he retired from soccer, he and his family lived near Hanover, Germany. In 2021, Steve Cherundolo was chosen to be a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame for his achievements as a player.

Career Statistics

Club

Here's a look at Steve Cherundolo's playing statistics for his club career:

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Hannover 96 1998–99 2. Bundesliga 8 0 0 0 8 0
1999–2000 12 0 1 0 13 0
2000–01 18 0 1 0 19 0
2001–02 30 1 2 0 32 1
2002–03 Bundesliga 33 0 1 0 34 0
2003–04 29 0 2 0 31 0
2004–05 32 2 3 1 35 3
2005–06 22 1 1 0 23 1
2006–07 33 2 3 0 36 2
2007–08 33 0 2 0 35 0
2008–09 17 0 1 0 18 0
2009–10 26 1 1 0 27 1
2010–11 33 0 1 0 34 0
2011–12 22 0 2 0 11 0 35 0
2012–13 20 0 3 0 10 0 33 0
2013–14 2 0 0 0 2 0
Career total 370 7 24 1 0 0 21 0 423 8

International

Here are Steve Cherundolo's statistics for the United States national team:

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
United States 1999 1 0
2000 0 0
2001 8 0
2002 1 0
2003 5 0
2004 6 0
2005 10 0
2006 7 1
2007 5 1
2008 8 0
2009 6 0
2010 8 0
2011 13 0
2012 9 0
Total 87 2
Scores and results list the United States' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Cherundolo goal

Here are the goals Steve Cherundolo scored for the United States:

List of international goals scored by Steve Cherundolo
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 March 22, 2006 Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany  Germany 1–4 1–4 Friendly
2 November 17, 2007 Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg, South Africa  South Africa 1–0 1–0 Friendly

Coaching Statistics

Here's a summary of Steve Cherundolo's coaching record:

Coaching record by club and tenure
Team Nat From To Record Ref.
G W D L GF GA GD Win %
Las Vegas Lights United States January 19, 2021 January 3, 2022 &&&&&&&&&&&&&032.&&&&&032 &&&&&&&&&&&&&&06.&&&&&06 &&&&&&&&&&&&&&03.&&&&&03 &&&&&&&&&&&&&023.&&&&&023 &&&&&&&&&&&&&041.&&&&&041 &&&&&&&&&&&&&077.&&&&&077 −36 &&&&&&&&&&&&&018.75000018.75
Los Angeles FC January 3, 2022 present &&&&&&&&&&&&0142.&&&&&0142 &&&&&&&&&&&&&080.&&&&&080 &&&&&&&&&&&&&025.&&&&&025 &&&&&&&&&&&&&037.&&&&&037 &&&&&&&&&&&&0276.&&&&&0276 &&&&&&&&&&&&0162.&&&&&0162 +114 &&&&&&&&&&&&&056.34000056.34
Total &&&&&&&&&&&&0174.&&&&&0174 &&&&&&&&&&&&&086.&&&&&086 &&&&&&&&&&&&&028.&&&&&028 &&&&&&&&&&&&&060.&&&&&060 &&&&&&&&&&&&0317.&&&&&0317 &&&&&&&&&&&&0239.&&&&&0239 +78 &&&&&&&&&&&&&049.43000049.43

Honors and Awards

Steve Cherundolo has won several awards and championships as both a player and a coach:

Player

Hannover 96

  • 2. Bundesliga: 2001–02 (This means his team won the second-highest German league)

United States

  • CONCACAF Gold Cup: 2005 (A major soccer tournament for North and Central American teams)

Coach

Los Angeles FC

  • MLS Cup: 2022 (The championship trophy for Major League Soccer)
  • Supporters' Shield: 2022 (Award for the best team in the MLS regular season)
  • U.S. Open Cup: 2024 (A knockout cup competition in U.S. soccer)

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Steve Cherundolo para niños

  • List of one-club men in association football
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