CARLOS BOCANEGRA

'Carlos Bocanegra' (born May 25, 1979) is a Mexican-American soccer (football) player who currently plays for Fulham of the English Premiership. Although he was primarily a center back at the beginning of his pro career with the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer, he has also seen time at left back with Fulham and the U.S. national team.

Contents

Personal life

Club career

International career

References

External links

Personal life

Bocanegra was born in Upland, California^[1][2] (some sources list Alta Loma, CA^[3]; per ussoccer.com, this is where he was raised, not born) to Mexican parents and attended Alta Loma High School.
During the offseason, he resides in Fontana, California.

Club career

After playing college soccer at UCLA, Bocanegra signed a Project-40 contract with MLS and was drafted by the Chicago Fire with the fourth overall pick in the 2000 MLS SuperDraft. He proceeded to win the Rookie of the Year award for a team that made it to the MLS Championship match and won the U.S. Open Cup. Bocanegra went on to become one of the best defenders in Major League Soccer, becoming the first player to be named MLS Defender of the Year twice, doing so in 2002 and 2003. Carlos scored five goals and had eight assists in his four years in MLS. He was signed by Fulham FC in January of 2004. With Fulham, Carlos spent time at left fullback, center back, and had a successful stint as a holding midfielder. During the 2006/2007 Premier League Campaign, Carlos was Fulham's second leading scorer with five goals, behind fellow American Brian McBride.^[4] On Saturday September 1st, 2007 Carlos captined Fullam for the 1st time in a primer league game in their come from behind 3-3 draw with Tottenham Hotspur.[1]

International career

Bocanegra played for the United States at the 1999 World Youth Championship and earned his first senior cap for the U.S. on December 9, 2001, against Korea Republic. He became a stalwart for the team in 2003, solidifying his position during the 2003 Gold Cup and leading all defenders with 13 appearances during that year. During World Cup qualification in 2005, his role with the national team became less clear, as he bounced between roles at center back and left back. On May 2, 2006, Bocanegra was named to the United States World Cup roster for the tournament in Germany. He started two of the United States' three games at left back during the 2006 World Cup. Bocanegra captained the National Team for the first time in a 4-1 U.S. victory in a June 2, 2007, friendly against China and reprised the role against Guatemala, Panama and Canada in the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Carlos is one of the leading candidates to be the permanent U.S. captain; he is one of a group of players, including Oguchi Onyewu, DaMarcus Beasley, Landon Donovan, and Tim Howard, who have been asked by coach Bob Bradley to take a more involved role in leadership with the national team.^[5]

References

1. FOX Sports website biography (Accessed August 2, 2006)
2. US Soccer Interview (Accessed August 3, 2006)
3. Fulham FC official website biography (Accessed August 2, 2006)
4. LA Soccer News (Accessed June 19, 2007)
5. U.S. Soccer Post-Game Quote Sheet June 2, 2007: USA vs China (Acccessed June 20, 2007)

Barclays Primer League Website Headline[2] (September 5th, 2007)

External links

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★ How to pronounce Carlos Bocanegra

★ Carlos Bocanegra articles on Yanks Abroad