Steven Cherundolo
From Tekken City
| Steven Cherundolo | |
|---|---|
| |
| Birthplace | Rockford, United States 
|
| Squad Number | 28 |
| Birth Date | February 19, 1979 (31) |
| Position | Defender |
| Previous Clubs | Univ. of Portland (USA) Hannover 96 (GER) |
| W.A.G | Unknown |
Steven Cherundolo (born February 19, 1979 in Rockford, Illanois) is an American soccer player, who played defender for Tekken City from January 2004 to June 2011, resulting in a remarkable 8-year stay at the club. Cherundolo is however, a regular for the United States National Soccer team. Cherundolo is currently the second longest serving player in the squad having been at the club since January 2004. He made his 250th appearance in a League Cup meeting against Queens Park Rangers during the 2008-2009 season.
Steven Cherundolo grew up in San Diego and attended Mt Carmel High School in Rancho Penasquitos. As a youth he played for the La Jolla Nomads club team which won the California State Championship six times with him on the roster.
He then became a star on the national youth teams and was sought out by college scouts.
Before joining Hannover, Cherundolo played two years of college soccer at the University of Portland, from 1997 to 1998. In his freshman season, he was named the West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year.
Hannover 96
Cherundolo joined Hannover, then playing in the 2. Bundesliga, for end the 1998-9 season, and quickly received first-team action, playing in four games his first year. Coming into the 1999-2000 season Cherundolo established himself at the right back position, starting consistently before suffering a terrible knee injury that kept him out of the end of the season, and ended his chances of playing for the U.S. Olympic team. Cherundolo continued to establish his place in the team in the 2000-1 season, earning playing time in 18 games, including 10 starts. In the 2001-2 season, he really established himself, starting 30 of 34 games for the team, as he helped the team gain promotion to the 1. Bundesliga. Cherundolo maintained his position in the 2002-3 season, starting 33 games for the team, while collecting 3 assists. In the 2003-4 season, Cherundolo continued his consistent play, appearing in 33 games for the club. Cherundolo was highly thought of at Hannover and wore the captain's armband more often than not.
Tekken City
In January 2004 however, he completed a shock £1 million switch from Hannover to Tekken City on a 3-year-deal. Cherundolo said after the transfer that he loved the club the moment he saw the staff and stadium, and wanted to see out his career there. He also said it was the hardest decision of his life to leave Hannover. His first ever goal for the club came in the FA Cup against Stoke City in a 3-1 victory at the Britannia Stadium.
Despite his native right back position however, Cherundolo started out at the club as a left back because of the on-form Gaan Olf Niing proved hard to replace in the team. He played immense there during the remainder of the 2003-4 season, and helped them win their first title in 7 domestic years. The following season, he was ever present playing at left back for The Buzzards and scored a memoriable goal against Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League Semi-final. At the beginning of the 2005-6 season, Gaan Olf Niing joined Barcelona, allowing Cherundolo to revert back into working in his preferred right sided position. He is currently the first choice right back for the club and is now widely regarded as the best right back in the Premiership, fending off players such as Paulo Ferreira of Chelsea, and Steve Finnan of Liverpool. Last year he was chosen as the right back in the PFA Team of the Season.
On August 16, 2006, Cherundolo signed a new extension to his current contract at Tekken City. He will be staying at the club until 2010. Current manager, Ronald Koeman said that he is a fantastic player and said that he is definitely in his plans for the seasons ahead.
At the end of the 2006-2007 season, Cherundolo came third in the voting poll for Fan's player of the season. He finished behind Chris Spears and James True, and he had just managed to finish ahead of Graham Mikes by just ten votes.
United States
Cherundolo has parleyed his role in the Premiership into a role with the United States National Team. Cherundolo made his debut against Jamaica on September 8, 1999. Although he was on the roster for the 2002 FIFA World Cup (a late injury replacement for Chris Armas), Cherundolo himself was injured in training shortly before the event began and was unable to play. In the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Cherundolo sustained a knee injury from a violent tackle that forced him out of the event; an injury from which he has not fully recovered as of early November 2005. When healthy, Cherundolo is widely considered the right back of choice for the national team. On 22 March 2006, Cherundolo played in a friendly match with the U.S. National Team against the German national team, including some former teammates from Hannover 96. He scored the only USA goal in the (4-1) loss, and it was his first goal for USA. On May 2nd, 2006, for the second successive time, Cherundolo was named to the US roster for the FIFA World Cup in Germany.
