C. J. Brown

For the American football player, see C. J. Brown (American football).

C. J. Brown

Personal information
Full name	Charles James Brown
Date of birth	June 15, 1975 (1975-06-15)
Place of birth	Eugene, Oregon, United States
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position	Center Back
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1995–1997	San Francisco Bay Seals	47	(0)
1998–2010	Chicago Fire	296	(3)
National team‡
1998–2003	United States	15	(0)
Teams managed
2011–	Real Salt Lake (assistant)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of January 18, 2010. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of January 18, 2010

C. J. Brown (born June 15, 1975 in Eugene, Oregon) is a former American soccer player who is currently an assistant head coach for Real Salt Lake in Major League Soccer.

Career

College and Amateur

Brown played college soccer at San Jose State University for four years. He finished with 11 points (5 goals and 1 assist) and was named a two-time All-Conference Player in 1995 and 1996. Out of college, Brown was ignored by MLS, and instead joined the USISL's San Francisco Bay Seals between 1995 and 1997.

For the first two years, Brown played as an amateur while the Bay Seals played in USISL Premier League and he was still playing at San Jose. In 1997, the Bay Seals played in the USISL D-3 Pro League and made an improbable run to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinals in 1997. His performances made Major League Soccer clubs take notice.

Professional

Brown was drafted first overall in the 1998 MLS Supplemental Draft by Chicago. He immediately stepped into the Fire's starting lineup and has been there ever since.

In his ten years and beyond in the league, Brown has played in 249 regular season games, first in team history. He has also appeared in 32 playoff games, helping the Fire to the MLS Cup in 1998. Brown has scored four MLS goals in his career (three in the regular season and one in the playoffs). He won the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in 1998, 2000, 2003, and 2006.

On October 21, 2010, Brown announced he would retire following the Fire's season finale two days later at Chivas USA which the team went on to win 4-1. Brown retired as the club's last remaining "Fire Original", and the all-time leader in competitive appearances (372), starts (364) and minutes (32,538). Brown sits behind only Jaime Moreno (415) and Cobi Jones (392) for most competitive appearances for one MLS team.

He also won the Chicago Fire/USSF Humanitarian of the Year from 2001 through 2003 for his efforts in his community.

Post-Professional

On January 18, 2010, Brown was hired as an assistant head coach for Real Salt Lake. He would assume the vacancy left by Robin Fraser, who left the club to coach Chivas USA.

International

After emerging from soccer obscurity, Brown amassed 15 caps with the United States national team, his first coming on November 6, 1998 against Australia. He played in the US's third-place finish at the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup, when he was involved in one of the biggest surprises for the U.S during the tournament, playing 90 min. on 7-30 vs. Germany, in the U.S.'s 2-0 win . Appeared in two games for the U.S. in the 2000 Gold Cup, playing 18 min. as a second-half sub on 2-16-00 vs. Peru - a 1-0 win - and on 2-12-00, as the Americans downed Haiti 3-0, he also participated in the Olympic Festival in 1994 and 1995.

Chicago Fire

• MLS Cup
  • Winners (1): 1998
  • Runners-up (2): 2000, 2003

• Supporters' Shield
  • Winners (1): 2003

• Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
  • Winners (4): 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006
  • Runners-up (1): 2004

• Chicago Fire Defender of the Year:
  • Winner: (2): 2006, 2010

• Chicago Fire Humanitarian of the Year:
  • Winner: (3): 2001, 2002, 2003

United States

• FIFA Confederations Cup:
  • Third Place (1): 1999

Personal

Brown married wife Kim on October 22, 2000, the day after winning the 2000 U.S. Open Cup Championship. The couple welcomed their first daughter, Canessa J-Lyn, on February 24, 2004. Their second daughter, Kali Anh Brown, was born exactly one year later, on February 24, 2005.

External links

• C. J. Brown – FIFA competition record
• MLS player profile