Cobi Jones

Cobi Jones

Jones (left) with Ruud Gullit.
Personal information
Full name	Cobi N'Gai Jones
Date of birth	June 16, 1970 (1970-06-16)
Place of birth	Detroit, Michigan, United States
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Playing position	Midfielder
Youth career
1988–1991	UCLA Bruins
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1994–1995	Coventry City	24	(2)
1995–1996	Vasco da Gama	4	(0)
1996–2007	Los Angeles Galaxy	305	(70)
Total		333	(72)
National team
1992–2004	United States	164	(15)
Teams managed
2008–2010	Los Angeles Galaxy (assistant)
2008	Los Angeles Galaxy (interim)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Cobi N'Gai Jones (born June 16, 1970) is a retired American soccer player who is the all-time leader in caps for the United States national team and a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. He formerly served as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer (MLS), with whom he had been involved as a player and coach since the team's inaugural season in 1996. Jones was one of a significant group of American national team stars who returned from overseas to aid the new American soccer league, coming home after spending half a season at Brazilian club Vasco da Gama.

Player

Early career

Jones grew up in Southern California. After graduating from Westlake High School, Jones emerged as a talented player in college, making the prestigious UCLA soccer team as a non-scholarship player, ultimately becoming one of its most successful soccer-playing graduates. While attending UCLA, Jones was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha, an international fraternity.

Overseas

After playing in the 1994 World Cup held in the United States, Jones signed with Coventry City of the English Premier League, where he spent one season. Jones trained with FC Köln of the German Bundesliga before joining Brazilian club Vasco da Gama after impressive performances with the U.S. national team in the 1995 Copa America. After only a few months in Brazil, Jones signed with the new Los Angeles Galaxy franchise for Major League Soccer's inaugural season.

Los Angeles Galaxy

Jones's best year with the Galaxy came in 1998, where he was second in MLS with 51 points (19 goals and 13 assists), was named to the MLS Best XI, and was also named U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year. In 2005, he became the last player in MLS to remain with his original team since 1996. Jones announced on March 19, 2007, that he would retire following the season. Jones played his last game with the Galaxy on October 21, 2007. The club retired his number 13 making it the first number retired in MLS history. Jones finished his Galaxy career with 306 appearances and 70 goals.

International

Jones is currently the all-time leader of the United States in appearances, with 164 caps as of the end of 2004 (scoring 15 goals). He played for the team in the 1994, 1998, and 2002 FIFA World Cups. He was named to the best XI at the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup and won with the national team at the 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup. He also represented his country at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. After playing in the 1995 Copa America he also became a popular player in Latin America, where he is known by the nickname "El escobillón" ("The swab") due to his bleached dreadlock hairstyle and the similar pronunciation of his name, Cobi Jones, and the word "escobillón".

Coach

On November 9, 2007, Jones was announced as an assistant coach with the Galaxy under Ruud Gullit. After Gullit's resignation on August 11, 2008, Jones served as the interim head coach until the Galaxy hired Jones's former U.S. national team head coach Bruce Arena.

In January 2011, Jones left the Galaxy to serve as associate director of soccer with the New York Cosmos.

Personal life

On September 12, 2009, Jones married longtime girlfriend, Kim Reese. Reese, a music consultant and former music executive at New Line Cinema, met Jones in 2003 and began dating him in 2004. The couple was married at the Four Seasons Resort Aviara in Carlsbad, California.

On March 11, 2011, Cobi Jones was selected for induction into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

Honors

United States

• CONCACAF Gold Cup (1): 2002

Los Angeles Galaxy

• CONCACAF Champions' Cup Winner (1): 2000
• MLS Cup Winner (2): 2002, 2005
• MLS Supporters' Shield Winner (2): 1998, 2002
• U.S. Open Cup Winner (2): 2001, 2005
• Major League Soccer Western Conference Champions (5): 1996, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2005

Career statistics

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
USA			League		Open Cup		League Cup		North America		Total
1996	Los Angeles Galaxy	Major League Soccer	28	7
1997			26	7					4	1
1998			24	19
1999			28	8					1
2000			25	7					3	1
2001			22	6
2002			19	3
2003			28	2					4
2004			23	0
2005			31	3
2006			27	4					2
2007			25	4
Total	USA		306	70
Career total			306	70					14	2

[1] [2]

External links

• Cobi Jones career stats at Soccerbase
• Cobi Jones Biography at Los Angeles Galaxy official site (English)