Jimmy Conrad

Jimmy Conrad

Personal information
Full name	James Conrad
Date of birth	February 12, 1977 (1977-02-12)
Place of birth	Arcadia, California, United States
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Playing position	Centre Back
Club information
Current club	Chivas USA
Number	12
Youth career
1994–1995	San Diego State Aztecs
1996–1997	UCLA Bruins
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1998	San Diego Flash	26	(2)
1999–2002	San Jose Earthquakes^	84	(2)
2000	→ Lech Poznań (loan)	8	(0)
2003–2010	Kansas City Wizards	204	(17)
2011	Chivas USA	2	(1)
Total		324	(22)
National team
2005–2010	United States	27	(1)
Honours ^ Known as San Jose Clash through 1999 season
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

James "Jimmy" Conrad (born February 12, 1977, in Arcadia, California) is a retired American soccer defender who last played for Chivas USA in Major League Soccer.

Career

High School and College

Conrad attended Temple City High School in Temple City, California and was a four-year letterman in soccer. Conrad played at San Diego State University in 1994 and 1995, and then transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles. While playing for UCLA, he was a member of the 1997 NCAA Championship team.

Professional

Undrafted by MLS, Conrad had an unsuccessful trial with the Los Angeles Galaxy. However, the Galaxy coaching staff recommended he play for one of their affiliated lower division teams. Consequently, Conrad contacted the now-defunct San Diego Flash of the A-League which gave him a contract. In 1999, Brian Quinn became the head coach of the San Jose Clash. When Quinn began searching for an additional defender and goalkeeper for the Clash, Ralf Wilhelms, head coach of the Flash and a former teammate of Quinn on the San Diego Sockers, recommended Conrad and Flash goalkeeper Joe Cannon. The Clash signed Conrad that year. He played with the club, later re-branded as the Earthquakes, for four seasons, helping them to the MLS Cup in 2001. In 2000, he also played for Lech Poznań in Poland.

In 2003, Conrad was traded to the Wizards for a second-round draft pick, which the 'Quakes used to select Arturo Alvarez. Conrad's stock rose while with Kansas City; never a big scorer, he tallied four goals during his first season (he has ten in his MLS career). In 2004, he helped the Wizards to the US Open Cup and the MLS Cup Final as the leader of the league's stingiest defense and was named to the league's Best XI and was a finalist for MLS Defender of the Year Award. He won the award a year later.

Despite rumors of a possible European transfer following the Wizards' disappointing 2006 season, Conrad renewed his contract with the Wizards beginning the 2007 season, and new head coach Curt Onalfo rewarded him the club captaincy.

Conrad was out of contract after the 2010 MLS season and elected to participate in the 2010 MLS Re-Entry Draft. On December 15, 2010 Conrad was selected by Chivas USA in Stage 2 of the Re-Entry draft. He made his debut, and scored his first goal for his new team on March 19, 2011 in their first game of the 2011 MLS season - ironically against his old club, Sporting Kansas City.

After struggling with injury during the 2011 season, and suffering from side effects of six concussions, Jimmy Conrad announced his retirement from professional soccer on August 18, 2011. He will now work for C.D. Chivas USA's youth academy.

International

Conrad received his first cap for the United States national team on July 7, 2005, in a Gold Cup match against Cuba. Less than one year later, Conrad made the U.S. roster for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. In Germany, Conrad came in as a substitute against Italy in the team's 1–1 draw with the eventual champions, and played all ninety minutes against Ghana. On January 20, 2007, Conrad captained the national team for the second time, where the United States hosted an international friendly with Denmark. The U.S. won that match 3–1. On February 7, 2007, in an international friendly with Mexico, Conrad was named the Man of the Match. He scored his first-ever goal for the U.S. in the fifty-second minute of that match. On June 25, 2009, after not having played with the national team in previous qualifying, Conrad was named to the U.S. squad for the upcoming CONCACAF Gold Cup.

International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	February 7, 2007	Glendale, Arizona	Mexico	1–0	2–0	International friendly

Media Work

Conrad wrote soccer columns for Sports Illustrated's website for several years before switching to ESPN's Soccernet in 2005. As of 2007, Conrad also serves as a co-host of MLS Radio, a weekly hour-long show, and has hosted several audio and video features during 2007 national team training camp for USSoccer.com, the official site of the United States Soccer Federation and the national teams. He also hosted a weekly radio show, The Jimmy Conrad Show, about the Wizards with Wizards play-by-play man, Sean Wheelock.

Honors

San Jose Clash/Earthquakes

• Major League Soccer MLS Cup (1): 2001

Kansas City Wizards/Sporting KC

• Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (1): 2004
• Major League Soccer Western Conference Championship (1): 2004

United States

• CONCACAF Gold Cup Champions (1): 2005

Individual

• MLS Defender of the Year: 2005
• MLS Best XI: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008

External links

• MLS player profile
• Jimmy Conrad current news, pics and bio at San Diego MLS Project
• Articles by Jimmy Conrad on ESPN Soccernet
• Jimmy Conrad articles on Yanks Abroad
• FIFA: Jimmy Conrad
• Jimmy Conrad at National-Football-Teams.com