Josh Wolff

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Josh Wolff
Personal information
Full name	Joshua David Wolff
Date of birth	February 25, 1977 (1977-02-25) (age 31)
Place of birth	Stone Mountain, GA, United States
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current club	Kansas City Wizards
Number	16
Youth clubs
1995-97	South Carolina                    43 (21)
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1998-2002 2003-2006 2007-2008 2008-	Chicago Fire Kansas City Wizards 1860 Munich Kansas City Wizards	84 0(32) 80 0(27) 34 00(2) 12 00(3)
National team2
1999-	United States	52 0(9)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 July 2008. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 6 June 2008. * Appearances (Goals)

Joshua ("Josh") David Wolff (born February 25, 1977 in Stone Mountain, Georgia) is an American soccer Forward who currently plays for the Kansas City Wizards of Major League Soccer.

[edit] College

Wolff played three years of college soccer at the University of South Carolina, where he scored 21 goals and eight assists in 43 games, while playing with future United States national team star Clint Mathis.

[edit] Club career

[edit] MLS

After his junior season, Wolff left college and signed with Major League Soccer (MLS). MLS assigned Wolff to the Chicago Fire. He set the MLS rookie scoring record (together with Jeff Cunningham, since broken by Damani Ralph) by scoring eight goals, doing so in just 14 games (only four of those starts). Wolff would play the next four seasons for the Fire, scoring 24 goals, developing a reputation as one of the league's most explosive offensive players, but unfortunately also one of its most injury prone.

Before the 2003 MLS Superdraft, the Fire traded Wolff, in a cost-cutting move, to the Kansas City Wizards in exchange for the third overall pick, which the Fire used to select Nate Jaqua. In 2003, Wolff lived up to his reputation, missing most of the season due to injuries, but was very productive for an excellent Wizards team in 2004, finishing the year with ten goals and seven assists. He scored ten goals and ten assists in 2005.

[edit] Failed move to England

In September 2006, Wolff had a try out with English Championship (second tier in English Football. First Tier of the Football League) club Derby County. The team was pleased enough with his performance to offer MLS a $500,000 transfer fee. However, British immigration officials denied Wolff a work permit based on the fact he had failed to play the required 75% of the U.S. national team's games in the last two years.

[edit] Germany

From England, Wolff traveled to Germany for a try out with 2. Fußball-Bundesliga club 1860 Munich. On December 6, 2006, 1860 Munich signed Wolff to a contract through the 2007-2008 season. Munich paid MLS a $191,000 transfer fee. Wolff joined the team during its January 2007 mid-winter training camp but was waived at the end of the 2008 season.

[edit] Return to MLS

Wolff signed with the Kansas City Wizards on June 30, 2008.

[edit] Career statistics

[1]

[edit] International career

Wolff was once among the first-choice forwards for the United States men's national soccer team, but he has proven that he is not the prolific goal scorer needed by the USA. He has, however, scored nine goals in 50 caps since his debut against Jamaica on September 8, 1999. He also starred for the US in the 2000 Summer Olympics, scoring two goals and helping the team to a fourth-place finish. As with his club teams, however, Wolff has had trouble securing a definite spot because of continual injury problems. He did play for the United States in the 2002 World Cup, assisting on the opening goal in the second-round win against Mexico. On May 2, 2006, for the second time in his career, Wolff was named to the US roster for the FIFA World Cup in Germany.

[edit] External links

• Profile on Yanks Abroad

v • d • e United States squad – 2000 Summer Olympics 1 Friedel • 2 Dunseth • 3 McCarty • 4 Agoos • 5 O'Brien • 6 Hejduk • 7 DiGiamarino • 8 Califf • 9 Olsen • 10 Vagenas • 11 Albright • 12 Corrales • 13 Donovan • 14 Victorine • 15 Whitfield • 16 Wolff • 17 Casey • 18 Howard • Coach: Charles

v • d • e United States squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup 1 Friedel • 2 Hejduk • 3 Berhalter • 4 Mastroeni • 5 O'Brien • 6 Regis • 7 Lewis • 8 Stewart • 9 Moore • 10 Reyna • 11 Mathis • 12 Agoos • 13 Jones • 14 Cherundolo • 15 Wolff • 16 Llamosa • 17 Beasley • 18 Keller • 19 Meola • 20 McBride • 21 Donovan • 22 Sanneh • 23 Pope • Coach: Arena

v • d • e United States squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Howard • 2 Albright • 3 Bocanegra • 4 Mastroeni • 5 O'Brien • 6 Cherundolo • 7 Lewis • 8 Dempsey • 9 Johnson • 10 Reyna • 11 Ching • 12 Berhalter • 13 Conrad • 14 Olsen • 15 Convey • 16 Wolff • 17 Beasley • 18 Keller • 19 Hahnemann • 20 McBride • 21 Donovan • 22 Onyewu • 23 Pope • Coach: Arena