Jeff Cunningham
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| Jeff Cunningham | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | August 21, 1976 (age 30) | |
| Place of birth | Montego Bay, Jamaica | |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | |
| Playing position | forward | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Real Salt Lake | |
| Number | 90 | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| 1994-97 | South Florida xx (41) | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1998-2004 2005 2006- |
Columbus Crew Colorado Rapids Real Salt Lake |
182 (62) 26 (12) 31 (16) |
| National team2 | ||
| 1999 2001- |
Jamaica United States |
1 (0) 10 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Jeff Cunningham (born August 21, 1976 in Montego Bay, Jamaica) is a Jamaican-American soccer striker, who currently plays for Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer.
Cunningham was born in Jamaica, but moved to Florida at the age of 14. He played college soccer at the University of South Florida from 1994 to 1997. As a sophomore and a junior, Cunningham was named first-team All-Conference USA, and as a senior he was named Conference USA Player of the Year. He finished his career at USF with 41 goals and 36 assists.
Upon graduating, Cunningham was selected ninth overall in the 1998 MLS College Draft by the Columbus Crew. As a rookie, he played in 25 games, mostly as a substitute, and tied the rookie record for goals (since broken by Damani Ralph) with 8. Cunningham became a starter in 1999 and held that role for several years. In 182 games for Columbus, he scored 62 goals and notched 43 assists. He was named to the MLS Best XI in 2002, after scoring 16 goals and adding five assists. Cunningham was traded to the Colorado Rapids for a first-round draft pick after a disappointing 2004 season. He left the Crew tied with Brian McBride for the all-time team lead in goals.
Cunningham finished the 2005 season with 12 league goals for Colorado. He also turned in a stellar performance in the MLS All-Star Game, scoring twice against Fulham F.C. of the FA Premier League to the delight of the Columbus Crew Stadium fans. His showing in an all-star game against Real Madrid also earned good reviews, despite MLS' 5-0 loss. However, after the year Colorado shipped him to Salt Lake for Clint Mathis. Cunningham was seventh on the all-time MLS goalscoring list entering the 2006 season.
During the 2006 season Cunningham led the league in scoring with 16 goals, winning the MLS Golden Boot. He also tied for the second-most assists in the league with 11.
Cunningham became a U.S. citizen November 13, 2001, and received his first cap for the United States less than a month later, December 9, in a friendly against South Korea. He made his first start in a World Cup qualifier on September 7, 2005, against Guatemala. In 1999 he played for Jamaica in a friendly international against Ghana.
[edit] See also
| Real Salt Lake - Current Squad |
|---|
|
1 Rimando | 2 Lancos | 3 Talley | 5 Torres | 6 Worthen | 7 Williams | 8 Brown | 9 Kreis | 10 Ballouchy | 11 Adu | 12 Hashimoto | 13 Harris | 15 Cutler | 16 Forko | 17 Klein | 18 Tejada | 20 Besagno | 21 Jimenez | 22 Watson | 23 Pope | 24 Seitz | 25 Brown | 29 Harrison | 31 Stewart | 36 Reynish | 90 Cunningham | Coach Ellinger |
