Mark Chung

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mark Chung
Mark Chung at inaugural game of the Home Depot Center
Mark Chung at inaugural game of the Home Depot Center
Personal information
Full name Mark Chung
Date of birth June 18, 1970 (1970-06-18) (age 37)
Place of birth    Toronto, Canada
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current club Retired
Youth clubs
1988-1992 University of South Florida
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1995
1996-1998
1999-2001
2002-2005
2005
San Diego Sockers (indoor)
Kansas City Wizards
MetroStars
Colorado Rapids
San Jose Earthquakes
00? (29)
101 (21)
090 (11)
093 (27)
026 0(6)   
National team
1992-1998 United States 024 0(2)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
* Appearances (Goals)

Mark Chung (born June 18, 1970 in Toronto, Ontario) is a former American soccer midfielder who, after a season in the Continental Indoor Soccer League, played ten seasons in Major League Soccer. He also earned twenty-four caps, scoring two goals, with the U.S. national team. He retired from playing in January 2006.

Contents

[edit] Youth and college

Chung was born in Toronto to Chinese Jamaican parents. His family moved from Toronto to Pembroke Pines, Florida when Chung was twelve. These moves created a dilemma for Chung when he received invitations to play from three national teams, the United States, Canada and Jamaica. He ultimately elected to play for the U.S.[1] Following high school, Chung attended the University of South Florida where he studied finance. He also played on the men's soccer team from 1988 to 1992, finishing his collegiate soccer career with twenty-five assists.

[edit] CISL

In 1995, Chung played with the San Diego Sockers of the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL). He scored twenty-nine goals en route to being named the league's Rookie of the Year.

[edit] MLS

Chung was drafted in the first round (sixth overall) by the Kansas City Wiz in the MLS Inaugural Draft, and finished 1996 with eight goals and nine assists. Chung would be a mainstay at Kansas City for the next two years, was named to his first MLS Best XI in 1997, and would lead all of MLS in games played at the end of its first three seasons, with 97. After 1998, Kansas City traded Chung to the MetroStars, with Mike Ammann in exchange for Tony Meola and Alexi Lalas. He would play with the MetroStars for the next three seasons, but was greatly underused by Metro coach Octavio Zambrano. Chung called the role he played with the Metros an "idiot left wing". He was traded again before the 2002 season, this time to the Colorado Rapids in exchange for a draft pick. Chung was very successful with the Rapids, making MLS Best XI's in both 2002 and 2003. However, with a coaching change to Fernando Clavijo in 2005, he became unhappy, and requested a trade. The wish was granted, as Chung was sent to San Jose for an allocation. In ten years of MLS league play, he scored 61 goals and added 76 assists.

Chung retired after the Quakes moved to Houston after the 2006 season. Upon his retirement, he had played in 278 league matches, one of the highest totals in MLS history.

[edit] National team

Despite a significant amount of success in MLS, Chung never had a significant role in the U.S. national team. Chung made his first appearance April 4, 1992 against China, but in total made only 24 appearances, and scored only two goals.

Preceded by
first award
MLS Fair Play Award Winner
1997
Succeeded by
Thomas Dooley
Preceded by
Alex Pineda Chacón
MLS Fair Play Award Winner
2002
Succeeded by
Brian McBride
Languages