Cobi Jones
![]() Jones leaving Wellington International Airport in 2007 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Cobi N'Gai Jones | ||
Date of birth | June 16, 1970 | ||
Place of birth | Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | ||
Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
Youth career | |||
1985–1988 | Westlake Warriors | ||
College career | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1988–1991 | UCLA Bruins | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1994–1995 | Coventry City | 24 | (2) |
1995–1996 | Vasco da Gama | 4 | (1) |
1996–2007 | LA Galaxy | 306 | (70) |
Total | 334 | (73) | |
National team | |||
1992–2004 | United States | 164 | (15) |
Teams managed | |||
2008 | LA Galaxy (interim) | ||
2008–2010 | LA Galaxy (assistant) | ||
show
Honours | |||
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only |
Cobi N'Gai Jones (born June 16, 1970) is an American[1] former soccer player and commentator. He is currently an analyst for Major League Soccer club LA Galaxy on Time Warner Cable SportsNet. He can also be seen on Fox Sports, BeIN Sports, the Pac-12 Network and as the host of the Totally Football Show: American Edition.
As a player, Jones was a midfielder from 1994 until 2007, starting his career in England with Premier League club Coventry City, before playing for Brazilian side Vasco da Gama. He is one of a significant group of American national team stars who returned from overseas to aid the then new Major League Soccer in 1996, beginning an 11-year spell with the Los Angeles Galaxy. Jones is the all-time leader in caps for the United States national team and a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Following retirement, Jones served as an assistant coach with the LA Galaxy for two seasons.
Youth[]
Jones grew up in Southern California. He played soccer with AYSO starting at age 5 in Westlake Village, California.[2] After graduating from Westlake High School, Jones emerged as a talented player in college, making the 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.[3]
Club career[]
After playing in the 1994 World Cup held in the United States, Jones signed with English team Coventry City of the Premier League, where he spent one season. Jones trained with German club FC Köln of the Bundesliga before joining Brazilian club Vasco da Gama after impressive performances with the U.S. national team in the 1995 Copa America.[4] After only a few months in Brazil, Jones signed with the new Los Angeles Galaxy franchise for Major League Soccer's inaugural season.
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. The number was later assigned to Jermaine Jones. Jones finished his Galaxy career with 306 appearances and 70 goals.
International career[]
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 because the nickname used by an Argentine commentator to call him: "Escobillón" ("swab"), due to his bleached dreadlock hairstyle and the similar pronunciation of his name, Is Cobi Jones, and the word "escobillón".
U.S. national team appearances[]
National Team | Year | Apps | Starts | Goals | Assists |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
United States | |||||
1992 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
1993 | 30 | 16 | 2 | 5 | |
1994 | 23 | 19 | 2 | 0 | |
1995 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 4 | |
1996 | 14 | 12 | 2 | 0 | |
1997 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 1 | |
1998 | 15 | 14 | 0 | 0 | |
1999 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | |
2000 | 16 | 12 | 6 | 9 | |
2001 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
2002 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 1 | |
2003 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
2004 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
Total | 164 | 109 | 15 | 22 |
U.S. national team goals[]
hide# | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | October 19, 1992 | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | ![]() |
2–1 | 5–1 | 1992 King Fahd Cup |
2 | March 23, 1993 | San Salvador, El Salvador | ![]() |
2–1 | 2–2 | Friendly |
3 | October 13, 1993 | Washington, D.C. | ![]() |
1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly |
4 | January 15, 1994 | Tempe, Arizona | ![]() |
2–1 | 2-1 | Friendly |
5 | February 18, 1994 | Miami, Florida | ![]() |
1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly |
6 | June 11, 1995 | Foxborough, Massachusetts | ![]() |
3–2 | 3-2 | Friendly |
7 | May 26, 1996 | New Britain, Connecticut | ![]() |
2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
8 | December 1, 1996 | San Jose, Costa Rica | ![]() |
1–2 | 1-2 | Friendly |
9 | January 29, 2000 | Coquimbo, Chile | ![]() |
2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
10 | February 12, 2000 | Miami, Florida | ![]() |
3–0 | 3-0 | 2000 Gold Cup |
11 | February 16, 2000 | Miami, Florida | ![]() |
1–0 | 1-0 | 2000 Gold Cup |
12 | June 3, 2000 | Washington, D.C. | ![]() |
1–0 | 4-0 | 2000 Nike U.S. Cup |
13 | 2–0 | |||||
14 | November 15, 2000 | Waterford, Barbados | ![]() |
4–0 | 4–0 | 2002 World Cup qualifying |
15 | September 8, 2004 | Panama City, Panama | ![]() |
1–1 | 1–1 | 2006 World Cup qualifying |
Coaching career[]
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 and was with the club through 2012.
Personal life[]
On September 12, 2009, Jones married 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.[6] They have two sons, Cayden and Cai.
On March 11, 2011, Jones was selected for induction into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.[7]
Honors[]
United States[]
- CONCACAF Gold Cup (1): 2002
Los Angeles Galaxy[]
- CONCACAF Champions' Cup (1): 2000
- MLS Cup (2): 2002, 2005
- Supporters' Shield (2): 1998, 2002
- U.S. Open Cup (2): 2001, 2005
- Western Conference (playoffs) (5): 1996, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2005
Individual[]
Career statistics[]
Club performance | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
United States | 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 | United States | 306 | 70 | |||||||||
Career total | 306 | 70 | 14 | 2 |
See also[]
References[]
- ^ Staff. soccer athletes&f=false "Top Black Soccer Players Discuss The Growing Popularity Of Their Sport", Jet (magazine), July 23, 2001. Accessed March 17, 2012.
- ^ "AYSO Alum Cobi Jones Elected to National Soccer Hall of Fame". American Youth Soccer Organization. Archived from the original on April 3, 2011. Retrieved September 17, 2013.
- ^ "Re-colonization at UCLA". Lambda Chi Alpha. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
- ^ Araújo, Alexandre; Braz, Bruno. "Americano veio ao Vasco 'à la Honda', jogou pouco e aprendeu palavrões". UOL (in Portuguese). Retrieved May 7, 2020.
- ^ "Cobi JOnes – U.S. Soccer Media Guide". 2013 USMNT Media Guide. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- ^ L.A. Galaxy Soccer Star Cobi Jones Weds by Mark Dagostino at people.com, URL accessed October 3, 2009. March 10, 2009.
- ^ "Cobi Jones, Eddie Pope, and Earnie Stewart Elected to National Soccer Hall of Fame Class of 2011". Ussoccer.com. Archived from the original on December 27, 2013. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
External links[]
- Cobi Jones at Soccerbase
- Cobi Jones Biography at Los Angeles Galaxy official site (in English)
- Cobi Jones Interview
- 1970 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Detroit
- Sportspeople from Ventura County, California
- Soccer players from Michigan
- Soccer players from California
- African-American soccer players
- American soccer players
- Association football midfielders
- UCLA Bruins men's soccer players
- Coventry City F.C. players
- CR Vasco da Gama players
- LA Galaxy players
- Premier League players
- Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players
- Major League Soccer players
- Major League Soccer All-Stars
- United States men's under-23 international soccer players
- Olympic soccer players of the United States
- United States men's international soccer players
- Footballers at the 1992 Summer Olympics
- 1992 King Fahd Cup players
- 1993 Copa América players
- 1993 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
- 1994 FIFA World Cup players
- 1995 Copa América players
- 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
- 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
- 1998 FIFA World Cup players
- 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup players
- 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
- 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
- 2002 FIFA World Cup players
- CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning players
- FIFA Century Club
- National Soccer Hall of Fame members
- American expatriate soccer players
- American expatriate sportspeople in England
- American expatriate sportspeople in Brazil
- Expatriate footballers in England
- Expatriate footballers in Brazil
- American soccer coaches
- LA Galaxy non-playing staff
- LA Galaxy coaches
- Major League Soccer coaches
- Major League Soccer broadcasters