Cobi Jones

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For the American football player Kobi Jones, see Atlanta Falcons § Current roster.

Cobi Jones
Cobi Jones (cropped).jpg
Jones leaving Wellington International Airport in 2007
Personal information
Full name Cobi N'Gai Jones
Date of birth (1970-06-16) June 16, 1970 (age 51)
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)
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[]

[5]

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  Ivory Coast 2–1 5–1 1992 King Fahd Cup
2 March 23, 1993 San Salvador, El Salvador  El Salvador 2–1 2–2 Friendly
3 October 13, 1993 Washington, D.C.  Mexico 1–1 1–1 Friendly
4 January 15, 1994 Tempe, Arizona  Norway 2–1 2-1 Friendly
5 February 18, 1994 Miami, Florida  Bolivia 1–1 1–1 Friendly
6 June 11, 1995 Foxborough, Massachusetts  Nigeria 3–2 3-2 Friendly
7 May 26, 1996 New Britain, Connecticut  Scotland 2–1 2–1 Friendly
8 December 1, 1996 San Jose, Costa Rica  Costa Rica 1–2 1-2 Friendly
9 January 29, 2000 Coquimbo, Chile  Chile 2–1 2–1 Friendly
10 February 12, 2000 Miami, Florida  Haiti 3–0 3-0 2000 Gold Cup
11 February 16, 2000 Miami, Florida  Peru 1–0 1-0 2000 Gold Cup
12 June 3, 2000 Washington, D.C.  South Africa 1–0 4-0 2000 Nike U.S. Cup
13 2–0
14 November 15, 2000 Waterford, Barbados  Barbados 4–0 4–0 2002 World Cup qualifying
15 September 8, 2004 Panama City, Panama  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[]

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

[1] [2]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ "Re-colonization at UCLA". Lambda Chi Alpha. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  4. ^ Araújo, Alexandre; Braz, Bruno. "Americano veio ao Vasco 'à la Honda', jogou pouco e aprendeu palavrões". UOL (in Portuguese). Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  5. ^ "Cobi JOnes – U.S. Soccer Media Guide". 2013 USMNT Media Guide. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
  6. ^ L.A. Galaxy Soccer Star Cobi Jones Weds by Mark Dagostino at people.com, URL accessed October 3, 2009. March 10, 2009.
  7. ^ "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[]

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