Cobi Jones

Cobi N'Gai Jones (born June 16, 1970) is an American[1] former soccer player and analyst for the Los Angeles 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.

Cobi Jones
Jones leaving Wellington International Airport in 2007
Personal information
Full name Cobi N'Gai Jones
Date of birth (1970-06-16) 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)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

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. In 2017, he joined City Of Angels FC as Director Of Football.

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 32 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 TeamYearAppsStartsGoalsAssists
United States
19923112
1993301625
1994231920
199512614
1996141220
1997141001
1998151400
19998700
2000161269
200110500
200214701
20031000
20044010
Total1641091522

U.S. national team goals
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1October 19, 1992Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Ivory Coast2–15–11992 King Fahd Cup
2March 23, 1993San Salvador, El Salvador El Salvador2–12–2Friendly
3October 13, 1993Washington, D.C. Mexico1–11–1Friendly
4January 15, 1994Tempe, Arizona Norway2–12-1Friendly
5February 18, 1994Miami, Florida Bolivia1–11–1Friendly
6June 11, 1995Foxborough, Massachusetts Nigeria3–23-2Friendly
7May 26, 1996New Britain, Connecticut Scotland2–12–1Friendly
8December 1, 1996San Jose, Costa Rica Costa Rica1–21-2Friendly
9January 29, 2000Coquimbo, Chile Chile2–12–1Friendly
10February 12, 2000Miami, Florida Haiti3–03-02000 Gold Cup
11February 16, 2000Miami, Florida Peru1–01-02000 Gold Cup
12June 3, 2000Washington, D.C. South Africa1–04-02000 Nike U.S. Cup
132–0
14November 15, 2000Waterford, Barbados Barbados4–04–02002 World Cup qualifying
15September 8, 2004Panama City, Panama Panama1–11–12006 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

Los Angeles Galaxy

Individual
  • MLS 25 Greatest

Career statistics
Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
United States League Open Cup League Cup North America Total
1996Los Angeles GalaxyMajor League Soccer287
199726741
19982419
19992881
200025731
2001226
2002193
20032824
2004230
2005313
20062742
2007254
Total United States 30670
Career total 30670142

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.
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