Eddie Pope

George Edward Pope (born December 24, 1973) is a retired American soccer player who last played for Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer and spent eleven years as a defender for the United States national team. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Pope spent most of his career playing for D.C. United.

Eddie Pope
Pope in February 2008
Personal information
Full name George Edward Pope
Date of birth (1973-12-24) December 24, 1973
Place of birth Greensboro, North Carolina, U.s.
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s) Defender
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–1995 North Carolina Tar Heels
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–2002 D.C. United 143 (8)
2003–2004 MetroStars 42 (0)
2005–2007 Real Salt Lake 69 (2)
Total 254 (10)
National team‡
1996–2006 United States 82 (8)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of October 19, 2007
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of August 3, 2006

Youth

Born in Greensboro, he attended Southwest Guilford High School. Pope had a very successful career playing for the North Carolina Tar Heels where he also kicked for Mack Brown's football team. In 1994, he was a first team All-American, and also earned All-ACC and All-South Region honors.

Professional club career

In 1996, D.C. United selected Pope in the first round (second overall) in the MLS College Draft. His first season in Washington, D.C. was split between United and the men's Olympic team, which was preparing for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.[1] However, he still played 18 games for United and won a league title with the team, scoring a golden goal in the first ever MLS Cup against the Los Angeles Galaxy.[1] He also played his first game with the national team, helping the team beat Trinidad and Tobago 2–0 on November 10 that year.

In 1997, Pope made quite a splash on the MLS scene. He was named MLS Defender of the Year and earned a place in the MLS Best XI, as well as winning a second MLS title.[1] In 1998, Pope helped United win both the CONCACAF Champions Cup and the InterAmerican Cup, the first continental honors earned by an MLS team. He scored the winning goal in United's victory in the Interamerican Cup.

Pope's 1999 season was beset by injuries, and his playing time was limited, which continued to pester him into 2000, although he would play 19 and 21 games, respectively, in those seasons, and he earned his third and fourth consecutive trips to the MLS All-Star Game. Injuries continued to dog Pope in 2001, but he again played in the All-Star Game and also played an important role in the national team's World Cup qualification. His injuries continued into the 2002 MLS season, and he only appeared in seventeen matches.

On December 23, 2002, Pope was traded to the MetroStars, along with Jaime Moreno and Richie Williams, in return for Mike Petke, a first-round draft pick, and an allocation. Pope continued his quality play with the MetroStars, captaining the team to an excellent defensive record. He was named to the MLS Best XI for the third time for his efforts. In 2004, he had a down year with the Metros, but was still voted to the MLS Best XI for a second consecutive season. After the year, Pope was traded to expansion Salt Lake for an allocation. He played three seasons with Real Salt Lake, providing veteran leadership for the expansion franchise. In 2007, he retired from professional soccer. In ten years in MLS, he scored nine goals and ten assists, plus added that MLS Cup goal and an assist in the playoffs. In 2005, he was named to the MLS All-Time Best XI.

On June 14, 2007, Pope announced his plans to retire from all competitive soccer at the end of the 2007 season, saying: "It's just time...You get up in the morning and you're in pain. Before practice, you are in pain. And after practice you are still in pain."

On March 11, 2011, he was selected for induction into the National Soccer Hall of Fame.[2]

International career

Pope began his international career with the United States men's national soccer team on November 10, 1996 in a World Cup qualifier against Trinidad and Tobago. At the time, he was in his rookie season with D.C. United. He quickly became a fixture for the national team, which surprised the world when it defeated Brazil 1-0 and made its way to the finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Pope also played in two games for the disappointing U.S. campaign at the 1998 FIFA World Cup. In 2002, he started all five U.S. matches in the World Cup, and played a big part in the surprising success of the United States in that tournament. In 2006, Pope was part of the U.S. team that participated in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. In the second match against Italy, he received a red card which caused him to miss the third match against Ghana, the last of his team at the tournament.

Pope started every game he played with the national team. On August 3, 2006, Pope announced his retirement from international soccer. His international career included 82 caps and 8 goals over an eleven-year period.

Post playing career

Pope served as the director of player relations for the MLS Players Union following his playing retirement.[3] In 2015, Pope left the MLS Players Union to work at the Octagon sports agency.[4][1]

Career statistics

Club

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
U.S. League Open Cup League Cup North America Total
1996D.C. UnitedMajor League Soccer182116100255
1997293005000343
1998201006000261
1999191006000251
2000210100000220
2001190310000221
2002171000000170
2003MetroStars200422000262
2004220102000250
2005Real Salt Lake201000000201
2006220000000220
2007271000000271
Total U.S. 254101042710029115
Career total 254101042710029115

International goals
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1March 16, 1997Palo Alto, California Canada2–03–01998 World Cup qualifying
2April 20, 1997Foxboro, Massachusetts Mexico1–12–21998 World Cup qualifying
3February 7, 1998Oakland, California Costa Rica1–02–11998 CONCACAF Gold Cup
4August 16, 2000Foxboro, Massachusetts Barbados1–07–02002 World Cup qualifying
5April 17, 2002Dublin, Ireland Ireland1–11–2Friendly
6April 29, 2004Dallas, Texas Mexico1–01–0Friendly
7January 29, 2006Carson, California Norway3–05–0Friendly
8February 10, 2006San Francisco, California Japan1–03–2Friendly

Honors
DC United
United States
Individual

References
  1. "Eddie Pope's remarkable rookie year: from college student to MLS hero". The Guardian. 9 December 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  2. Cobi Jones, Eddie Pope, and Earnie Stewart Elected to National Soccer Hall of Fame Class of 2011 Archived December 27, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  3. Freedman, Jonah (October 20, 2011). "The Throw-In: 2002 WCup alumni are staying in the game". www.mlssoccer.com. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  4. Strauss, Brian (October 15, 2015). "Key MLS Players Union officials, including Pope, leaving for Octagon". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  5. "National Soccer Hall of Fame Inducts Five New Members for 2011". USSF. ussoccer.com. June 4, 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.