Steve Cherundolo

Steven Emil "Steve" Cherundolo (born February 19, 1979 in Rockford, Illinois) is an American soccer defender who is the captain of Hannover 96 of the German Bundesliga. He played for the United States men's national soccer team at the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cups.

Early life

Cherundolo grew up in San Diego and attended Mt. Carmel High School in Rancho Peñasquitos. As a youth he played for the La Jolla Nomads club team which won the California State Championship six times with him on the roster.

Before joining Hannover, Cherundolo played two years of college soccer at the University of Portland, from 1997 to 1998. In his freshman season, he was named the West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year.

Career

Hannover 96

Cherundolo joined Hannover 96, then playing in the 2. Fußball-Bundesliga, for the end of the 1998–1999 season, and quickly received first-team action, playing in four games his first year. Coming into the 1999–2000 season, Cherundolo established himself at the right back position, starting consistently before suffering a terrible knee injury that kept him out of the end of the season, and ended his chances of playing for the U.S. Olympic team. Cherundolo continued to establish his place in the team during the 2000–2001 season, earning playing time in eighteen games, including ten starts. In the 2001–2002 season, he started thirty of thirty-four games for the team, as he helped the team gain...
Read More