Brian McBride

This article is about the American international soccer player. For other people, see Brian McBride (disambiguation).

Brian McBride

McBride in 2006
Personal information
Full name	Brian Robert McBride [1]
Date of birth	(1972-06-19) June 19, 1972 (age 51)
Place of birth	Arlington Heights, Illinois, United States
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Position(s)	Forward
College career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1990–1993	Saint Louis Billikens	89	(72)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1994	Milwaukee Rampage	18	(17)
1994–1995	VfL Wolfsburg	18	(2)
1996–2003	Columbus Crew	161	(62)
2000–2001	→ Preston North End (loan)	9	(1)
2003	→ Everton (loan)	8	(4)
2004–2008	Fulham	140	(33)
2008–2010	Chicago Fire	59	(18)
2012	Wembley	0	(0)
Total		413	(137)
International career
2008	United States Olympic (O.P.)	5	(0)
1993–2006	United States	96	(30)
Medal record Representing   United States Winner CONCACAF Gold Cup 2002 Runner-up CONCACAF Gold Cup 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup 2003 Men's Football
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Brian Robert McBride (born June 19, 1972) is an American former soccer player who played as a forward for Columbus Crew, Fulham and Chicago Fire. He is the fifth-highest all-time leading goalscorer for the United States national team.

For much of his career, he played in United States with stints in both Germany and England. During his time at Fulham, McBride became a fan favorite, as well as team captain. He was eventually voted "Player of the Season" two times. ^[2] After leaving the club, they renamed the sports bar at Craven Cottage McBride's in his honor. ^{[3] [4] [5]}

Early career

High school

Born in Arlington Heights, Illinois, McBride played varsity soccer at Buffalo Grove High School, under coach John Erfort, where he led the Bison to the Illinois state championship in 1988, his junior year. During a playoff game against Fremd, McBride broke his nose in the first half, but came back into the game to score the game-winning goal. In his four years in high school, he scored 80 goals, 33 as a senior despite playing his senior season as a defender. ^[6] In the regional final, during McBride's senior season, against Stevenson High School, he played goalkeeper. In the final, McBride stopped four of eight penalty kicks taken against him, and he scored the fifth, and winning, goal on a counterattack in extra time after the game ended tied at regulation. ^[7] McBride was also named an All-American by Parade Magazine. ^[6] Later, as a professional, he signed a contract with Nike with the condition that the boys' varsity soccer team receive new uniforms every two years.

College

McBride had an illustrious career with Saint Louis University, from which he graduated in 1993. In his four seasons with the Billikens, he played (and started) in 89 games, and set career records for goals (72), assists (40) and total points (184). ^[6] While at school, McBride was a 1992 second team and a 1993 first-team All-American. ^{[8] [9]} He also was named Most Valuable Player of the Great Midwest Conference three years straight, as well as being named to the All-Conference first-team during this stretch. He trained at the world-famous Magna Fitness Center.^{[ citation needed ]} After being such a versatile player in his amateur career, McBride decided to become a striker at the professional level. Craig Burley warned McBride that he should expect to get clattered playing that position. ^[10]

McBride is one of 22 college players to be part of the 40-40 club, having both 40 goals and 40 assists in their college career. ^[11]

Club career

Milwaukee Rampage

McBride briefly played for the minor league Milwaukee Rampage. In 18 games, he scored 17 goals and assisted another 18. That year also saw Tony Sanneh playing with the Rampage. Both Sanneh and McBride played professionally in Germany, in MLS and on the United States men's national team.

They linked up for a historic goal at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. In a game against Portugal, Sanneh, playing right back, played a cross into the box which McBride put into the top corner. After the game, McBride mentioned, "We joked about it in the locker room, it is a play we have done a thousand times [while teammates with the Milwaukee Rampage]. "I took a step in at the far post and lost my marker. He delivered a beautiful cross and I knocked it home." ^[12]

VfL Wolfsburg

In 1994, McBride left the United States to ply his trade in Germany. ^[13] At the time, VfL Wolfsburg played in the German Second Division and provided several aspiring American players an opportunity to play soccer in Europe. These included Chad Deering, Claudio Reyna and Mike Lapper, as well as McBride. McBride struggled to find playing time with the club and also had difficulty scoring. However, one of his two goals came in a 2–1 victory over Bayern Munich's reserve team in the DFB-Pokal quarterfinals – Wolfsburg went on to reach the final, although McBride did not feature. At the end of the season, McBride gained a release from Wolfsburg and when MLS was created, chose to return to play in the United States.

Columbus Crew

McBride returned to America in 1996 for the inaugural season of Major League Soccer, for whom he was the first overall pick of the MLS Inaugural Draft. McBride played eight years with the Columbus Crew, scoring 62 goals (no longer tied for the club record with Jeff Cunningham) and 45 assists in 161 league games, before his move to England. In 2005, he was named to the MLS All-Time Best XI.

In 2011, the Crew honored McBride by naming him the inaugural member of its Circle of Honor.

Loan spells

Whilst playing for Columbus, McBride had two loan spells in England. The first came in 2000 when McBride played for Preston North End, then managed by David Moyes. While McBride played well for the club, he sat out several games after having a blood clot surgically removed from his arm, which consisted of having a rib removed. ^[14] The clot came as a result of a hard collision McBride had suffered during his first game with Preston. As McBride's loan spell came to an end, Preston attempted to purchase his contract from MLS for $1.8 million. MLS rejected it, considering McBride to be worth twice that amount. ^[15] Two years later, Premier League club Everton were beginning to slide down the table. David Moyes, by then with Everton, remembered McBride's success with Preston and sought the forward's services. During McBride's three months with the club, he did not disappoint Moyes, scoring four goals in eight games, including his first game with the club, a 4–3 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. He made close friends during the short time with players such as Leon Osman (with whom he still plays soccer) and Richard Wright. ^[16] Everton, unlike Preston, merely sought to extend McBride's loan period, but MLS rejected it, preferring a transfer over an extended loan for McBride. ^[17]

Fulham

McBride playing for Fulham in 2005

In January 2004, Premier League club Fulham bought McBride's rights from MLS for $1.5 million. He played 18 games during the last half of the 2003–04 season, scoring a total of five goals. His scoring pace remained steady through the next two seasons. In 2004–05, he played 31 league games and six cup games, scoring six league and three cup goals. In 2005–06, he played 38 league games and one cup game, scoring ten league goals and one cup goal. McBride's original contract with Fulham continued only through the 2005–06 season. However, on March 10, 2006, he signed a one-year extension which took him through the end of the 2006–07 season. On February 2, 2007, he signed yet another one-year extension, taking him through the 2007–2008 season. He has a reputation as a battler with a high work rate, a trait prized in English soccer.

McBride was Fulham's top scorer for their 2006–07 Premier League campaign with twelve goals to his name. He was given Fulham's captaincy in August 2007. ^[18]

When scoring the opening goal in a home match against Middlesbrough on August 18, 2007, McBride dislocated his kneecap. He did not make his return to action until a friendly against Cardiff City in late January 2008, and resumed his Premier League duties as a substitute against Aston Villa on February 3, 2008. ^[19] McBride scored his first goal since his injury against Everton at Craven Cottage on March 16, 2008, in a 1–0 victory for Fulham. ^{[20] [21]} The then-Fulham manager Chris Coleman commented it was such a shame that McBride had not been 'discovered' earlier in his career, and played more in England.

After scoring twelve goals in 2006–07 season which helped Fulham retain their Premier League status, on May 14, 2007, McBride won the club's Player of the Year award. He won it again in 2008, and became such a popular figure that the club renamed a bar inside Craven Cottage "McBride's" in June 2009. ^{[3] [4] [5]}

On May 28, 2008, McBride announced that he would be leaving Fulham to return to the United States to play in MLS. ^[22]

Chicago Fire

McBride playing for Chicago in 2010

Following the end of his one-year contract extension, McBride decided to return to the United States to end his career in MLS. He expressed his desire to play for Chicago, his hometown. However, Toronto FC held the top spot in the allocation order, the process by which U.S. National Team players returning to MLS find teams in the league.

On July 30, 2008, the top spot in the allocation order was traded to the Chicago Fire for Chad Barrett, a first round pick in the MLS SuperDraft and conditional future considerations. The Fire used the top spot to obtain McBride. He made his Fire debut on August 16, 2008, coming on as a second-half substitute against D.C. United. McBride scored his first goal against Houston Dynamo. McBride scored the first goal in the MLS Playoff Eastern Conference Championship against the Columbus Crew, his former club. However, Chicago lost that game 2–1 and was kept from being in the MLS Playoff final.

McBride scored nine goals during the 2009 season, including two goals in the three SuperLiga games in which he played.

On September 3, 2010, McBride announced that he would retire following the 2010 MLS season. McBride scored his 80th career goal (in MLS) during his final match before being substituted off to a standing ovation. ^[23]

Wembley

In June 2012, he was one of several former professional players who agreed to join Wembley to play in their FA Cup campaign for the new season. McBride and fellow former internationals Ray Parlour, Martin Keown, Claudio Caniggia, Jaime Moreno, Danny Dichio and Graeme Le Saux, plus David Seaman (goalkeeping coach) and former England manager Terry Venables (technical advisor), came out of retirement to play for Wembley. ^[24] They were knocked out in a replay by Uxbridge after initially setting up the tie by knocking Langford out in the previous round. ^[25]

International career

McBride was a significant player for the United States national team, earning 96 caps and scoring 30 goals in his senior international career. He made his national team debut in 1993, though he was not a member of the squad for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. ^[6] He is the first-ever spokesperson for the Central Ohio Diabetes Association and donated $100 to the association for every goal and assist he tallied for the U.S. National Team. ^[6]

He was part of the U.S. team that played at the 1998, 2002, and 2006 FIFA World Cups. He scored at the 1998 and 2002 tournaments and in doing so, became the first American player to score at two World Cups. (Fellow Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey have since equaled this feat, the latter surpassing them with three.) He was the only American player that scored in the 1998 tournament, which was in a 2–1 defeat to Iran. Overall McBride is fourth behind Bert Patenaude, Dempsey and Donovan for the most World Cup goals for an American with three.

On May 2, 2006, McBride was named to the U.S. roster for his third consecutive World Cup. At the 2006 World Cup, McBride was severely bloodied in a group stage match against Italy after being elbowed in the face by Daniele De Rossi. He needed three stitches. As punishment, De Rossi was banned for four matches and fined CHF 10,000. ^[26] Following the end of the tournament, McBride announced his retirement from international duty on July 26, 2006. ^[27]

In 2008 McBride briefly came out of international retirement after being named as one of the three overage players on the U.S. team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and served as captain as the team finished in third place in the group stage for their group. ^{[28] [29]}

Coaching

McBride established the Brian McBride Soccer Academy which is based in Lake Zurich, Illinois.

In January 2020, McBride was named general manager of the United States men's national team. ^[30]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
VfL Wolfsburg	1994–95	2. Bundesliga	18	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	18	2
Columbus Crew	1996	Major League Soccer	28	17	0	0	3	2	0	0	31	19
	1997		13	6	0	0	4	1	0	0	17	7
	1998		24	10	3	2	5	4	0	0	32	16
	1999		25	5	2	2	5	0	0	0	32	7
	2000		18	6	1	0	0	0	0	0	19	6
	2001		15	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	17	1
	2002		14	5	4	2	5	2	0	0	23	9
	2003		24	12	0	0	0	0	0	0	24	12
	Total		161	62	12	6	22	9	0	0	195	77
Preston North End (loan)	2000–01	First Division	9	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	1
Everton (loan)	2002–03	Premier League	8	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	4
Fulham	2003–04	Premier League	16	4	3	1	0	0	0	0	19	5
	2004–05		31	6	2	0	4	3	0	0	37	9
	2005–06		38	10	0	0	1	1	0	0	39	11
	2006–07		38	9	4	3	0	0	0	0	42	12
	2007–08		17	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	17	4
	Total		140	33	9	4	5	4	0	0	154	41
Chicago Fire	2008	Major League Soccer	11	5	0	0	3	1	0	0	14	6
	2009		22	7	0	0	3	0	0	0	25	7
	2010		26	6	1	0	0	0	0	0	27	6
	Total		59	18	1	0	6	1	0	0	66	19
Career total			395	120	22	10	33	14	0	0	450	144

International

Scores and results list the United States' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each McBride goal.

List of international goals scored by Brian McBride

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	November 3, 1996	Washington, D.C., United States	Guatemala	2–0	2–0	1998 World Cup qualification
2	December 14, 1996	Palo Alto, California, United States	Costa Rica	1–0	2–1	1998 World Cup qualification
3	November 16, 1997	Foxboro, Massachusetts, United States	El Salvador	1–0	4–2	1998 World Cup qualification
4				2–0
5	April 22, 1998	Vienna, Austria	Austria	2–0	3–0	Friendly
6	June 21, 1998	Lyon, France	Iran	1–2	1–2	1998 FIFA World Cup
7	March 11, 1999	Los Angeles, California, United States	Guatemala	2–0	3–1	1999 U.S. Cup
8	July 24, 1999	Guadalajara, Mexico	New Zealand	1–0	2–1	1999 FIFA Confederations Cup
9	August 3, 1999	Guadalajara, Mexico	Saudi Arabia	2–0	2–0	1999 FIFA Confederations Cup
10	February 19, 2000	Miami, Florida, United States	Colombia	1–0	2–2 (1–2PK)	2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup
11	June 11, 2000	East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States	Mexico	1–0	3–0	2000 U.S. Cup
12	August 16, 2000	Foxboro, Massachusetts, United States	Barbados	2–0	7–0	2002 World Cup qualification
13	September 3, 2000	East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States	Guatemala	1–0	1–0	2002 World Cup qualification
14	January 27, 2001	Oakland, California, United States	China	1–0	2–1	Friendly
15	January 21, 2002	Pasadena, California, United States	Cuba	1–0	1–0	2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup
16	January 27, 2002	Pasadena, California, United States	El Salvador	1–0	4–0	2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup
17				2–0
18				3–0
19	June 5, 2002	Suwon, South Korea	Portugal	3–0	3–2	2002 FIFA World Cup
20	June 17, 2002	Jeonju, South Korea	Mexico	1–0	2–0	2002 FIFA World Cup
21	June 12, 2003	Foxboro, Massachusetts, United States	El Salvador	2–0	2–0	2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup
22	June 14, 2003	Foxboro, Massachusetts, United States	Martinique	1–0	2–0	2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup
23				2–0
24	June 14, 2003	Foxboro, Massachusetts, United States	Honduras	1–0	4–0	Friendly
25				2–0
26	October 9, 2004	San Salvador, El Salvador	El Salvador	1–0	2–0	2006 World Cup qualification
27	June 4, 2005	Salt Lake City, Utah, United States	Costa Rica	3–0	3–0	2006 World Cup qualification
28	July 8, 2005	Panama City, Panama	Panama	3–0	3–0	2006 World Cup qualification
29	August 17, 2005	East Hartford, Connecticut, United States	Trinidad and Tobago	1–0	1–0	2006 World Cup qualification
30	May 28, 2006	East Hartford, Connecticut, United States	Latvia	1–0	1–0	Friendly

Honors

Columbus Crew

• U.S. Open Cup: 2002

United States

• CONCACAF Gold Cup: 2002

Individual

• MLS All-Star: 1996, ^[31] 1997, ^[32] 1998, ^[33] 1999, ^[34] 2000 ^[35]
• MLS 50/50 Club ^[36]
• MLS Goal of the Year Award: 1998
• CONCACAF Gold Cup MVP: 2002
• CONCACAF Gold Cup Golden Shoe: 2002
• MLS Fair Play Award: 2003
• Fulham Player of the Year: 2005, 2006
• Chicago Fire Team Player of the Year: 2009
• Chicago Fire Golden Boot: 2009
• National Soccer Hall of Fame: 2014 ^[37]

References

1. Hugman, Barry J. (2005). The PFA Premier & Football League Players' Records 1946–2005. Queen Anne Press. p. 386. ISBN   1-85291-665-6.
2. "Fulhamerica: U.S. Players Who Have Passed Through Craven Cottage". U.S. Soccer. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
3. Lewis, Brian (June 23, 2009). "Fulham renames pub after Brian McBride". New York Post . Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
4. "In McBride's Honor". Fulham F.C. June 17, 2009. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
5. "McBride's". Fulham F.C. Archived from the original on December 1, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
6. "Biography". US Soccer. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved July 19, 2007.
7. "McBride sets standard as Player of Year". Chicago Sun-Times. November 4, 1989.
8. "1992 All Americans". NSCAA. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
9. "1993 All Americans". NSCAA. Archived from the original on June 15, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
10. "Ask the Ref: Sporting KC's penalty - ESPN FC". Archived from the original on June 13, 2015.
11. "Players With 40 Goals and 40 Assists". Division I Men's Soccer Records (PDF) (19th ed.). Indianapolis: NCAA. August 10, 2018. pp. 7–8. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
12. "USA vs. Portugal Game Story". USA Today. June 5, 2002. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
13. "Brian McBride on Past, Present and Future". Fulham Official Website. January 25, 2008. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
14. Carlisle, Jeff (September 3, 2010). "An American Trailblazer". ESPN . Retrieved September 4, 2010.
15. "McBride's swan song for Preston North End to come Wednesday against Wolverhampton". Soccer Times. March 8, 2001. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved January 11, 2008.
16. "Christmas hangover carries into new year". 4thegame.com. February 2, 2003. Archived from the original on April 18, 2004. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
17. "McBride to leave Everton". BBC. March 20, 2003. Retrieved January 11, 2008.
18. "Club Captain". Fulham F.C. August 8, 2007. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
19. "Match Stats". Fox Sports . February 3, 2008. Retrieved February 4, 2008.
20. Lewis, Aimee (March 16, 2008). "Fulham 1–0 Everton". BBC Sport . Retrieved March 16, 2008.
21. Edwards, Ian (March 16, 2008). "EPL Extra Time: McBride leading Fulham down the comeback trail". Yahoo! Sports . Retrieved June 12, 2015.
22. "Fulham hit by McBride blow as striker goes home". ESPN. May 28, 2008. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
23. "Ljungberg steals show in McBride, Brown farewell". chicago-fire.com. October 24, 2010. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
24. "Terry Venables' Wembley FC recruit former stars for FA Cup". BBC Sport . June 21, 2012. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
25. "VIDEO: Wembley Cup dream over". thefa.com. August 30, 2012. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
26. "Italy's De Rossi gets four-match ban from FIFA". ESPN. June 23, 2006. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
27. "McBride, second leading scorer in U.S. history, retires". ESPN. July 26, 2006. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
28. "McBride to lead US football Beijing Olympic challenge". The Sydney Morning Herald . July 18, 2008. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
29. "U.S. Men's Olympic Team Ties Ivory Coast 0–0 in Hong Kong in Warm-Up Match". United States Soccer Federation. July 30, 2008. Archived from the original on December 16, 2009. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
30. "BRIAN MCBRIDE NAMED GENERAL MANAGER OF U.S. MEN'S NATIONAL TEAM". ussoccer.com. January 10, 2020. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
31. All-Star Game flashback, 1996 Archived December 28, 2014, at the Wayback Machine at MLSsoccer.com
32. All-Star Game flashback, 1997 at MLSsoccer.com
33. "1998 MLS All-Star Game". MLSsoccer.com. August 2, 1998. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
34. "1999 MLS All-Star Game". MLSsoccer.com. July 17, 1999. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
35. "2000 MLS All-Star Game". MLSsoccer.com. July 29, 2000. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
36. "MLS' 50-50 club set to welcome its 19th member". MLSsoccer.com.
37. "Brian McBride - 2014 Inductee | National Soccer Hall of Fame". Brian McBride - 2014 Inductee | National Soccer Hall of Fame. Retrieved December 19, 2023.

External links

• Brian McBride at Major League Soccer
• Brian McBride at Soccerbase
• Brian McBride at Team USA ( archiveJuly 11, 2022 )
• Brian McBride at Olympics.com
• Brian McBride at Olympedia
• YA player profile at the Wayback Machine (archived November 12, 2006)
• YA game reports and other articles at the Wayback Machine (archived November 12, 2006)

Sporting positions
Preceded by Luís Boa Morte	Fulham captain 2007–2008	Succeeded by Danny Murphy
Preceded by C. J. Brown	Chicago Fire captain 2010	Succeeded by Logan Pause