The MLS Best XI is an acknowledgement of the best eleven players in the league in a given season for Major League Soccer in Canada and the United States.

Winners[link]

• Players in bold text also won the Major League Soccer MVP Award award for that season.

Year	Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards
1996	Mark Dodd, Dallas	Leonel Alvarez, Dallas John Doyle, San Jose Robin Fraser, Los Angeles	Mauricio Cienfuegos, Los Angeles Roberto Donadoni, MetroStars Marco Etcheverry, D.C. United Preki, Kansas City Carlos Valderrama, Tampa Bay	Eduardo Hurtado, Los Angeles Roy Lassiter, Tampa Bay
1997	Brad Friedel, Columbus	Jeff Agoos, D.C. United Thomas Dooley, Columbus Richard Gough, Kansas City Eddie Pope, D.C. United	Mark Chung, Kansas City Marco Etcheverry, D.C. United Preki, Kansas City Carlos Valderrama, Tampa Bay	Ronald Cerritos, San Jose Jaime Moreno, D.C. United
1998	Zach Thornton, Chicago	Thomas Dooley, Columbus Robin Fraser, Los Angeles Lubos Kubik, Chicago Eddie Pope, D.C. United	Chris Armas, Chicago Mauricio Cienfuegos, Los Angeles Marco Etcheverry, D.C. United Peter Nowak, Chicago	Stern John, Columbus Cobi Jones, Los Angeles
1999	Kevin Hartman, Los Angeles	Jeff Agoos, D.C. United Lubos Kubik, Chicago Robin Fraser, Los Angeles	Chris Armas, Chicago Mauricio Cienfuegos, Los Angeles Marco Etcheverry, D.C. United Eddie Lewis, San Jose Steve Ralston, Tampa Bay	Jason Kreis, Dallas Jaime Moreno, D.C. United
2000	Tony Meola, Kansas City	Robin Fraser, Los Angeles Greg Vanney, Los Angeles Peter Vermes, Kansas City	Chris Armas, Chicago Peter Nowak, Chicago Steve Ralston, Tampa Bay Hristo Stoichkov, Chicago Carlos Valderrama, Tampa Bay	Mamadou Diallo, Tampa Bay Clint Mathis, MetroStars
2001	Tim Howard, MetroStars	Jeff Agoos, San Jose Carlos Llamosa, Miami Pablo Mastroeni, Miami Greg Vanney, Los Angeles	Chris Armas, Chicago Peter Nowak, Chicago Preki, Miami	Alex Pineda Chacon, Miami Diego Serna, Miami John Spencer, Colorado
2002	Tim Howard, MetroStars	Wade Barrett, San Jose Carlos Bocanegra, Chicago Alexi Lalas, Los Angeles	Mark Chung, Colorado Ronnie Ekelund, San Jose Óscar Pareja, Dallas Steve Ralston, New England	Jeff Cunningham, Columbus Carlos Ruiz, Los Angeles Taylor Twellman, New England
2003	Pat Onstad, San Jose	Carlos Bocanegra, Chicago Ryan Nelsen, D.C. United Eddie Pope, MetroStars	Chris Armas, Chicago DaMarcus Beasley, Chicago Mark Chung, Colorado Landon Donovan, San Jose Preki, Kansas City	Ante Razov, Chicago John Spencer, Colorado
2004	Joe Cannon, Colorado	Jimmy Conrad, Kansas City Robin Fraser, Columbus Ryan Nelsen, D.C. United Eddie Pope, MetroStars	Eddie Gaven, MetroStars Amado Guevara, MetroStars Ronnie O'Brien, Dallas Kerry Zavagnin, Kansas City	Brian Ching, San Jose Jaime Moreno, D.C. United
2005	Pat Onstad, San Jose	Chris Albright, Los Angeles Danny Califf, San Jose Jimmy Conrad, Kansas City	Clint Dempsey, New England Dwayne De Rosario, San Jose Christian Gomez, D.C. United Shalrie Joseph, New England Ronnie O'Brien, Dallas	Jaime Moreno, D.C. United Taylor Twellman, New England
2006	Troy Perkins, D.C. United	Bobby Boswell, D.C. United Jose Burciaga Jr., Kansas City Jimmy Conrad, Kansas City	Ricardo Clark, Houston Clint Dempsey, New England Dwayne De Rosario, Houston Christian Gomez, D.C. United Justin Mapp, Chicago	Jeff Cunningham, Salt Lake Jaime Moreno, D.C. United
2007	Brad Guzan, Chivas USA	Jonathan Bornstein, Chivas USA Michael Parkhurst, New England Eddie Robinson, Houston	Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Columbus Dwayne De Rosario, Houston Christian Gomez, D.C. United Shalrie Joseph, New England Ben Olsen, D.C. United	Juan Pablo Angel, New York Luciano Emilio, D.C. United
2008	Jon Busch, Chicago	Jimmy Conrad, Kansas City Chad Marshall, Columbus Bakary Soumare, Chicago	Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Chicago Shalrie Joseph, New England Sacha Kljestan, Chivas USA Robbie Rogers, Columbus Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Columbus	Kenny Cooper, Dallas Landon Donovan, Los Angeles
2009	Zach Thornton, Chivas USA	Geoff Cameron, Houston Wilman Conde, Chicago Chad Marshall, Columbus	Dwayne DeRosario, Toronto Landon Donovan, Los Angeles Stuart Holden, Houston Shalrie Joseph, New England Freddie Ljungberg, Seattle	Conor Casey, Colorado Jeff Cunningham, Dallas
2010	Donovan Ricketts, Los Angeles	Nat Borchers, Salt Lake Omar Gonzalez, Los Angeles Jámison Olave, Salt Lake	Dwayne De Rosario, Toronto Landon Donovan, Los Angeles David Ferreira, Dallas Sébastien Le Toux, Philadelphia Javier Morales, Salt Lake	Edson Buddle, Los Angeles Chris Wondolowski, San Jose
2011	Kasey Keller, Seattle	Todd Dunivant, Los Angeles Omar Gonzalez, Los Angeles Jámison Olave, Salt Lake	David Beckham, Los Angeles Brad Davis, Houston Dwayne De Rosario, D.C. United Landon Donovan, Los Angeles Brek Shea, Dallas	Thierry Henry, New York Chris Wondolowski, San Jose

Most Appearances by a Player[link]

• Dwayne De Rosario: 6
• Robin Fraser, Jaime Moreno, Chris Armas, Landon Donovan: 5
• Eddie Pope, Preki, Marco Etcheverry, Jimmy Conrad, Shalrie Joseph: 4
• Jeff Agoos, Jeff Cunningham, Mauricio Cienfuegos, Carlos Valderrama, Peter Nowak, Steve Ralston, Christian Gomez: 3

Appearances by Team[link]

See also[link]

• MLS All-Time Best XI

References[link]

• MLS History

Chris Wondolowski

Wondolowski with the Earthquakes in August 2010
Personal information
Full name	Christopher Elliott Wondolowski
Date of birth	(1983-01-28) January 28, 1983 (age 29)
Place of birth	Danville, California, United States
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	San Jose Earthquakes
Number	8
Youth career
2001–2004	Chico State Wildcats
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2004	Chico Rooks	16	(17)
2005	San Jose Earthquakes	2	(0)
2006–2009	Houston Dynamo	37	(4)
2009–	San Jose Earthquakes	84	(48)
National team‡
2011–	United States	7	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of May 20, 2012. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of January 22, 2012

Christopher Elliott Wondolowski (born January 28, 1983 in Danville, California) is an American soccer player who currently plays for San Jose Earthquakes in Major League Soccer. He is also commonly known by the nickname 'Wondo'

Career[link]

Youth and College[link]

Wondolowski played high school soccer at De La Salle High School in Concord, California, where he earned All-Bay Valley Athletic League first team and all-East Bay first team honors in 2000 and 2001. He was awarded two area "Player of the Year" awards in 2001 by local media. Wondolowski played club soccer for the Diablo Valley Soccer Club (DVSC) and Danville Mustang Soccer Association.

He went on to enjoy a standout college soccer career at Chico State University, and led the Chico Rooks of the then Men's Premier Soccer League with 17 goals in the 2004 season.^[1]

Professional[link]

Wondolowski was drafted 41st overall in the 2005 MLS Supplemental Draft by the San Jose Earthquakes. Although he made only two MLS appearances for San Jose in 2005, he led the Earthquakes reserve team in scoring with eight goals in 12 games.

Along with the rest of his Earthquakes teammates, he moved to Houston for the 2006 season and once again led the reserve team in scoring, tallying 13 goals in 11 games. He scored his first MLS goal 30 August 2006 against the Chicago Fire.

In 2007, Wondolowski scored against Pachuca in the semifinal round of the CONCACAF Champions' Cup, although Houston was eliminated in the second leg. He scored his second career MLS goal - a tap-in against Chicago - on July 12, 2007, and his 4th career goal for Houston against New York Red Bulls on May 16, 2009 was also the 7000th goal in Major League Soccer history.

Wondolowski was traded to the San Jose Earthquakes in exchange for Cam Weaver in June 2009.^[2] With the move to San Jose, Wondolowski began to receive more playing time and appeared in 14 games in which he scored 3 goals for San Jose. Wondolowski had a break-out season in 2010 in which he led Major League Soccer in scoring with 18 goals in 26 matches, leading San Jose into the MLS Playoffs.^[3] He scored his first playoff goal with the series winning goal against New York in their playoff game, propelling San Jose to a 3-2 aggregate win.

Wondolowski’s first brace of 2011 started in the fifth minute of play against F.C. Dallas. After receiving a ball in the box, Wondolowski took the ball off a volley with time to turn and punch the shot past a helpless Kevin Hartman. His second goal would come in just the 23rd minute after Dallas was unable to clear the ball on a set piece.^[4] He finished the season with 16 goals.

San Jose signed Wondolowski to a new contract in February 2012.^[5] Terms were undisclosed.

International[link]

Following his successful stint with the Earthquakes during the 2010 season which included winning the 2010 MLS Golden Boot, Wondolowski was called up to Winter Training Camp with the United States men's national soccer team. At the conclusion of the three week camp, his first cap with the national team came in a January 22, 2011 friendly against Chile at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

On May 23, 2011, Wondolowski was named to the United States roster for the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup competition.

Other Accomplishments[link]

Wondolowski was a stand-out middle distance runner while at De La Salle: he earned his way to the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) State track meet in both his Junior and Senior years. His accomplishments caught the attention and interest of several track schools, including UCLA: Chris' recorded bests were 1:57 in the 800 and 4:15 in the 1600 during his senior season. Chris was also an outstanding middle infielder throughout his youth baseball career. The highlight was starting at second base for the Danville Rockies baseball team, a club that went on to capture the 1997 PONY League (13-14 yr. old) World Series Championship He was eventually persuaded to give up baseball after completing his JV Baseball season to try his hand at distance running. The DLS track coach "discovered" Chris after he recorded a time of 10:20 for a two-mile "fitness run" that was administered to all of the varsity soccer players.

Personal[link]

Chris is the brother of fellow professional soccer player Stephen Wondolowski. He is half-Native American through his mother who was born into the Kiowa tribe, of which Chris himself is also a member.^[6] His paternal grandfather arrived to the United States in the age of seven with family and originated from Warsaw, Poland.^[7]

Career statistics[link]

Statistics accurate as of match played May 2 2012

Honors[link]

Club[link]

Houston Dynamo

• MLS Cup (2): 2006, 2007

Individual[link]

• MLS Golden Boot (1): 2010 (lost tiebreaker in 2011)
• MLS Best XI (2): 2010, 2011

See also[link]

• List of current MLS players

References[link]

External links[link]

• MLS player profile
• Athlete Chat: MLS Players Chris & Stephen Wondolowski
• Chris Wondolowski at National-Football-Teams.com

v t e United States squad – 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup Runners-up 1 Howard 2 Spector 3 Bocanegra 4 M. Bradley 5 Onyewu 6 Cherundolo 7 Edu 8 Dempsey 9 Agudelo 10 Donovan 11 Wondolowski 12 Bornstein 13 Jones 14 Lichaj 15 Ream 16 Kljestan 17 Altidore 18 Rimando 19 Rogers 20 Adu 21 Goodson 22 Bedoya 23 Hahnemann Coach: B. Bradley

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There are many people in history who are commonly appended with the phrase "the Great", or who were called that or an equivalent phrase in their own language. Other languages have their own suffixes such as e Bozorg and e azam in Persian and Urdu respectively.

In Persia, the title "the Great" at first seems to be a colloquial version of the Old Persian title "Great King". This title was first used by the conqueror Cyrus II of Persia.^[1]

The Persian title was inherited by Alexander III of Macedon (336–323 BC) when he conquered the Persian Empire, and the epithet "Great" eventually became personally associated with him. The first reference (in a comedy by Plautus)^[2] assumes that everyone knew who "Alexander the Great" was; however, there is no earlier evidence that Alexander III of Macedon was called "the Great".

The early Seleucid kings, who succeeded Alexander in Persia, used "Great King" in local documents, but the title was most notably used for Antiochus the Great (223–187 BC).

Later rulers and commanders began to use the epithet "the Great" as a personal name, like the Roman general Pompey. Others received the surname retrospectively, like the Carthaginian Hanno and the Indian emperor Ashoka the Great. Once the surname gained currency, it was also used as an honorific surname for people without political careers, like the philosopher Albert the Great.

As there are no objective criteria for "greatness", the persistence of later generations in using the designation greatly varies. For example, Louis XIV of France was often referred to as "The Great" in his lifetime but is rarely called such nowadays, while Frederick II of Prussia is still called "The Great". A later Hohenzollern - Wilhelm I - was often called "The Great" in the time of his grandson Wilhelm II, but rarely later.

Rulers[link]

• Abbas I of Persia (1571–1629), Shah of Iran
• Akbar (1542–1605), ruler of the Mughal Empire of South Asia, mainly India
• Alain I of Albret (1440–1522), French aristocrat
• Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), King of Macedonia, Persia, Greece, Egypt, and all of Mesopotamia
• Alexander I of Georgia (1386–1446), King of Georgia
• Alfonso III of León (c. 848-910), King of León, Galicia and Asturias
• Alfred the Great (848/849-899), King of Wessex
• Antiochus III the Great (c. 241–187 BC), ruler of the Seleucid Empire
• Ashoka the Great (c. 304–232 BC), Indian emperor of the Maurya dynasty
• Ashot I of Iberia “the Great”(died 826/830), presiding prince of Iberia (modern Georgia),
• Askia Mohammad I (c. 1442–1538), ruler of the Songhai Empire
• Bhumibol Adulyadej (born 1927), King of Thailand
• Bolesław I Chrobry (967-1025), sometimes called "the Great", first King of Poland
• Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the following section)
• Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (1736–1809), founder and ruler of the Rattanakosin Kingdom (in what is now Thailand)
• Cnut the Great (c. 985 or 995-1035), King of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden
• Casimir III the Great (1310–1370), King of Poland
• Catherine the Great (1729–1796), Empress of Russia
• Chandragupta II (reigned 375-413/415), also known as Vikramaditya, ruler of the Gupta empire in India
• Charlemagne (died 814), King of the Franks and Emperor of the Romans
• Chulalongkorn (1853–1910), King of Siam (now Thailand)
• Chlothar II (584-629), King of Neustria and King of the Franks
• Conrad, Margrave of Meissen (c. 1097-1157), Margrave of Meissen
• Constantine I (c. 272-337), Roman emperor
• Cyaxares the Great (c. 625-585 BC), third king of Media
• Cyrus the Great (c. 600 BC or 576 BC–530 BC), founder and ruler of the Persian or Achaemenid Empire
• Darius the Great (550 – 486 BC), third ruler of the Persian Empire
• Devapala (died 850), ruler of the Pala Empire in the Indian subcontinent
• Dionysius I, Greek tyrant of Syracuse^[3]
• Ferdinand I of León and Castile (c. 1015–1065), King of León and Count of Castile
• Frederick the Great (1712–1786), King of Prussia
• Genghis Khan (1162?-1227), founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire
• Gero (c. 900–965), ruler of Marca Geronis, a very large march in Europe
• Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (1594–1632), King of Sweden, founder of the Swedish Empire, and noted military leader
• Gwanggaeto the Great, King of Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea^[4][5]
• Hanno the Great, the name of three leaders of Carthage, in the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd centuries BC
• Henry I, Duke of Burgundy (946–1002)
• Henry IV of France (1553–1610), King of France and King of Navarre
• Herod the Great (73/74 BC-4 BC), King of Judea
• Hugh the Great (898-956), Duke of the Franks and Count of Paris
• Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France
• Hugh I, Count of Vermandois (1057–1101)
• Humphrey I de Bohun (died c. 1123), Anglo-Norman aristocrat
• Ivan III of Russia (1440–1505), Tsar of Russia
• John I of Portugal (1358–1433), King of Portugal and the Algarve
• John II of Aragon (1398–1479), King of Aragon and, through his wife, King of Navarre
• Justinian I (483-565), Byzantine Emperor
• Kamehameha I (c. 1758-1819), first King of Hawai'i
• Kanishka (died c. 127), ruler of the Kushan Empire in Central Asia and parts of India
• Kvirike III of Kakheti (1010–1029), King of Kakheti in eastern Georgia
• Kublai Khan (1215–1294), Mongol ruler in the 13th century and Emperor of China; founder of the Yuan Dynasty
• Llywelyn the Great (c. 1172–1240), Prince of Gwynedd and de facto ruler of most of Wales
• Louis I of Hungary (1326–1382), King of Hungary, Croatia and Poland
• Mangrai the Great (1238–1317), Lanna, northern Thailand
• Emperor Meiji (1852–1912), Emperor of Japan
• Mircea I of Wallachia (1355–1418)
• Mithridates II of Parthia (died 88 BC), ruler of the Parthian Empire (in present day Iran)
• Mithridates VI of Pontus (134 BC–63 BC), ruler of Pontus and the Bosporan Kingdom
• Mstislav I of Kiev (1076–1132), Grand Prince of Kievan Rus
• Naresuan (1555–1605), King of Ayutthaya
• Narai (1633–1688), King of Ayutthaya (in what is now modern Thailand)
• Odo the Great (died c. 735), Duke of Aquitaine
• Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (912-973)
• K'inich Janaab' Pakal (603-683), ruler of the Mayan city-state of Palenque
• Parakramabahu I of Polonnaruwa (1123–1186), King of Sri Lanka
• Peter Krešimir IV of Croatia (died 1075), King of Croatia
• Peter the Great (1672–1725), Tsar of Russia
• Peter III of Aragon (1239–1285), King of Aragon and King of Sicily
• Pompey (106 BC-48 BC), military and political leader of the late Roman Republic, rival of Julius Caesar
• Radama I (1793–1828), first king of greater Madagascar
• Raja Raja Chola I (c. 947-1014), Indian emperor of the Cholas.^[6][7][8]
• Rajendra Chola I (reigned 1014–1044), Tamil King of India
• Ramesses II (reigned 1279 BC – 1213 BC), considered the greatest pharaoh of Ancient Egypt
• Ram Khamhaeng (around 1237 to 1247-1298), King of Sukhothai (in present day Thailand)
• Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona (1082–1131), also Count of Provence and various other counties
• Rhodri the Great (c. 820–878), King of Gwynedd (in present day Wales)
• Roman the Great (after 1160-1205), Grand Prince of Kiev
• Saladin (c. 1138-1193), Kurdish Sultan of Egypt and Syria, founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, and victor over the Crusaders
• Samudragupta (c. 335–375), ruler of the Gupta empire in the Indian subcontinent
• Sancho III of Navarre (c. 992-1035), King of Kingdom of Navarre
• Sargon of Akkad (died c. 2215 BC), ruler of the Akkadian Empire
• Sejong the Great (1397–1450), Korean king^[9]
• Shapur II (309-379), king of the Sassanid Empire, Persia
• Simeon I of Bulgaria (864/865-927), ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire
• Stephen III of Moldavia (1433–1504), Prince of Moldavia (Romania)
• Stephen Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia (c. 1308-1355), King of Serbia and Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks
• Taksin (1734–1782), King of the Thonburi Kingdom (Thailand)
• Tamar (1160-1123), Queen of the Georgian Empire
• Timur (1336–1405), better known as Tamerlane, founder of the Timurid Dynasty
• Theobald II, Count of Champagne (1090–1151), Count of Blois and of Chartres as Theobald IV, Count of Champagne and of Brie
• Theodoric the Great (454-526), King of the Ostrogoths, regent of the Visigoths and a viceroy of the Byzantine Empire
• Theodosius I (347-395), Roman emperor
• Tigranes the Great (140-55 BC), Emperor of Armenia
• Tiridates III of Armenia (285-339), King of Armenia
• Umar (c. 586 to 590–644), second caliph of the Muslim Empire
• Valdemar I of Denmark (1131–1182), King of Denmark
• Valentinian I (364-375), Roman Emperor
• Vladimir I of Kiev (c. 958-1015), ruler of Kievan Rus
• Vytautas (c. 1350-1430), archduke of the Lithuanian Grand Duchy
• William I, Count of Burgundy (1020–1087), Count of Burgandy and Mâcon
• William V, Duke of Aquitaine (969-1030), also Count of Poitou
• Xerxes I (519-465 BC), King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire (Persia)
• Yu the Great (c. 2200-2100 BC), legendary ruler in ancient China

Religious figures[link]

• Abraham the Great of Kashkar (ca. 492-586), monk and saint of the Assyrian Church of the East
• Abraham Kidunaia (died c. 366, hermit, priest, and Christian saint of Mesopotamia
• Albertus Magnus (1193/1206–1280), medieval German philosopher and theologian
• Anthony the Great (c. 251–356), early Christian saint of Egypt
• Babai the Great (c. 551–628), Assyrian church leader
• Basil of Caesarea (330-379), Greek bishop and theologian
• Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the previous section)
• Euthymius the Great (377-473), abbot and Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox saint
• Gertrude the Great (1256-c. 1302), German Benedictine, mystic, theologian and Roman Catholic saint
• Pope Gregory I (c. 540-604)
• Hiyya the Great, 3rd-century rabbi, Palestine
• Pope John Paul II (1920–2005)
• Pope Leo I (c. 391 or 400-461)
• Macarius of Egypt (c. 300-391), Egyptian hermit
• Pope Nicholas I (c. 800-867)
• Photius I of Constantinople (c. 810–c. 893), Eastern Orthodox saint and Patriarch of Constantinople
• William of Maleval (died 1157), founder of the Catholic congregation of Williamites

Other[link]

• Beli Mawr, a figure in medieval Welsh literature and genealogies
• Emmy the Great, folk singer
• Matteo Rosso the Great, Roman politician and father of Pope Nicholas III
• Prokop the Great, Hussite general in Bohemia

See also[link]

• Epithet
• List of monarchs by nickname
• List of nicknames of European Royalty and Nobility: G-I
• James, son of Zebedee, also known as James the Greater, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus
• Ajax (mythology), called Ajax the Greater
• Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, whose common honorific "Mahatma" means "Great Soul"

Notes[link]

John Wolyniec

Personal information
Full name	John Wolyniec
Date of birth	(1977-01-24) January 24, 1977 (age 35)
Place of birth	Staten Island, New York, United States
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position	Forward
Youth career
1995–1998	Fordham Rams
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1999	Long Island Rough Riders	27	(15)
1999	MetroStars	4	(1)
2000–2001	Chicago Fire	19	(2)
2000	→ MLS Pro-40 (loan)	3	(0)
2000	→ Milwaukee Rampage (loan)	4	(3)
2001	New England Revolution	1	(0)
2001	Rochester Raging Rhinos	15	(1)
2002	Milwaukee Rampage	26	(10)
2002	Chicago Fire	2	(1)
2003–2005	MetroStars	63	(17)
2005–2006	Columbus Crew	18	(3)
2006	Los Angeles Galaxy	10	(1)
2006–2010	New York Red Bulls	75	(8)
National team‡
2004	United States	2	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of July 27, 2010. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of April 4, 2009

John Wolyniec (born January 25, 1977 in Staten Island, New York) is a former American soccer player who is now a coach in the New York Red Bulls youth system.

Career[link]

Youth and Amateur[link]

Wolyniec attended Monsignor Farrell High School and played four years of college soccer at Fordham University, where he led the nation in goals in 1997 and 1998.

Professional[link]

Wolyniec was drafted in the first round (seventh overall) by the MetroStars in the 1999 MLS College Draft, but being a high pick was not enough to keep him on the squad, as he was cut before playing any games. Wolyniec signed with the Long Island Rough Riders of the A-League and led the team in goals. In the midst of the worst season in league history, the Metros called him up for a late season stretch and he promptly scored in his first game with the team.

In 2000, the Chicago Fire re-drafted Wolyniec with the 44th overall pick of the 2000 MLS SuperDraft. That season, the Fire sent him on loan with the MLS Project 40^[1] and the Milwaukee Rampage where he scored three goals in four games.^[2][3] Back with the Fire, he scored just one goal all year, and, after scoring one early in 2001, was traded to the New England Revolution for Eric Wynalda. New England promptly cut John after he played one game. He spent the next two years in the A-League, with the Rochester Rhinos in 2001 and with the Milwaukee Rampage in 2002. He was named the MVP of the league final during his time with the Rampage.^[4]

Then-MetroStars head coach Bob Bradley re-acquired Wolyniec in the 2003 MLS Supplemental Draft. Wolyniec came into his own during his second stint with the team, scoring a number of key goals, including two overtime game-winners and a late winner in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals against D.C. United. He finished the year with five MLS goals (seven in all competitions).

On May 26, 2004 Wolyniec scored two goals and assisted on another in a 3-1 victory over Boavista F.C. of the Portuguese Liga.^[5] Even as the team signed a trio of foreign strikers in 2004, he kept his starting place, scored ten goals to tie for the team lead, and began to mature into a team leader. But after scoring two goals in eight games in 2005, he was traded to the Columbus Crew in exchange for prolific scorer Ante Razov.

After scoring three goals for the Crew, Wolyniec was dealt in May 2006 to Los Angeles Galaxy in a four-player deal. In August, he was traded again, joining New York Red Bulls for his third stint with the club formerly known as MetroStars.

The 2007 and 2008 seasons saw Wolyniec primarily as a reserve player for New York, managing to score 3 goals in 21 appearances in 2007 and being held scoreless in 19 regular season appearances in 2008. With the Red Bulls barely qualifying for the 2008 MLS Playoffs, Coach Juan Carlos Osorio surprisingly inserted Wolyniec into the starting lineup for the clubs first leg match against the defending champion Houston Dynamo, Wolyniec would assist on Juan Pablo Angel's goal in a match that ended 1-1. With New York needing a victory to advance out of the first round for the second time in team history, Osorio repeated the same lineup that drew 1-1. Wolyniec was again a key figure scoring the third goal in a 3-0 rout of Houston in Robertson Stadium. Wolyniec continued his fine play in the Western Conference Final, helping set up the Red Bulls' lone goal in the 1-0 victory over Real Salt Lake, and thus advancing to the clubs first ever MLS Cup Final.^[6] In the MLS Cup Final, Wolyniec scored the Red Bulls lone goal in a 3-1 loss to the Columbus Crew. During the 2009 season Wolyniec was the only New York player to score in all competitions that the club participated in (League, US Open Cup, CONCACAF Champions League). On May 12, 2010 Wolyniec had his first multi-goal game for the New York Red Bulls scoring two goals in a 3-0 victory over New England Revolution in a 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup qualification match.^[7] On May 26, 2010 Wolyniec recorded another two goals in a 3-0 victory over Colorado Rapids leading the club to the Round of 16 of the 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.^[8]

Wolyniec was waived by New York on July 30, 2010 to make room on the roster for new signing Thierry Henry.^[9] On September 9, 2010, Wolyniec announced his retirement from professional soccer in order to take a position in the Red Bull Academy.^[10] Wolyniec ended his Red Bulls career beloved by supporters and ranks among the all-time club leaders in games played.

International[link]

Wolyniec earned a call-up to the U.S. national team in 2004, getting his first cap against Denmark on January 18, 2004.^[11]

Career statistics[link]

[1]