Sacha Kljestan

Sacha Kljestan

Kljestan in 2014.
Personal information
Full name	Sacha Bryan Kljestan
Date of birth	September 9, 1985
Place of birth	Huntington Beach, California, United States
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current team	New York Red Bulls
Number	16
Youth career
2003–2005	Seton Hall Pirates
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
2005–2006	Orange County Blue Star	2	(1)
2006–2010	Chivas USA	114	(15)
2010–2015	Anderlecht	132	(18)
2015–	New York Red Bulls	42	(10)
National team^‡
2004–2005	United States U20	16	(1)
2007–2008	United States U23	16	(3)
2007–	United States	46	(4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13:27, 30 April 2016 (UTC). † Appearances (goals) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of March 16, 2014

Sacha Kljestan (/ˈsɑːʃə ˈklɛstʃən/;^[1] born September 9, 1985) is an American soccer player who currently plays for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.

Club career

Early career

Kljestan played for the Region IV Olympic Development Program team. He then played three years of college soccer at Seton Hall University. He was named NCAA Division I First-Team All-America in 2004 and earned third team honors in 2005. Kljestan was named Big East Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2005 and earned first-team All-Big East in 2004 and 2005. He holds the single-season assists record at Seton Hall with 15 in 2005 and ranks fifth all-time at the school with 28 over a three-year career. Kljestan finished his college career with 20 goals and helped Seton Hall University to three NCAA Tournament appearances. He then signed a Generation adidas contract with MLS, and played USL Premier Development League soccer for Orange County Blue Star in 2005. Kljestan was taken fifth overall at the 2006 MLS SuperDraft.

Chivas USA

Kljestan playing for Chivas USA in 2010

Kljestan was a finalist for 2006 MLS Rookie of the Year as he appeared in 32 league matches for Chivas and recorded seven assists. He improved his performance in his second year as he recorded four goals and provided 13 assist in 25 matches, helping Chivas to a first-place finish in the Western Conference. He was nominated for the Starting XI in the 2008 MLS All-Star Game, but chose instead to play for the U.S. Olympic Team in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. His performance for club and country drew attention from many clubs overseas, and he left the U.S. team's winter training camp in mid-January 2009 to go on trial beginning January 17 at Celtic,^[2] the Scottish Premier League reigning champions. After the trial he returned to Chivas and continued his fine form as he made 25 league appearances during the 2009 season and scored 5 goals and provided three assists. He began the 2010 season with Chivas before being transferred to top Belgian side Anderlecht. In his time with Chivas, Klejstan finished with fifteen goals and 33 assists in 114 league matches.

Anderlecht

In June 2010, he signed a four-year contract with 2009–10 Belgian Pro League champions Anderlecht.^[3] He made his competitive debut and scored his first goal in the same game on July 27, 2010 in a 3–1 win over Welsh club The New Saints in the third qualifying round of the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League.^[4] In his first season in Belgium he appeared in 34 matches across all competitions scoring 3 goals and helped Anderlecht capture the 2010 Belgian Super Cup. The following three seasons he remained a key player as Anderlecht captured three consecutive Belgian Pro League and Belgian Super Cup titles.

In March 2013, Kljestan signed a new three-year contract with Anderlecht.^[5] During the 2013–14 campaign Kljestan scored a career-high 9 goals as he appeared in 30 matches. He made a total of 180 appearances for the club, scoring 25 goals, before leaving the club in the winter of 2014.

New York Red Bulls

In January 2015, it was announced that Anderlecht had agreed to transfer Kljestan to New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.^[6] He made his debut for New York on March 8, 2015 appearing as a starter in a 1-1 draw at Sporting Kansas City.^[7] On April 17, 2015, he scored his first goal for New York in a 2-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes.^[8] On July 1, 2015, he helped the Red Bulls advance in the U.S. Open Cup, scoring one goal and assisting on another in a 4-1 victory over local rival New York Cosmos.^[9] On August 1, 2015 he scored the opening goal for New York on a penalty kick and assisted on another helping New York to a 3-1 away victory over Philadelphia Union.^[10] On October 7, 2015, he scored on another pk to help the Red Bulls to a 2-1 victory over Montreal Impact.^[11] On October 25, 2015, he scored the eventual game-winning goal for New York in 2-1 victory over Chicago Fire, helping Red Bulls clinch the 2015 MLS Supporters' Shield.^[12]

On March 19, 2016, Kljestan scored his first goal of the season in helping New York to a 4-3 victory over Houston Dynamo.^[13] On April 29, 2016, Kljestan helped New York to a 4-0 victory against FC Dallas scoring one goal and assisting on another. ^[14]

International career

Kljestan playing for the United States in 2013

U20

Kljestan was part of the United States Under-20 team at the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship. He had entered the U-20 program in 2004, earning a total of 16 caps, scoring 1 goal with the team up to 2005.^[15] In early 2007, he was called into training camp with the senior U.S. national team, but did not earn a cap in the following games.

U23

He also played for the US Under-23s at the 2008 CONCACAF Men's Pre-Olympic Tournament and scored in a 3–0 win against Canada to send the US Under-23s through to the Olympics. Kljestan was selected to Peter Nowak's roster for the U-23 Olympics in Beijing. He started all three games and finished the tournament as the United States' highest goal scorer with 2, an equalizer against the Netherlands in the 2–2 draw, which was voted goal Best U.S. Men's Soccer goal of 2008, and a penalty against Nigeria in the 2–1 loss that knocked them out of the tournament.

Men's team

Kljestan made his debut for the senior national team on June 2, 2007, tallying an assist on Benny Feilhaber's winning goal, a 4–1 friendly match victory over China in San Jose, California and also played for the US in Copa América 2007. He started consistently for the United States under Bob Bradley as a central midfielder and had two assists (three total) in World Cup Qualifying. In a 3–2 victory over Sweden on January 24, 2009, Kljestan scored a hat trick, his first three goals with the senior team. The only other American to notch a hat trick in the same game as his first international goal was Aldo "Buff" Donelli who scored four goals on May 24, 1934. It was also the 11th hat trick in national team history. On February 24, 2010, Kljestan scored a 92nd-minute goal that won the USA a friendly against El Salvador. He proceeded to celebrate what was his 4th national team goal in emotional fashion. The goal, along with his performance, was enough to keep him in contention for a World Cup spot.^[16]

Although he made the preliminary 30-man squad he was not picked for the final 23-man roster for the 2010 World Cup, but featured in a friendly against Brazil on the next international fixture date. He has since been a regular part of USA squads under head coach Jurgen Klinsmann. However, he did not make the team for the 2014 World Cup.

Personal life

His brother Gordon once played an Open Cup match for the New York Red Bulls and also played for FC Tampa Bay Rowdies in USSF Division 2. Kljestan's father Slavko Klještan, a Bosnian Serb from Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, was a professional player playing for Željezničar Sarajevo.^[17]

Kljestan, along with Frank Lampard and Cuauhtémoc Blanco, was featured on the North American cover of FIFA 10.

Kljestan married longtime girlfriend Jamie Lee Darley in June 2012.

Career statistics

Club

As of 16 April 2016

Club	Season	League [18]		Domestic Cup [19]		League Cup [20]		Continential [21]		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Chivas USA	2006	32	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	35	0
	2007	25	4	1	0	2	0	0	0	28	4
	2008	22	5	1	0	2	1	2	0	27	6
	2009	25	5	0	0	2	0	0	0	27	5
	2010	10	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	10	1
	Total	114	15	3	0	8	1	2	0	127	16
Anderlecht	2010–11	25	2	2	0	1	0	6	1	34	3
	2011–12	36	4	0	0	0	0	10	1	46	5
	2012–13	35	3	4	0	1	0	9	1	49	4
	2013–14	23	8	1	0	1	0	5	1	30	9
	2014–15	13	1	4	3	0	0	4	0	21	4
	Total	132	18	11	3	3	0	34	4	180	25
New York Red Bulls	2015	33	8	3	1	4	0	0	0	40	9
	2016	9	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	2
	Total	42	10	3	1	4	0	0	0	49	11
Career total		288	43	17	4	15	1	36	4	356	52

International

As of December 15, 2014.

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
United States
	2007	4	0
	2008	8	0
	2009	9	3
	2010	4	1
	2011	9	0
	2012	4	0
	2013	7	0
	2014	1	0
Total		46	4

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	January 24, 2009	Home Depot Center, Carson, California	Sweden	1–0	3–2	Friendly
2				2–0
3				3–1
4	February 24, 2010	Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida	El Salvador	2–1	2–1	Friendly

• Goals scored by Kljestan are marked as bold in the "Score" column.

Honours

Club

R.S.C. Anderlecht

• Belgian Pro League (3): 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14
• Belgian Super Cup (4): 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014

New York Red Bulls

• MLS Supporters' Shield (1): 2015

Individual

• MLS Best XI: 2008

References

1. Sacha Kljestan - Team USA
2. Jones, Grahame L (January 15, 2009). "Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan to train with Celtic". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
3. "US international Kljestan transfers to RSCA". rsca.be. R.S.C. Anderlecht. June 10, 2010. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
4. "The New Saints 1-3 Anderlecht". BBC Sport. 27 July 2010. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
5. Kljestan signs a new 3 year deal with Anderlecht
6. "Red Bulls sign US international Kljestan". newyorkredbulls.com. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
7. "RBNY earn hard-fought point on the road vs. Sporting Kansas City". newyorkredbulls.com. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
8. "MATCH RECAP: New York Red Bulls 2, San Jose Earthquakes 0". newyorkredbulls.com. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
9. "New York Red Bulls 4, New York Cosmos 1". New York Red Bulls. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
10. "Philadelphia Union 1, New York Red Bulls 3". mlssoccer.com. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
11. "Red Bulls beat Montreal Impact to close on MLS East title". nj.com. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
12. "New York Red Bulls Claim Supporters’ Shield With 2-1 Win At Chicago". newyorkredbulls.com. 26 October 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
13. "MATCH RECAP: New York Red Bulls 4, Houston Dynamo 3". newyorkredbulls.com. 19 March 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
14. "New York Red Bulls 4, FC Dallas 0: 2016 MLS Match Recap". MLSSoccer.com. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
15. U-20 MNT stats
16. Sacha Kljestan Hat Trick Provides U.S. Men With 3-2 Victory Against Sweden to Open 2009 -ussoccer.com
17. Jones, Grahame L. (6 August 2008). "Chivas USA's Sacha Kljestan looks beyond Olympics". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 12 August 2008.
18. Includes Major League Soccer and Belgian Pro League
19. Includes Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and Belgian Cup
20. Includes MLS Cup Playoffs and Belgian Super Cup
21. Includes CONCACAF Champions League, UEFA Europa League, and UEFA Champions League

External links

• weltfussball.at Profile
• FIFA: Sacha Kljestan
• MLS player profile
• Sacha Kljestan bio on USSoccer.com
• Current Sacha Kljestan News at followUSsoccer.com