Steve Cherundolo

Steve Cherundolo

Cherundolo with Hannover in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Steven Emil Cherundolo
Date of birth	February 19, 1979
Place of birth	Rockford, Illinois, United States
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Playing position	Right back
Club information
Current team	Hannover 96 (Assistant Manager)
Youth career
1997–1998	Portland Pilots
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1999–2014	Hannover 96	370	(7)
National team
1997	United States U18	4	(0)
1998–1999	United States U20	25	(0)
1998	United States U23	1	(0)
1999–2012	United States	87	(2)
Teams managed
2014–2015	Hannover 96 Amateure (Assistant Manager)
2015–	Hannover 96 (Assistant Manager)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals)

Steven Emil "Steve" Cherundolo (born February 19, 1979 in Rockford, Illinois)^[1] is an American former soccer defender and current assistant manager of Hannover 96. He was the captain of Hannover 96 of the German Bundesliga, where he spent his entire club career. 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, California and attended Mt. Carmel High School in Rancho Peñasquitos.^[2] 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 enrolled at the University of Portland and played for the Pilots soccer team from 1997 to 1998. In his freshman season, he was named the West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year.^[3]

Career

Cherundolo training with Hannover in April 2008

Cherundolo joined Hannover 96, then playing in the 2. 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 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 2001–02 season, he started thirty of thirty-four games for the team, as he helped the team gain promotion to the Bundesliga. Cherundolo maintained his position in the 2002–03 season, starting thirty-three games for the team, while collecting three assists. In the 2003–04 season, Cherundolo continued his consistent play, appearing in thirty-three games for the club. Premier League side Bolton Wanderers agreed to a deal with Hannover for Cherundolo in 2005, but he declined, opting to remain in Germany. He signed another contract extension with Hannover in the summer of 2007.

Cherundolo has established himself as a leader at Hannover, and was appointed team captain shortly before the start of the 2010–11 season. Cherundolo set the team record for Bundesliga appearances in the second to last game of the 2012–13 season. As of 2013, Cherundolo was the longest serving player in the Bundesliga.^[4] On March 19, 2014 Cherundolo announced his retirement from football citing failure to recover from a long term knee injury as the main reason he left the game.^[5] He will continue on as the assistant coach to Hannover's amateur team.^[6]

On April 20, 2015, Cherundolo was officially promoted to assistant coach of Hannover 96's first team.^[7] After the end of the 2014/2015 season, Cherundolo returned to Hannover's amateur team as assistant coach.

International career

Cherundolo parlayed his success in the Bundesliga into a role with the United States national team. Cherundolo made his debut against Jamaica on September 8, 1999. Although he was on the roster for the 2002 FIFA World Cup (a late injury replacement for Chris Armas), Cherundolo himself was injured in training shortly before the event began and was unable to play. In the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Cherundolo sustained a knee injury from a tackle that prematurely ended his participation in the tournament. On March 22, 2006, Cherundolo played in a friendly match with the national team against Germany, including some teammates from Hannover 96. He scored his first international goal in the 4–1 loss.

On May 2, 2006, Cherundolo was named to the U.S. roster for the FIFA World Cup in Germany.^[8] On 12 June 2006, for the first time, aged 26, Cherundolo made his debut in a FIFA World Cup match against Czech Republic, playing in the first half for the US, who started the tournament with a 3–0 loss.^[9] Five days later, in the second match against Italy (who later won the tournament), Cherundolo played the full 90 minutes, helping the team to stop Italy with a 1–1 draw at Fritz-Walter-Stadion in Kaiserslautern.^[10] After a loss against Ghana in the final match in the group, the USA was eliminated from the tournament, finishing the group in last place with just one point.^[11]

He missed the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup due to an injury. He also missed out on the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup due to another injury; but returned to captain the U.S. during the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup.^[12]

Cherundolo was one of seven defenders named to the USA squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.^[13] He was given the number 6. In the first match of the Group C against England, Cherundolo was in the starting lineup, helping them to get a 1–1 draw at Royal Bafokeng Stadium.^[14] On 18 June, he retained his position for the second match, playing in the entire game against Slovenia, finished in a 2–2 draw, with USA who come back from a 2–0 down.^[15] In the 48th minute of the match, Cherundolo assisted Donovan who beat Slovenian goalkeeper Handanović with a powerful shot.^[16][17] In the final match of the group, he played at right as the USA beat Algeria with a last-minute winner, scored by Donovan, to finish the group in first place with five points.^[18]

Cherundolo was an ever-present figure in this competition for the USA, collecting 420 minutes in total, as his team lost in the Round of 16 against Ghana with the result 2–1 after extra time.^[19]

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
01.	March 22, 2006	Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany	Germany	1 – 4	1 – 4	Friendly
02.	November 17, 2007	Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg, South Africa	South Africa	1 – 0	1 – 0	Friendly

Personal life

Cherundolo speaks English and fluent German, having spent his entire professional career in the Bundesliga.^[20] A popular figure with Hannover fans, he is known as "Dolo" and affectionately nicknamed "Mayor of Hannover".^[21]

Cherundolo married Mandy Rosier on New Year's Eve 2009 at the local Catholic parish church St. Joseph.^[22][23][24] They continue to reside in Hannover after Cherundolo's retirement from football.

Career statistics

Club

Statistics accurate as of 21 December 2013.^{[25][26][27][28]}

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Germany			League		DFB-Pokal		Other		Europe		Total
1998–99	Hannover 96	2. Bundesliga	8	0	0	0	0	0	–		8	0
1999–00			12	0	1	0	0	0	–		13	0
2000–01			18	0	1	0	0	0	–		19	0
2001–02			30	1	2	0	0	0	–		32	1
2002–03		Bundesliga	33	0	1	0	0	0	–		34	0
2003–04			29	0	2	0	0	0	–		31	0
2004–05			32	2	3	1	0	0	–		35	3
2005–06			22	1	1	0	0	0	–		23	1
2006–07			33	2	3	0	0	0	–		36	2
2007–08			33	0	2	0	0	0	–		35	0
2008–09			17	0	1	0	0	0	–		18	0
2009–10			26	1	1	0	0	0	–		27	1
2010–11			33	0	1	0	0	0	–		34	0
2011–12			22	0	2	0	0	0	11	0	35	0
2012–13			20	0	3	0	0	0	10	0	33	0
2013–14			2	0	0	0	0	0	–		2	0
Total	Germany		370	7	24	1	0	0	21	0	423	8
Career total			370	7	24	1	0	0	21	0	423	8

International

Statistics accurate as of 17 December 2014.^[29]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
United States	1999	1	0
	2000	0	0
	2001	8	0
	2002	1	0
	2003	5	0
	2004	6	0
	2005	10	0
	2006	7	1
	2007	5	1
	2008	8	0
	2009	6	0
	2010	8	0
	2011	13	0
	2012	9	0
Total		87	2

Honors

Club

Hannover 96

• 2. Bundesliga: 2001–02^[30]

International

United States

• CONCACAF Gold Cup: 2005^[31]

See also

• List of one-club men

References

1. "Steven Cherundolo: Always on the sunny side". bundesliga.de. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
2. "All eyes on Germany, World Cup". SignOnSanDiego.com. June 9, 2006. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
3. "UP soccer begins season". Catholic Sentinel. August 28, 1998.
4. "Ever-ambitious, Cherundolo hopes to help the U.S. in Brazil". ESPNFC. 28 November 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
5. "Cherundolo calls time on outstanding career". bundesliga.com. March 19, 2014.
6. "Steven Cherundolo calls it quits". ESPN. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
7. "Former USMNT DF Steve Cherundolo promoted to assistant manager at Hannover". NBC Sports. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
8. "FIFA World Cup of Football : USA Players - Squad 2006". Syvum.com. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
9. "USA 0-3 Czech Republic". BBC Sport. 12 June 2006. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
10. "Nine-man USA hold ten-man Italians". CCN.com. 17 June 2006. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
11. "Ghana 2-1 USA". BBC Sport. 22 June 2006. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
12. "Defender Cherundolo returns from injury for U.S. in Gold Cup". The Canadian Press. Retrieved July 2009.
13. "2010 FIFA World Cup Roster". U.S. Soccer. 2010. Retrieved 12 June 2010.
14. "England 1:1 (1:1) USA". FIFA.com. 12 June 2010. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
15. "Slovenia 2-2 USA". BBC. 18 June 2010. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
16. "Landon Donovan leads USA fightback against Slovenia". The Guardian. 18 June 2010. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
17. "USA vs Slovenia 2010 World Cup South Africa: Relive the Moment [HD]". YouTube.com. 9 June 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
18. "USA 1 Algeria 0: match report". The Telegraph. 23 June 2010. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
19. Fletcher, Paul (26 June 2010). "USA 1–2 Ghana (aet)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
20. "Hannover 96 – Spielerinterview Steven Cherundolo". Retrieved March 4, 2011.
21. "U.S. Cup players get rare visit home". New York Post. May 21, 2010. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
22. "Player Bio". ussoccer.com. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
23. "Festtag im Schneetreiben - Cherundolo heiratet Mandy" (in German). Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung. January 4, 2010.
24. "Ich bete nicht für ein Ergebnis beim Fußballspielen" (PDF) (in German). Katholische Pfarrgemeinde St. Joseph Hanover. August 2010. p. 2.
25. "S. Cherundolo - Profile with news, career statistics and history". Soccerway. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
26. "Profile of Steve Cherundolo at Scoresway". Scoresway. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
27. "Football : Steve Cherundolo". Football DataBase. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
28. "Profile of Steve Cherundolo at Footballzz.com". Footballzz.com. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
29. "Cherundolo, Steve". National Football Teams. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
30. 2. Bundesliga 2001/2002 (German) Weltfussball.de – League table 2001-02, accessed: 16 August 2012
31. "CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 2005". RSSSF.com. 14 March 2007. Retrieved 11 January 2015.

External links

• Kinderherz Hannover e.V. – Children's charity organisation, co-founded by Cherundolo