Cobi N'Gai Jones (born June 16, 1970) is an American former professional soccer player and commentator. He is an analyst for MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. He has also been seen on Time Warner Cable SportsNet, Fox Sports, BeIN Sports, the Pac-12 Network, and as the host of the Totally Football Show: American Edition. In addition, during the 1990s, he hosted the health show Mega-Dose on MTV.
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Jones with LA Galaxy in 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Cobi N'Gai Jones | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | June 16, 1970 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1985–1988 | Westlake Warriors | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1988–1991 | UCLA Bruins | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1995 | Coventry City | 24 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1995–1996 | Vasco da Gama | 4 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–2007 | LA Galaxy | 306 | (70) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 334 | (73) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1992–2004 | United States | 164 | (15) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | LA Galaxy (interim) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2010 | LA Galaxy (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
As a player, Jones was a midfielder from 1994 until 2007, starting his career in England with Premier League club Coventry City, before playing for Brazilian side Vasco da Gama. He is one of a significant group of United States national team stars who returned from overseas to aid the then new Major League Soccer in 1996, beginning an 11-year spell with the LA Galaxy. Jones is the all-time leader in caps for the United States national team and a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Following retirement, Jones served as an assistant coach with the LA Galaxy for two seasons.
Youth
editJones grew up in Southern California. He played soccer with AYSO starting at age 5 in Westlake Village, California.[1] After graduating from Westlake High School, Jones emerged as a talented player in college, making the UCLA soccer team as a non-scholarship player, ultimately becoming one of its most successful soccer-playing graduates. While attending UCLA, Jones was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha, an international fraternity.[2]
Club career
editAfter playing in the 1994 World Cup held in the United States, Jones signed with English team Coventry City of the Premier League, where he spent one season. Jones trained with a German club 1. FC Köln of the Bundesliga before joining Brazilian club Vasco da Gama after impressive performances with the United States national team in the 1995 Copa America.[3] After only a few months in Brazil, Jones signed with the new Los Angeles Galaxy franchise for Major League Soccer's inaugural season.
Jones's best year with the Galaxy came in 1998, when he was second in MLS with 51 points (19 goals and 13 assists), was named to the MLS Best XI, and was also named U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year. In 2005, he became the last player in MLS to remain with his original team since 1996. Jones announced on March 19, 2007, that he would retire following the season.
International career
editJones is currently the all-time leader of the United States in appearances, with 164 caps as of the end of 2004 (scoring 15 goals). He played for the team in the 1994, 1998, and 2002 FIFA World Cups. He was named to the best XI at the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup and won with the national team at the 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup. He also represented his country at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. After playing in the 1995 Copa America, he also became a popular player in Latin America because the nickname used by an Argentine commentator to call him: "Escobillón" ("swab"), due to his bleached dreadlock hairstyle and the similar pronunciation of his name, Is Cobi Jones, and the word "escobillón".
Coaching career
editOn November 9, 2007, Jones was announced as an assistant coach with the Galaxy under Ruud Gullit. After Gullit's resignation on August 11, 2008, Jones served as the interim head coach until the Galaxy hired Jones's former United States national team head coach Bruce Arena.
In January 2011, Jones left the Galaxy to serve as associate director of soccer with the New York Cosmos and was with the club through 2012.
Personal life
editOn September 12, 2009, Jones married Kim Reese. Reese, a music consultant and former music executive at New Line Cinema, met Jones in 2003 and began dating him in 2004. The couple was married at the Four Seasons Resort Aviara in Carlsbad, California.[4] They have two sons, Cayden and Cai.
On March 11, 2011, Jones was selected for induction into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.[5]
Jones is a part of the ownership group of Angel City FC of the National Women's Soccer League.[6]
Career statistics
editClub
edit| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Los Angeles Galaxy | 1996 | Major League Soccer | 28 | 7 | ||||||||
| 1997 | 26 | 7 | 4 | 1 | ||||||||
| 1998 | 24 | 19 | ||||||||||
| 1999 | 28 | 8 | 1 | |||||||||
| 2000 | 25 | 7 | 3 | 1 | ||||||||
| 2001 | 22 | 6 | ||||||||||
| 2002 | 19 | 3 | ||||||||||
| 2003 | 28 | 2 | 4 | |||||||||
| 2004 | 23 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 2005 | 31 | 3 | ||||||||||
| 2006 | 27 | 4 | 2 | |||||||||
| 2007 | 25 | 4 | ||||||||||
| Total | 306 | 70 | ||||||||||
| Career total | 306 | 70 | 14 | 2 | ||||||||
International
edit| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 1992 | 3 | 1 |
| 1993 | 30 | 2 | |
| 1994 | 23 | 2 | |
| 1995 | 12 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 14 | 2 | |
| 1997 | 14 | 0 | |
| 1998 | 15 | 0 | |
| 1999 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 16 | 6 | |
| 2001 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2002 | 14 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 4 | 1 | |
| Total | 164 | 15 | |
- Scores and results list the United States' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Jones goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 19, 1992 | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | 2–1 | 5–1 | 1992 King Fahd Cup | |
| 2 | March 23, 1993 | San Salvador, El Salvador | 2–1 | 2–2 | Friendly | |
| 3 | October 13, 1993 | Washington, D.C., United States | 1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly | |
| 4 | January 15, 1994 | Tempe, Arizona, United States | 2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly | |
| 5 | February 18, 1994 | Miami, Florida, United States | 1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly | |
| 6 | June 11, 1995 | Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States | 3–2 | 3–2 | Friendly | |
| 7 | May 26, 1996 | New Britain, Connecticut, United States | 2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly | |
| 8 | December 1, 1996 | San José, Costa Rica | 1–2 | 1–2 | Friendly | |
| 9 | January 29, 2000 | Coquimbo, Chile | 2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly | |
| 10 | February 12, 2000 | Miami, Florida, United States | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2000 Gold Cup | |
| 11 | February 16, 2000 | Miami, Florida, United States | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2000 Gold Cup | |
| 12 | June 3, 2000 | Washington, D.C., United States | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2000 Nike U.S. Cup | |
| 13 | 2–0 | |||||
| 14 | November 15, 2000 | Waterford, Barbados | 4–0 | 4–0 | 2002 World Cup qualifying | |
| 15 | September 8, 2004 | Panama City, Panama | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2006 World Cup qualifying |
Honors
editUCLA Bruins
- NCAA Division I: 1990
- NCAA College Cup: 1990
Los Angeles Galaxy
- CONCACAF Champions' Cup: 2000
- MLS Cup: 2002, 2005
- Supporters' Shield: 1998, 2002
- U.S. Open Cup: 2001, 2005
- Western Conference (playoffs): 1996, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2005
United States
Individual
- MLS All-Star: 1996,[10] 1997,[11] 1998,[12] 1999,[13] 2000[14]
- MLS Best XI: 1998
- MLS 25 Greatest
- MLS 50/50 Club[15]
- U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year: 1998[16]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "AYSO Alum Cobi Jones Elected to National Soccer Hall of Fame". American Youth Soccer Organization. Archived from the original on April 3, 2011. Retrieved September 17, 2013.
- ^ "Re-colonization at UCLA". Lambda Chi Alpha. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
- ^ Araújo, Alexandre; Braz, Bruno. "Americano veio ao Vasco 'à la Honda', jogou pouco e aprendeu palavrões". UOL (in Portuguese). Retrieved May 7, 2020.
- ^ L.A. Galaxy Soccer Star Cobi Jones Weds by Mark Dagostino at people.com, URL accessed October 3, 2009. March 10, 2009.
- ^ "Cobi Jones, Eddie Pope, and Earnie Stewart Elected to National Soccer Hall of Fame Class of 2011". Ussoccer.com. Archived from the original on December 27, 2013. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
- ^ "Cobi Jones". Angel City FC. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
- ^ "Major League Soccer: History: All-Time MLS Player Register". web.mlsnet.com. Archived from the original on February 3, 2009. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
- ^ "Concacaf". www.concacaf.com. Archived from the original on October 6, 2009. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
- ^ "Cobi JOnes – U.S. Soccer Media Guide". 2013 USMNT Media Guide. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- ^ All-Star Game flashback, 1996 Archived December 28, 2014, at the Wayback Machine at MLSsoccer.com
- ^ All-Star Game flashback, 1997 at MLSsoccer.com
- ^ "1998 MLS All-Star Game". MLSsoccer.com. August 2, 1998. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
- ^ "1999 MLS All-Star Game". MLSsoccer.com. July 17, 1999. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
- ^ "2000 MLS All-Star Game". MLSsoccer.com. July 29, 2000. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
- ^ "Columbus Crew SC's Federico Higuain joins MLS 50-50 club | MLSSoccer.com". MLSsoccer.com.
- ^ "Athlete of the Year Award". US Soccer. Archived from the original on November 10, 2014. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
External links
edit- Cobi Jones at Soccerbase
- Cobi Jones Biography at Los Angeles Galaxy official site (in English) (archived)
- Cobi Jones Interview