Benny Feilhaber

Benny Feilhaber
Feilhaber playing with Sporting Kansas City in 2017
Personal information
Full name Benny Feilhaber
Date of birth (1985-01-19) January 19, 1985
Place of birth Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Los Angeles FC
Number 33
Youth career
2000–2003 Irvine Strikers
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2004 UCLA Bruins 36 (7)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2007 Hamburger SV II 49 (3)
2006–2007 Hamburger SV 9 (0)
2007–2008 Derby County 10 (0)
2008–2011 AGF Aarhus 65 (5)
2011–2012 New England Revolution 52 (5)
2013–2017 Sporting Kansas City 180 (33)
2018– Los Angeles FC 18 (2)
National team‡
2005 United States U20 11 (0)
2007–2008 United States U23 6 (0)
2007– United States 44 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of July 7, 2018
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of October 10, 2017

Benny Feilhaber (/ˈfeɪlhɑːbər/; born January 19, 1985) is an American professional soccer player who plays for Los Angeles FC in Major League Soccer and the United States men's national soccer team as a midfielder.

Early life

Feilhaber was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[1][2] He is Jewish,[3] and was raised in his father's Jewish religion.[4] His paternal grandfather emigrated from the Austrian capital city of Vienna to Brazil in 1938 to escape the Nazi regime.[2]

Feilhaber was six years old when his family moved from Brazil to settle in the United States and spent approximately eight years in the New York City suburb of Scarsdale where he played for the local soccer team, the Scarsdale Lightning. He attended Nottingham Country Elementary in Katy, Texas. In 1996, he led the team and won the New York State Cup for the U-12 division.[5] He attended Northwood High School in Irvine, California where he was a standout midfielder on the school’s soccer team. He also played club soccer for the Irvine Strikers, winning various youth national titles. He was coached by youth coach Don Ebert.

After graduating in 2003 he played college soccer at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he became a mainstay in the Bruins' midfield. At UCLA he was roommates with future national teammate Jonathan Bornstein. Feilhaber made the team as a walk-on, rather than being recruited with a scholarship offer. After his second year at UCLA Feilhaber was called up by the U.S. U-20 national soccer team to play in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherlands.

Club career

Hamburg

His performances in the tournament caught the attention of scouts from several European teams and, after representing the U.S. in the 2005 Maccabiah Games in Israel where he won a silver medal playing for it alongside Jonathan Bornstein and Leonid Krupnik.[6][7] Feilhaber signed for Hamburg in July 2005. In the 2005–06 season, Feilhaber played with the Hamburg reserve team in the third division, or Regionalliga.

On October 12, 2006, Feilhaber made his Bundesliga debut, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2–1 home loss to Schalke 04. His first start came on October 22, 2006, when he played ninety minutes in a 2–1 win against Bayer Leverkusen, Hamburg's first win of the season.

Derby County

On August 9, 2007, Feilhaber obtained a work permit to play for newly promoted Premier League side Derby County.[8] His signing was completed on August 10, 2007,[9] and Feilhaber made his debut for the club on September 17, 2007, coming on as an eightieth-minute substitute in a 1–0 win over Newcastle United.

After the sacking of manager Billy Davies and the appointment of Paul Jewell, Feilhaber saw little playing time at Pride Park. During the 2007–08 winter transfer window Feilhaber was linked with Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv and American club New England Revolution but neither deal was completed. Derby released Feilhaber on a free transfer after being relegated from the Premier League after only one season.

AGF Aarhus

On August 15, 2008, Feilhaber signed with Danish Superliga team Aarhus Gymnastikforening, commonly known as AGF.[10] He made his debut for the club on September 1, 2008, coming on as a 59th-minute substitute in a 0–3 loss to FC Nordsjælland. He scored his first Superliga goal and was named Man of the Match against Randers on July 27, 2009. Feilhaber quickly became a popular figure in Aarhus, and was persuaded to run in the local municipal elections in 2009. He made the ballot for Det Radikale Venstre, a center-left liberal party. Despite being deemed an ineligible candidate shortly before election day on the grounds of not being a Danish citizen, he received 347 personal votes.[11]

During the spring season AGF struggled with injuries to key players, including Feilhaber. Feilhaber recovered slowly, but couldn't help the team avoid being relegated. Despite relegation Feilhaber remained at the club for the following season. Feilhaber clearly stated, that he would have preferred a transfer to a bigger club, but when the transfer window closed he concentrated his efforts on the field. Feilhaber played very well in August, September, and October 2010, helping AGF to take a solid lead in the league. In the first 8 league games and 3 cup games, he scored six goals. Most notably he scored a hat-trick in the 6–3 win over Skive in a Danish Cup match.[12] He also scored a superb goal from a free kick three minutes into added time against Køge securing a vital 3–2 win.[13] Feilhaber gained significant respect from the fans due to his professional attitude in the fall of 2010.

After the winter break AGF continued their winning streak in order to secure promotion to the Danish Superliga, but Feilhaber was mostly benched with a minor injury. On April 16, 2011, on the last day of the American transfer window, AGF sold Feilhaber to MLS.

Feilhaber made his debut for AGF in August 2008 and managed to play 58 games and scoring eight goals. His performance in the white jersey paved the way for his participation in the World Cup finals in South Africa with the U.S. national team.

New England Revolution

Following his transfer to MLS, Feilhaber was assigned to the New England Revolution through the returning US National Team player allocation process. New England selected Feilhaber after both Chivas USA and Philadelphia Union had passed on selecting him.[14]

Sporting Kansas City

Following the 2012 season, New England did not exercise his option. He was later traded to Sporting Kansas City in exchange for a 2014 MLS SuperDraft first-round pick, a 2015 MLS SuperDraft second-round pick and allocation money.[15][16] Benny quickly found success in Kansas City, featuring as a starter for the side which captured the 2013 MLS Cup.

The 2015 season saw a return to top form for Feilhaber. He became a focal point in the entire scheme of attack, being more of a playmaker than ever before. As of 9/18/15 he had amassed in 31 competitive appearances 12 goals and 19 assists. In November 2015, he was named one of the three finalists for both the 2015 MLS Landon Donovan MVP Award.[17]

Los Angeles FC

Feilhaber was traded to expansion side Los Angeles FC on January 3, 2018 in exchange for $400,000 in allocation money.[18]

International career

Feilhaber was called up twice to the full U.S. national team for friendlies against Scotland on November 12, 2005, and Germany on March 22, 2006, but did not play in either game.

On November 30, 2006, he turned down an offer from Andreas Herzog to play for Austria and said that he would instead focus on earning a place on the U.S. national team.[19]

On March 15, 2007, Feilhaber was again placed on the 24-man roster by coach Bob Bradley for friendly matches against Ecuador and Guatemala. Feilhaber made his first career start for the U.S. team in the March 25, 2007, game against Ecuador, and scored his first international goal against China on June 2, 2007. He scored the game-winning goal on a volley in the 2007 Gold Cup final on June 24, 2007, against Mexico.

After being demoted to the reserves at Derby and picking up a series of injuries, Feilhaber saw less time with the senior national team. However, Feilhaber was named to the U.S. Under-23 squad that competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He appeared as a substitute in all three games for the U.S.

After more than a year since his last action with the senior team, Feilhaber was named to the U.S. roster for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. Along with former UCLA teammate Jonathan Bornstein and fellow UCLA alum Carlos Bocanegra, Feilhaber played in the upset of top-ranked Spain in a semi-final game on June 24, 2009. He orchestrated the second goal, rounding Gerard Pique to find Landon Donovan, who found Clint Dempsey for the finish in the center.[20] He then appeared in the final, in which the U.S. fell to the country of his birth, Brazil 3–2.

Feilhaber was a part of the 23-man squad for the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa. Feilhaber was used as a substitute, gaining playing time in two of the three group stage matches against Slovenia (draw) and Algeria (win). U.S. finished first in the group after a stoppage time goal by Landon Donovan leading United States to a 1–0 win against Algeria in the last match, where Feilhaber played the entire second half.[21] Feilhaber was substituted in for Findley in the second half of the U.S.-Ghana game. Commentators remarked on his ability to generate plays and praised his readiness to make decisions, many of which were key passes to set up chances to score. One such pass was a through ball for Clint Dempsey, who was then fouled in the box. Landon Donovan took the subsequent penalty and scored to tie the score at 1–1, although Ghana would later come back in the first half of extra time to score through Asamoah Gyan, ending the game 2–1.

Feilhaber was not called up to a national camp from January 2014 until October 2017,[22] even during and after his 2015 MLS Landon Donovan MVP Award finalist season. This has led Feilhaber become critical of national team manager Jürgen Klinsmann and his selection of players, saying "“I don't think Jurgen calls in the best players that are available to him." Feilhaber went on to mention Sacha Kljestan, Dax McCarty, Matt Hedges, and Eric Lichaj as other players performing well that have not been called up by Klinsmann.[23][24][25] Klinsmann responded that Feilhaber was not able to perform as well as the national team staff hoped in prior camps, and saying that "He doesn’t have a coach’s perspective. He doesn’t know how we put the pieces together. He doesn’t know how we evaluate every position, how we evaluated the pieces that we need to connect."[26]

International goals

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
01. June 2, 2007 Spartan Stadium, San Jose, United States  China PR
2–1
4–1
Friendly
02. June 24, 2007 Soldier Field, Chicago, United States  Mexico
2–1
2–1
2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup

Personal life

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Feilhaber has stated that he supports the Brazilian team Botafogo. His father is a supporter of the team, and he has been one since a child.[27]

He married his wife, Michele, on December 15, 2012.[28] Feilhaber has a daughter named Sofia[29] and a daughter named Julia.[30]

Career statistics

Club

As of January 5, 2018.
Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Germany League DFB-Pokal Other Europe Total
2006–07Hamburger SVBundesliga90300000120
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
2007–08Derby CountyPremier League100000000100
Denmark League Danish Cup League Cup Europe Total
2008–09AGF AarhusSuperliga100000000100
2009–10261000000261
2010–111st Division184000000184
United States League Open Cup MLS Cup North America Total
2011New England RevolutionMajor League Soccer23400----234
201229111----302
2013Sporting Kansas City273204030363
2014314--1061385
201532105210--3812
20163072110--338
201730510--315
Total Germany 90300000120
England 100000000100
Denmark 545000000545
United States 20234104809122939
Career total 27539134809130544

International

As of October 10, 2017.
National teamYearAppsGoals
United States
2007142
200820
2009140
201080
201210
201310
201410
201730
Total442

Honors

United States

Sporting Kansas City

Individual

See also

References

  1. ↑ Powers, John (June 15, 2007). "Feilhaber going with the flow". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on June 27, 2009. Retrieved June 25, 2007.
  2. 1 2
  3. ↑ "Are There Jews in the World Cup?". The Great Rabbino. June 8, 2010. Archived from the original on February 7, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
  4. ↑ Cohen, Emily (June 8, 2010). "Two Jewish SoCal Soccer Players Head for World Cup". The Jewish Journal. Archived from the original on June 12, 2010. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
  5. ↑ Parikh, Sagar (July 25, 2005). "Midfielder signs to German squad". Daily Bruin.
  6. ↑ Kaplan, Ron (2015). The Jewish Olympics: The History of the Maccabiah Games. Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. ISBN 9781632208552.
  7. ↑ "Two Jewish SoCal Soccer Players Head for World Cup - Sports". Jewish Journal. Archived from the original on June 12, 2010.
  8. ↑ "U.S. midfielder Benny Feilhaber gets work permit to play for Derby County". USA Today. Associated Press. August 9, 2007. Retrieved August 9, 2007.
  9. ↑ Cornforth, Amanda (August 10, 2007). "Feilhaber completes Rams move". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007.
  10. ↑ "Feilhaber In Denmark To Sign Deal". Goal.com. August 15, 2008. Archived from the original on August 19, 2008. Retrieved August 29, 2008.
  11. ↑ "Statistikbanken". www.statistikbanken.dk. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Kapidzic åbnede og lukkede AGF-fest". Bold.dk. September 22, 2010. Archived from the original on September 25, 2010. Retrieved September 22, 2010.
  13. ↑ "Feilhaber matchvinder i overtiden". Onside.dk. September 26, 2010. Archived from the original on September 28, 2010. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
  14. ↑ "New England claim US international Feilhaber". Major League Soccer. April 20, 2011. Archived from the original on April 23, 2011.
  15. ↑ Austin, Kurt (December 11, 2012). "Sporting KC acquires midfielder Benny Feilhaber". sportingkc.com. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
  16. ↑ "Revs trade Feilhaber to Sporting K.C." ESPN. December 11, 2012. Archived from the original on February 14, 2013. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
  17. ↑ "Benny Feilhaber, Sebastian Giovinco, Kei Kamara contend for Landon Donovan MVP as MLS announces 2015 Awards finalists". MLS Soccer. November 3, 2015. Archived from the original on November 4, 2015. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  18. ↑ "LAFC acquires Benny Feilhaber from Sporting Kansas City". LAFC.com. January 3, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Doppelpass ins rot-weiß-rote Abseits". Kurier.at. Archived from the original on June 19, 2009. Retrieved January 6, 2011.
  20. ↑ U.S. National Team Upsets Top-Ranked Spain, 2–0 Archived July 25, 2011, at the Wayback Machine., June 24, 2009
  21. ↑ United States beat Algeria, top Group C, with late Landon Donovan goal, June 24, 2010
  22. ↑ DelGallo, Alicia (October 3, 2017). "Benny Feilhaber 'shocked' by U.S. men's national team call-up". Orlando Sentinel.
  23. ↑ French, Scott. "Sporting KC's Benny Feilhaber speaks out on US national team exile: "I don't think Klinsmann calls in the best players"". MLSsoccer.com. Archived from the original on April 3, 2016.
  24. ↑ Davis, Noah. "America's Best American Midfielder: Why Can't Benny Feilhaber Get a USMNT Call-Up?". Grantland. Archived from the original on April 15, 2016.
  25. ↑ Rogers, Martin (January 19, 2016). "Benny Feilhaber slams Jurgen Klinsmann's USMNT player selection policy". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on March 31, 2016.
  26. ↑ Stejskal, Sam. "US national team manager Jurgen Klinsmann responds to Benny Feilhaber's rant in interviews with Goal.com and ESPN FC". MLSsoccer.com. Archived from the original on April 1, 2016.
  27. ↑ Kaíque Ferreira (January 16, 2014). "Alvinegro, meia dos EUA lamenta saída de Seedorf: 'Deu tudo ao clube'" (in Portuguese). Lance!. Archived from the original on September 12, 2014. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  28. ↑ Austin, Kurt. "Sporting KC acquires midfielder Benny Feilhaber". Sportingkc.com. Sporting Kansas City. Archived from the original on October 17, 2014. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
  29. ↑ Sporting Kansas City [@SportingKC] (June 27, 2014). "Another beautiful #SKCBaby. Congrats again to @b_feilhaber22 and @meesh3309!" (Tweet). Retrieved October 8, 2014 – via Twitter.
  30. ↑ Stejskal, Sam. "Chris Wondolowski, Benny Feilhaber welcome new additions to their families". Major League Soccer. Archived from the original on April 11, 2016. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
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