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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ugochukwu Ihemelu | ||
| Date of birth | April 3, 1983 | ||
| Place of birth | Enugu, Nigeria | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | FC Dallas | ||
| Number | 3 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2001–2004 | SMU Mustangs | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2005–2006 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 54 | (0) |
| 2006–2009 | Colorado Rapids | 63 | (1) |
| 2009– | FC Dallas | 8 | (1) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2006– | United States | 2 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 29 October, 2009. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Ugochukwu "Ugo" Ihemelu (born April 3, 1983 in Enugu) is a Nigerian-born American soccer player who currently plays for FC Dallas in Major League Soccer.
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Career
College
Ihemelu grew up in the United States, attended Cedar Hill High School in Cedar Hill, Texas (a suburb of Dallas), and played college soccer at Southern Methodist University, where he was named All-Missouri Valley Conference his junior and senior seasons.
Professional
Los Angeles Galaxy drafted him with the fifth overall pick of the 2005 MLS SuperDraft. He helped the Galaxy to the US Open Cup and MLS Cup double in his rookie season. After his second season in LA, on December 1, 2006, Ihemelu was traded to Colorado Rapids. After 3 years with Colorado, Ihemelu was traded to FC Dallas in exchange for Drew Moor, a 2010 MLS SuperDraft pick and allocation money.
International
Ihemelu made his debut for the United States on January 29, 2006, against Norway.[1]
Unusually, he was then called up by Canada in June 2008 and traveled with the team for their match against St. Vincent and the Grenadines. While the Canadian Soccer Association has Ihemelu's hometown listed as Winnipeg, Manitoba, Ihemelu's eligibility to play for Canada was in doubt, due to his appearing for the United States in the aforementioned Norway game, and to questions over his Canadian citizenship[2]. For these reasons, the Canadians did not field Ihemelu in the Saint Vincent game.
In January 2009 Ihemelu was called into the US's training camp. He joined San Jose (MLS) defender Jason Hernandez as replacements for Clarence Goodson and Cory Gibbs who left camp early. He then appeared in the match following the camp against Sweden, clearing a guaranteed goal of the line.[3]
Honors
Los Angeles Galaxy
- Major League Soccer MLS Cup (1): 2005
See also
References
- ^ "2006 Men's National Team Stats" (in english). U.S. Soccer. http://www.ussoccer.com/common/stContent.jsp_16-06MNTStat.html. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
- ^ [http://www.canadasoccer.com/eng/media/viewArtical.asp?Press_ID=3209 Canada returns to training in Florida]
- ^ http://mnt-ussoccer.blogspot.com/2009/01/ugo-ihemelu-makes-it-25.html
External links
- MLS player profile
- Ihemelu interview with Soccer365
- Databse entry at Yanks Abroad
- CanadaSoccer Profile
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