- Danny Califf
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Danny Califf 
Califf with the Union in September 2010Personal information Full name Daniel Benjamin Califf Date of birth March 17, 1980 Place of birth Montclair, California, United States Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Playing position Defender Club information Current club Philadelphia Union Number 4 Youth career 1998–2000 Maryland Terrapins Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 2000–2004 Los Angeles Galaxy 103 (5) 2000 → MLS Pro-40 (loan) 2 (0) 2005 San Jose Earthquakes 20 (2) 2006–2008 AaB 69 (2) 2008–2009 Midtjylland 31 (1) 2010– Philadelphia Union 61 (1) National team‡ 1997 United States U-17 3 (0) 1999 United States U-20 4 (1) 2000 United States U-23 6 (1) 2002– United States 23 (1) * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of October 20, 2011.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of April 4, 2010Daniel Benjamin "Danny" Califf (born March 17, 1980 in Montclair, California) is an American soccer player who currently plays for the Philadelphia Union in Major League Soccer.
Contents
Career
Youth and College
Califf (pronounced kāl'ĭ-f) started his youth career in soccer for Canyon Hills Soccer Association, playing on the Canyon Classic team coached by his father. He played college soccer at the University of Maryland from 1998 to 2000. As a freshman, he started all 24 of the team's games, and was named to the Soccer America All-Freshman team for helping to lead the Terrapins to the Final Four. As a sophomore, he started 20 games, and was named an NSCAA third-team All-American.
Professional
After his sophomore season, Califf signed a Project-40 contract with MLS and entered the 2000 MLS SuperDraft, where he was selected sixth overall by the Los Angeles Galaxy. Califf was immediately slotted into the Galaxy's starting line up, appearing in 18 games, 16 of them starts, as a rookie. Over the next three years, Califf would establish himself as one of the best central defenders in the league, starting 69 games for the Galaxy while helping the team to win a U.S. Open Cup in 2001 and a MLS Cup in 2002. Califf struggled with injuries in 2004, and was able to make only 10 starts, playing 855 minutes.
Califf was traded to the San Jose Earthquakes for an allocation prior to the 2005 season. He then regained his old form and even improved, being named to the MLS Best XI for the first time. Califf has scored seven league goals and four assists in six years in MLS. He left the Quakes after just one season to sign with Aalborg in the Danish Superliga. In his first full season at Aalborg, Califf played 30 of 33 games, and helped the team win bronze medals in the 2006–07 Superliga season. Califf scored his first Aalborg goal on the last match day of the season, as bronze medal contenders Odense BK were defeated 3–1. After the season, during AaB's Intertoto Cup campaign, Califf was named club captain. In the 2007–08 Superliga season he helped Aalborg to a gold medal but after the season he could not agree with Aalborg on a new contract. He eventually signed with Danish Superliga rivals Midtjylland.
On December 3, 2009, the Philadelphia Union announced that they had acquired Califf's MLS rights from Houston Dynamo and that he would join the team for their inaugural 2010 season.[1] Before the Union's first game against Seattle Sounders FC he was announced as the team's captain. Califf scored his first goal for the Union in the 2011 MLS season opener win against Houston Dynamo on March 19, 2011.[2] He was named to the MLS Team of the week for this performance that match also.[3] On June 8, Califf was named a nominee for the MLS All-Star Game.[4] It was announced that he was fifth in defender voting for the All-Star Game.[5]
International
Califf has played for the United States national team at every level from the U-17's to the senior team. He has appeared in the 1997 FIFA U-17 World Championship, the 1999 World Youth Championship, and the 2000 Olympic team. Additionally, he has appeared in 20 games for the full national team, getting his first cap against South Korea on January 19, 2002.
Califf played in the 2003 Confederations Cup, the 2002 and 2003 Gold Cups and the 2007 Copa America. He scored his only international goal against Haiti on March 16, 2004. He served as captain for the team on July 5, 2007, when the United States lost 1–0 to Colombia during their final group game in Venezuela (2007 Copa America).
International goals
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 16 March 2004 Miami, Florida 
Haiti0–1 1–1 Friendly match Honors
United States
- CONCACAF Gold Cup (2): 2002, 2005
Los Angeles Galaxy
- CONCACAF Champions Cup (1): 2000
- Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (1): 2001
- Major League Soccer MLS Cup (1): 2002
- Major League Soccer Supporters' Shield (1): 2002
- Major League Soccer Western Conference Championship (1): 2002
San Jose Earthquakes
- Major League Soccer Supporters' Shield (1): 2005
Aalborg
- Danish Superliga (1): 2007–08
Individual
- MLS Best XI: 2005
Career statistics
Updated November 4, 2011
Season 
MLSU.S. Open Cup MLS Cup Playoffs North America Total App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals Los Angeles Galaxy 2000 18 1 4 0 2 1 0 0 24 2 2001 24 3 5 0 6 1 - - 35 4 2002 25 1 3 0 6 1 - - 34 2 2003 23 0 3 0 2 0 ? ? 28 0 2004 13 2 0 0 3 0 - - 16 2 Club Total 103 7 19 0 19 3 0 0 137 10 San Jose Earthquakes 2005 20 2 2 0 1 0 - - 23 2 Club Total 20 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 23 2 Season 
SuperligaDanish Cup various[6] Europe Total App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals Aalborg BK 2005–06 9 0 ? ? - - - - ? ? 2006–07 30 1 ? ? - - - - ? ? 2007–08 30 1 ? ? - - ? ? ? ? Club Total 69 2 5 0 10 0 11 1 95 3 FC Midtjylland 2008–09 26 1 0 0 - - 3 0 29 1 2009–10 5 0 0 0 - - 0 0 5 0 Club Total 31 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 34 1 Season MLSU.S. Open Cup MLS Cup Playoffs North America Total App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals Philadelphia Union 2010 28 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 29 0 2011 33 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 36 1 Club Total 61 1 2 0 2 0 0 0 65 1 Career Total 284 12 28 0 32 3 14 1 355 16 See also
References
- ^ http://philadelphiaunion.com/ReadNews.aspx?aid=193
- ^ http://www.philadelphiaunion.com/news/2011/03/recap-union-take-opener-houston-1-0
- ^ http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/team-week-debuts-mlssoccercom
- ^ http://www.philadelphiaunion.com/news/2011/06/fan-ballot-launched-att-mls-all-star-game-0
- ^ http://www.mlssoccer.com/all-star/news/article/2011/06/28/week-left-all-star-fan-voting-see-latest-results
- ^ Includes Royal League and Viasat Cup appearances.
External links
- MLS Player Profile
- Official website
- FC Midtjylland profile
- (Danish) AaB profile
- Official Superliga stats
United States squads United States squad – 2000 Summer Olympics 
United States squad – 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup 1 Cannon • 2 Hejduk • 3 Berhalter • 4 Mastroeni • 5 Vanney • 6 Cherundolo • 7 Lewis • 8 Stewart • 9 Kirovski • 10 Donovan • 11 Mathis • 12 Bocanegra • 13 Martino • 14 Armas • 15 Convey • 16 Califf • 17 Beasley • 18 Howard • 19 Hahnemann • 20 Twellman • 21 Cunningham • 22 Klein • 23 Gibbs • Coach: ArenaUnited States squad – 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup Third Place United States squad – 2007 Copa América United States squad – 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup Runners-up Categories:- 1980 births
- Living people
- People from the Inland Empire (California)
- American soccer players
- Soccer players from California
- United States men's international soccer players
- Olympic soccer players of the United States
- Maryland Terrapins men's soccer players
- Los Angeles Galaxy players
- Philadelphia Union players
- San Jose Earthquakes players
- AaB Fodbold players
- FC Midtjylland players
- Danish Superliga players
- Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics
- 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
- 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup players
- 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
- 2007 Copa América players
- 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players
- American expatriate soccer players
- Expatriate footballers in Denmark
- Association football central defenders
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