Jeff Cunningham

Infobox Football biography
playername= Jeff Cunningham
fullname =


dateofbirth = birth date and age|1976|8|21
cityofbirth = Montego Bay
countryofbirth = Jamaica
height = height|ft=5|in=8
currentclub = FC Dallas
clubnumber = 9
position = forward
youthyears = 1994-1997
youthclubs = South Florida xx (41)
years = 1998-2004 2005 2006-2007 2007-2008 2008-
clubs = Columbus Crew Colorado Rapids Real Salt Lake Toronto FC FC Dallas
caps(goals) =182 0(62) 026 0(12) 032 0(19) 032 0(6) 007 0(5)
nationalyears = 1999
2001-2006
nationalteam = Jamaica
United States
nationalcaps(goals) = 001 0(0)
010 0(0)
pcupdate = 8 August 2008
ntupdate = 14 May 2006

Jeff Cunningham (born August 21, 1976 in Montego Bay, Jamaica) is a Jamaican-American soccer striker, who currently plays for FC Dallas of Major League Soccer.

Cunningham was born in Jamaica, but moved to Crystal River, Florida at the age of 14. He played college soccer at the University of South Florida from 1994 to 1997. As a sophomore and a junior, Cunningham was named first-team All-Conference USA, and as a senior he was named Conference USA Player of the Year. He finished his career at USF with 41 goals and 36 assists.

Upon graduating, Cunningham was selected ninth overall in the 1998 MLS College Draft by the Columbus Crew. As a rookie, he played in 25 games, mostly as a substitute, and tied the rookie record for goals (since broken by Damani Ralph) with 8. Cunningham became a starter in 1999 and held that role for several years. In 182 games for Columbus, he scored 62 goals and notched 43 assists. He was named to the MLS Best XI in 2002, after scoring 16 goals and adding five assists. Cunningham was traded to the Colorado Rapids for a first-round draft pick after a disappointing 2004 season. He left the Crew tied with Brian McBride for the all-time team lead in goals.

Cunningham finished the 2005 season with 12 league goals for Colorado. He also turned in a stellar performance in the MLS All-Star Game, scoring twice against Fulham F.C. of the FA Premier League to the delight of the Columbus Crew Stadium fans. His showing in an all-star game against Real Madrid also earned good reviews, despite MLS' 5-0 loss. However, after the year Colorado shipped him to Salt Lake for Clint Mathis. Cunningham was seventh on the all-time MLS goalscoring list entering the 2006 season.

During the 2006 season Cunningham led the league in scoring with 16 goals, winning the MLS Golden Boot. He also tied for the second-most assists in the league with 11.

Cunningham became a U.S. citizen November 13, 2001, and received his first cap for the United States less than a month later, December 9, in a friendly against South Korea. He made his first start in a World Cup qualifier on September 7, 2005, against Guatemala. In 1999 he played for Jamaica in a friendly international against Ghana.

On 22 May2007, Cunningham was dealt to Toronto FC in exchange for Alecko Eskandarian and a first round draft pick in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft. [cite news | first = Mark | last = Polishuk| title = TFC get their man in Cunningham| url = http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20070522&content_id=94797&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp| publisher = MLSnet.com| date = 2007-05-22| accessdate = 2007-05-23] In Toronto, he wore the number 96 to represent the 96 MLS goals he had scored after the conclusion of his first season with Toronto FC. [cite news | first = Steven | last = Sandor| title = Strike force shows signs of life| url = http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/TorontoFC/2007/05/30/4219709-sun.html| publisher = Canoe.ca| date = 2007-05-30| accessdate = 2007-05-30]

Cunningham fell out of favour in his second season with Toronto FC, missing scoring a goal line ball that would have taken Toronto to the CONCACAF Champions League. After the match, TFC coach John Carver said "I am thinking, ‘How did he score 99 goals?’ That’s what I thought.’" [cite news | first = Ryan| last = Johnston | title = Carver calls out Cunningham after tie| url = http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/2008/07/23/carver_cunningham/
publisher = Sportsnet.ca| date = 2008-07-23| accessdate = 2008-07-30]

On 8 August 2008, Cunningham was traded to FC Dallas in exchange for a third round pick in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft. [cite news | title = FCD sign Sikora, acquire Cunningham | url = http://fc.dallas.mlsnet.com/news/team_news.jsp?ymd=20080808&content_id=178725&vkey=news_fcd&fext=.jsp&team=t104
publisher = FC Dallas| date = 2008-08-08| accessdate = 2008-08-08] He scored in his first match with FC Dallas, a 2-1 loss to the Columbus Crew. It was Cunningham's 100th goal in MLS.

ee also

* List of current MLS players

References

Reflist