John O'Brien (soccer)

John Patrick O'Brien ( born August 29, 1977 in Los Angeles, California ) is a former American football player. The national team of the United States took part in the World Championships in 2002 and 2006. One of his strengths was its versatile use both in central midfield and on the outer positions and his beaten with his left foot flanks.

Sports career

O'Brien joined at the age of twelve years, the first time a football club at the age of 14 and graduated at the Dutch club Ajax Amsterdam a first trial. In the summer of 1994, he then joined the prestigious youth department of Ajax after the then youth coach he had visited Co Adriaanse previously in his home in California. Here, O'Brien had already participated in the FIFA U- 17 World Championship in Japan in 1993, where the U.S. youth team had the seventh -ranked.

While he was henceforth formed in the Ajax academy further, he continued to play in the youth national team of his country and took part in 1997 for Ajax in the Dallas Cup, where he failed with his club on penalties only to the Brazilian club AC Vitória. In addition, he was part of the team that acted at the U20 World Cup in Malaysia. In March 1998, O'Brien signed a contract with the Ajax professionals a first three-year contract and only came a month later in Vienna in the victory against Austria on his debut in the senior team.

O'Brien was loaned out to league rivals FC Utrecht in the season 1998/99 and arrived there at 19 locations, injuring himself at the foot end of the season. He returned to this one year to Amsterdam, and established himself there after his debut in the UEFA Cup when he came on for Aron Winter, from now on in the Eredivisie becoming a regular player, with him the task of the left full-back was mostly allocated. His appearances in the national team from then on were very limited, because time and again prevented him both obligations at Ajax as an emerging injury. After his only international match in 1999 - when he completed a friendly match against Liverpool for an American U -23 - but he took in 2000 at the Olympic football tournament in Sydney part and won there fourth place.

In 2000, O'Brien scored 7-0 win over Barbados in a qualifying match for the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea 's first goal, but had to for Ajax because of injury problems sidelined much of the season 2000/ 01. Only in May 2001, he celebrated his comeback and played it as a right defender.

The only about 1.73 meters tall O'Brien was a key player in the successful qualification of the U.S. selection for the 2002 World Cup, for which he was then nominated for a successful club season as the Dutch masters and Amstel Cup winner. At the World Cup itself, he stood in all five games on the court, missed it for a minute and headed in the initial 3-2 win over Portugal goal to make it 1-0 at. In addition, he prepared themselves ahead of Clint Mathis against South Korea. His achievements as a defensive midfielder and playmaker has been recognized by experts in the highest degree.

Back at his club O'Brien played now for the first time in the Champions League and was in the quarter-final against AC Milan, the first American who was represented in this competition. However, a torn Achilles tendon in the season 2003/ 04 then had the consequence that O'Brien had to stop both at Ajax as well as in the national team for a long time. He was then released in February 2005 to the club ADO Den Haag, where he came again but in a plagued by injury time only to three games. He then moved for the first time in his career in the MLS to play there in his hometown for the founded only a year earlier club CD Chivas USA. Despite the prolonged absence in the national O'Brien was appointed on 2 May 2006 in the squad for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. In the first game against the Czech Republic, however, he suffered an injury and could no longer be used during the further course of the tournament. The championship game was also his last game in his career, in 2008 he said in an interview that he has ended his career because of persistent injury problems.

Achievements

• Dutch champion: 2002, 2004
• Amstel Cup winner: 2002

Club stations as a professional footballer

• Ajax Amsterdam (1994 - 1998)
• FC Utrecht (1998 - 1999 (borrowed ) )
• Ajax Amsterdam (1999 - 2005)
• ADO Den Haag (2005 - 2006)
• CD Chivas USA ( 2006)