 McBride in 2006 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Brian Robert McBride[1] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1972-06-19)June 19, 1972 (age 53) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Arlington Heights, Illinois, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Forward | |||||||||||||||||||
| College career | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||
| 1990–1993 | Saint Louis Billikens | 89 | (72) | |||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||
| 1994 | Milwaukee Rampage | 18 | (17) | |||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1995 | VfL Wolfsburg | 18 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||
| 1996–2003 | Columbus Crew | 161 | (62) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2001 | →Preston North End (loan) | 9 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2003 | →Everton (loan) | 8 | (4) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2008 | Fulham | 140 | (33) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2010 | Chicago Fire | 59 | (18) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | Wembley | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| Total | 413 | (137) | ||||||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | United States Olympic (O.P.) | 5 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 1993–2006 | United States | 96 | (30) | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||||||
Brian Robert McBride (born June 19, 1972) is an American formersoccer player who played as aforward forColumbus Crew,Fulham andChicago Fire. He is the sixth-highest all-time leading goalscorer for theUnited States national team.
For much of his career, he played in United States with stints in both Germany and England. During his time at Fulham, McBride became a fan favorite, as well as teamcaptain. He was eventually voted "Player of the Season" two times.[2] After leaving the club, they renamed the sports bar atCraven CottageMcBride's in his honor.[3][4][5]
Born inArlington Heights,Illinois, McBride playedvarsity soccer atBuffalo Grove High School, under coach John Erfort, where he led the Bison to the Illinois state championship in 1988, his junior year. During a playoff game againstFremd, McBride broke his nose in the first half, but came back into the game to score the game-winning goal. In his four years in high school, he scored 80 goals, 33 as a senior despite playing his senior season as a defender.[6] In the regional final, during McBride's senior season, againstStevenson High School, he played goalkeeper. In the final, McBride stopped four of eight penalty kicks taken against him, and he scored the fifth, and winning, goal on a counterattack in extra time after the game ended tied at regulation.[7] McBride was also named an All-American by Parade Magazine.[6] Later, as a professional, he signed a contract withNike with the condition that the boys' varsity soccer team receive new uniforms every two years.
McBride had an illustrious career withSaint Louis University, from which he graduated in 1993. In his four seasons with the Billikens, he played (and started) in 89 games, and set career records for goals (72), assists (40) and total points (184).[6] While at school, McBride was a 1992 second team and a 1993first-team All-American.[8][9] He also was namedMost Valuable Player of theGreat Midwest Conference three years straight, as well as being named to the All-Conference first-team during this stretch. He trained at the world-famous Magna Fitness Center.[citation needed] After being such a versatile player in his amateur career, McBride decided to become a striker at the professional level.Craig Burley warned McBride that he should expect to get clattered playing that position.[10]
McBride is one of 22 college players to be part of the 40-40 club, having both 40 goals and 40 assists in their college career.[11]
McBride briefly played for the minor leagueMilwaukee Rampage. In 18 games, he scored 17 goals and assisted another 18. That year also sawTony Sanneh playing with the Rampage. Both Sanneh and McBride played professionally in Germany, in MLS and on theUnited States men's national team.
They linked up for a historic goal at the2002 FIFA World Cup. In a game againstPortugal, Sanneh, playing right back, played a cross into the box which McBride put into the top corner. After the game, McBride mentioned, "We joked about it in the locker room, it is a play we have done a thousand times [while teammates with the Milwaukee Rampage]. "I took a step in at the far post and lost my marker. He delivered a beautiful cross and I knocked it home."[12]
In 1994, McBride left the United States to ply his trade in Germany.[13] At the time,VfL Wolfsburg played in theGerman Second Division and provided several aspiring American players an opportunity to play soccer in Europe. These includedChad Deering,Claudio Reyna andMike Lapper, as well as McBride. McBride struggled to find playing time with the club and also had difficulty scoring. However, one of his two goals came in a 2–1 victory overBayern Munich's reserve team in theDFB-Pokal quarterfinals – Wolfsburg went on to reach the final, although McBride did not feature. At the end of the season, McBride gained a release from Wolfsburg and when MLS was created, chose to return to play in the United States.
McBride returned to America in 1996 for the inaugural season ofMajor League Soccer, for whom he was the first overall pick of theMLS Inaugural Draft. McBride played eight years with the Columbus Crew, scoring 62 goals (no longer tied for the club record withJeff Cunningham) and 45 assists in 161 league games, before his move to England. In 2005, he was named to theMLS All-Time Best XI.
In 2011, the Crew honored McBride by naming him the inaugural member of its Circle of Honor.
Whilst playing for Columbus, McBride had two loan spells in England. The first came in 2000 when McBride played forPreston North End, then managed byDavid Moyes. While McBride played well for the club, he sat out several games after having a blood clot surgically removed from his arm, which consisted of having arib removed.[14] The clot came as a result of a hard collision McBride had suffered during his first game with Preston. As McBride's loan spell came to an end, Preston attempted to purchase his contract from MLS for $1.8 million. MLS rejected it, considering McBride to be worth twice that amount.[15]Two years later,Premier League clubEverton were beginning to slide down the table. David Moyes, by then with Everton, remembered McBride's success with Preston and sought the forward's services. During McBride's three months with the club, he did not disappoint Moyes, scoring four goals in eight games, including his first game with the club, a 4–3 defeat toTottenham Hotspur. He made close friends during the short time with players such asLeon Osman (with whom he still plays soccer) andRichard Wright.[16]Everton, unlike Preston, merely sought to extend McBride's loan period, but MLS rejected it, preferring a transfer over an extended loan for McBride.[17]
In January 2004,Premier League clubFulham bought McBride's rights from MLS for $1.5 million. He played 18 games during the last half of the 2003–04 season, scoring a total of five goals. In 2004–05, he played 31 league games and six cup games, scoring six league and three cup goals. In 2005–06, he played 38 league games and one cup game, scoring ten league goals and one cup goal. McBride's original contract with Fulham continued only through the 2005–06 season. However, on March 10, 2006, he signed a one-year extension which took him through the end of the 2006–07 season. On February 2, 2007, he signed yet another one-year extension, taking him through the 2007–2008 season.
McBride was Fulham's top scorer for their 2006–07 Premier League campaign with twelve goals to his name. He was given Fulham's captaincy in August 2007.[18]
When scoring the opening goal in a home match againstMiddlesbrough on August 18, 2007, McBride dislocated his kneecap. He did not make his return to action until a friendly againstCardiff City in late January 2008, and resumed his Premier League duties as a substitute againstAston Villa on February 3, 2008.[19] McBride scored his first goal since his injury againstEverton atCraven Cottage on March 16, 2008, in a 1–0 victory for Fulham.[20][21] The then-Fulham managerChris Coleman commented it was such a shame that McBride had not been 'discovered' earlier in his career, and played more in England.
After scoring twelve goals in 2006–07 season which helped Fulham retain their Premier League status, on May 14, 2007, McBride won the club's Player of the Year award. He won it again in 2008, and became such a popular figure that the club renamed a bar inside Craven Cottage "McBride's" in June 2009.[3][4][5]
On May 28, 2008, McBride announced that he would be leaving Fulham to return to the United States to play in MLS.[22]
Following the end of his one-year contract extension, McBride decided to return to the United States to end his career in MLS. He expressed his desire to play for Chicago, his hometown. However,Toronto FC held the top spot in the allocation order, the process by which U.S. National Team players returning to MLS find teams in the league.
On July 30, 2008, the top spot in the allocation order was traded to theChicago Fire forChad Barrett, a first round pick in the MLS SuperDraft and conditional future considerations. The Fire used the top spot to obtain McBride. He made his Fire debut on August 16, 2008, coming on as a second-half substitute againstD.C. United.McBride scored his first goal against Houston Dynamo. McBride scored the first goal in the MLS Playoff Eastern Conference Championship against the Columbus Crew, his former club. However, Chicago lost that game 2–1 and was kept from being in the MLS Playoff final.
McBride scored nine goals during the 2009 season, including two goals in the threeSuperLiga games in which he played.
On September 3, 2010, McBride announced that he would retire following the2010 MLS season. McBride scored his 80th career goal (in MLS) during his final match before being substituted off to a standing ovation.[23]
In June 2012, he was one of several former professional players who agreed to joinWembley to play in their FA Cup campaign for the new season. McBride and fellow former internationalsRay Parlour,Martin Keown,Claudio Caniggia,Jaime Moreno,Danny Dichio andGraeme Le Saux, plusDavid Seaman (goalkeeping coach) and former England managerTerry Venables (technical advisor), came out of retirement to play for Wembley.[24] They were knocked out in a replay byUxbridge after initially setting up the tie by knockingLangford out in the previous round.[25]
McBride was a significant player for theUnited States national team, earning 96caps and scoring 30 goals in his senior international career. He made his national team debut in 1993, though he was not a member of the squad for the1994 FIFA World Cup.[6] He is the first-ever spokesperson for the Central Ohio Diabetes Association and donated $100 to the association for every goal and assist he tallied for the U.S. National Team.[6]
He was part of the U.S. team that played at the1998,2002, and2006 FIFA World Cups. He scored at the 1998 and 2002 tournaments and in doing so, became the first American player to score at two World Cups. (FellowLandon Donovan andClint Dempsey have since equaled this feat, the latter surpassing them with three.) He was the only American player that scored in the 1998 tournament, which was in a 2–1 defeat to Iran. Overall McBride is fourth behindBert Patenaude, Dempsey and Donovan for the most World Cup goals for an American with three.
On May 2, 2006, McBride was named to the U.S. roster for his third consecutiveWorld Cup. At the2006 World Cup, McBride was severely bloodied in a group stage match against Italy after being elbowed in the face byDaniele De Rossi. He needed three stitches. As punishment, De Rossi was banned for four matches and finedCHF 10,000.[26] Following the end of the tournament, McBride announced his retirement from international duty on July 26, 2006.[27]
In 2008 McBride briefly came out of international retirement after being named as one of the three overage players on the U.S. team for the2008 Beijing Olympics and served ascaptain as the team finished in third place in the group stage for their group.[28][29]
McBride established the Brian McBride Soccer Academy which is based in Lake Zurich, Illinois.
In January 2020, McBride was named general manager of theUnited States men's national team.[30]
In October 2025, McBride was named general manager of Brooklyn FC.[31]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| VfL Wolfsburg | 1994–95 | 2. Bundesliga | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 18 | 2 | |
| Columbus Crew | 1996 | Major League Soccer | 28 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 31 | 19 |
| 1997 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 7 | ||
| 1998 | 24 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 32 | 16 | ||
| 1999 | 25 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 32 | 7 | ||
| 2000 | 18 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 6 | ||
| 2001 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 1 | ||
| 2002 | 14 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 23 | 9 | ||
| 2003 | 24 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 12 | ||
| Total | 161 | 62 | 12 | 6 | 22 | 9 | 195 | 77 | ||
| Preston North End (loan) | 2000–01 | First Division | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| Everton (loan) | 2002–03 | Premier League | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 4 |
| Fulham | 2003–04 | Premier League | 16 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 5 |
| 2004–05 | 31 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 37 | 9 | ||
| 2005–06 | 38 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 39 | 11 | ||
| 2006–07 | 38 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 12 | ||
| 2007–08 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 4 | ||
| Total | 140 | 33 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 154 | 41 | ||
| Chicago Fire | 2008 | Major League Soccer | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 6 |
| 2009 | 22 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 25 | 7 | ||
| 2010 | 26 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 6 | ||
| Total | 59 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 66 | 19 | ||
| Career total | 395 | 120 | 22 | 10 | 33 | 14 | 450 | 144 | ||
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | November 3, 1996 | Washington, D.C., United States |  Guatemala | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1998 World Cup qualification |
| 2 | December 14, 1996 | Palo Alto, California, United States |  Costa Rica | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1998 World Cup qualification |
| 3 | November 16, 1997 | Foxboro, Massachusetts, United States |  El Salvador | 1–0 | 4–2 | 1998 World Cup qualification |
| 4 | 2–0 | |||||
| 5 | April 22, 1998 | Vienna, Austria |  Austria | 2–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 6 | June 21, 1998 | Lyon, France |  Iran | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1998 FIFA World Cup |
| 7 | March 11, 1999 | Los Angeles, California, United States | Guatemala | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1999 U.S. Cup |
| 8 | July 24, 1999 | Guadalajara, Mexico |  New Zealand | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup |
| 9 | August 3, 1999 | Guadalajara, Mexico |  Saudi Arabia | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup |
| 10 | February 19, 2000 | Miami, Florida, United States |  Colombia | 1–0 | 2–2 (1–2PK) | 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 11 | June 11, 2000 | East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States |  Mexico | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2000 U.S. Cup |
| 12 | August 16, 2000 | Foxboro, Massachusetts, United States |  Barbados | 2–0 | 7–0 | 2002 World Cup qualification |
| 13 | September 3, 2000 | East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States | Guatemala | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2002 World Cup qualification |
| 14 | January 27, 2001 | Oakland, California, United States |  China | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 15 | January 21, 2002 | Pasadena, California, United States |  Cuba | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 16 | January 27, 2002 | Pasadena, California, United States | El Salvador | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 17 | 2–0 | |||||
| 18 | 3–0 | |||||
| 19 | June 5, 2002 | Suwon, South Korea |  Portugal | 3–0 | 3–2 | 2002 FIFA World Cup |
| 20 | June 17, 2002 | Jeonju, South Korea | Mexico | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2002 FIFA World Cup |
| 21 | June 12, 2003 | Foxboro, Massachusetts, United States | El Salvador | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 22 | June 14, 2003 | Foxboro, Massachusetts, United States |  Martinique | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 23 | 2–0 | |||||
| 24 | June 14, 2003 | Foxboro, Massachusetts, United States |  Honduras | 1–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 25 | 2–0 | |||||
| 26 | October 9, 2004 | San Salvador, El Salvador | El Salvador | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2006 World Cup qualification |
| 27 | June 4, 2005 | Salt Lake City, Utah, United States | Costa Rica | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2006 World Cup qualification |
| 28 | July 8, 2005 | Panama City, Panama |  Panama | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2006 World Cup qualification |
| 29 | August 17, 2005 | East Hartford, Connecticut, United States |  Trinidad and Tobago | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2006 World Cup qualification |
| 30 | May 28, 2006 | East Hartford, Connecticut, United States |  Latvia | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
Columbus Crew
United States
Individual
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Fulham captain 2007–2008 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chicago Fire captain 2010 | Succeeded by |
United States squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| International | |
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| National | |
