 Pope in 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | George Edward Pope[1] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1973-12-24)December 24, 1973 (age 51) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | High Point, North Carolina, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Defender | |||||||||||||||||||
| College career | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||
| 1992–1995 | North Carolina Tar Heels | |||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||
| 1996–2002 | D.C. United | 143 | (8) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2004 | MetroStars | 42 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2007 | Real Salt Lake | 69 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||
| Total | 254 | (10) | ||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–2006 | United States | 82 | (8) | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of October 19, 2007 ‡ National team caps and goals as of August 3, 2006 | ||||||||||||||||||||
George Edward Pope (born December 24, 1973) is an American formersoccer player who last played forReal Salt Lake ofMajor League Soccer and spent eleven years as adefender for theUnited States national team. He spent most of his career playing forD.C. United.[2] Pope is a member of theNational Soccer Hall of Fame.[3]
Born inHigh Point, North Carolina, Pope attendedSouthwest Guilford High School. Pope had a very successful career playing for theNorth Carolina Tar Heels where he also kicked forMack Brown'sfootball team. In 1994, he was a first-teamAll-American, and also earned All-ACC and All-South Region honors.
In 1996,D.C. United selected Pope in the first round (second overall) in theMLS College Draft. His first season in Washington, D.C. was split between United and the men's Olympic team, which was preparing for the1996 Summer Olympics inAtlanta.[4] However, he still played 18 games for United and won a league title with the team, scoring agolden goal in the first-everMLS Cup against theLos Angeles Galaxy.[4] He also played his first game with the national team, helping the team beatTrinidad and Tobago 2–0 on November 10 that year.
In 1997, Pope made quite a splash on the MLS scene. He was namedMLS Defender of the Year and earned a place in theMLS Best XI, as well as winning a second MLS title.[4] In 1998, Pope helped United win both theCONCACAF Champions Cup and theInterAmerican Cup, the first continental honors earned by an MLS team. He scored goals in both of these two finals; including the winning goal in United's victory in the Interamerican Cup.
Pope's 1999 season was beset by injuries, and his playing time was limited, which continued to pester him into 2000, although he would play 19 and 21 games, respectively, in those seasons, and he earned his third and fourth consecutive trips to theMLS All-Star Game. Injuries continued to dog Pope in 2001, but he again played in the All-Star Game and also played an important role in the national team's World Cup qualification. His injuries continued into the 2002 MLS season, and he only appeared in seventeen matches.
On December 23, 2002, Pope was traded to theMetroStars, along withJaime Moreno andRichie Williams, in return forMike Petke, a first-round draft pick, and anallocation. Pope continued his quality play with the MetroStars, captaining the team to an excellent defensive record. He was named to the MLS Best XI for the third time for his efforts. In 2004, he had a down year with the Metros, but was still voted to the MLS Best XI for a second consecutive season. After the year, Pope was traded to expansion Salt Lake for an allocation. He played three seasons withReal Salt Lake, providing veteran leadership for the expansion franchise. In 2007, he retired from professional soccer. In ten years in MLS, he scored nine goals and ten assists, plus added that MLS Cup goal and an assist in the playoffs. In 2005, he was named to theMLS All-Time Best XI.
On June 14, 2007, Pope announced his plans to retire from all competitive soccer at the end of the 2007 season, saying: "It's just time...You get up in the morning and you're in pain. Before practice, you are in pain. And after practice you are still in pain."[1][permanent dead link]
On March 11, 2011, he was selected for induction into theNational Soccer Hall of Fame.[5]
Pope began his international career with theUnited States men's national soccer team on November 10, 1996, in a World Cup qualifier against Trinidad and Tobago. At the time, he was in his rookie season with D.C. United. He quickly became a fixture for the national team, which surprised the world when it defeatedBrazil 1-0 and made its way to the finals of theCONCACAF Gold Cup. Pope also played in two games for the disappointing U.S. campaign at the1998 FIFA World Cup. In 2002, he started all five U.S. matches in theWorld Cup, and played a big part in the surprising success of the United States in that tournament.
Pope started every game he played with the national team. On August 3, 2006, Pope announced his retirement from international soccer. His international career included 82 caps and 8 goals over an eleven-year period.
Pope served as the director of player relations for the MLS Players Union following his playing retirement.[6] In 2015, Pope left the MLS Players Union to work at theOctagon sports agency.[7][4]
In 2022, Pope was named as sporting director of the newly foundedMLS Next Pro clubCarolina Core FC, to begin play in 2024. The club is based in his hometown ofHigh Point, North Carolina.[8]
| Club performance | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| U.S. | League | Open Cup | League Cup | North America | Total | |||||||
| 1996 | D.C. United | Major League Soccer | 18 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 5 |
| 1997 | 29 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 3 | ||
| 1998 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 1 | ||
| 1999 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 1 | ||
| 2000 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | ||
| 2001 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 1 | ||
| 2002 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | ||
| 2003 | MetroStars | 20 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 2 | |
| 2004 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 | ||
| 2005 | Real Salt Lake | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | ||
| 2007 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 1 | ||
| Total | U.S. | 254 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 291 | 15 | |
| Career total | 254 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 291 | 15 | ||
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | March 16, 1997 | Palo Alto, California |  Canada | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1998 World Cup qualifying |
| 2 | April 20, 1997 | Foxboro, Massachusetts |  Mexico | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1998 World Cup qualifying |
| 3 | February 7, 1998 | Oakland, California |  Costa Rica | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 4 | August 16, 2000 | Foxboro, Massachusetts |  Barbados | 1–0 | 7–0 | 2002 World Cup qualifying |
| 5 | April 17, 2002 | Dublin, Ireland |  Ireland | 1–1 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 6 | April 29, 2004 | Dallas, Texas | Mexico | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 7 | January 29, 2006 | Carson, California |  Norway | 3–0 | 5–0 | Friendly |
| 8 | February 10, 2006 | San Francisco, California |  Japan | 1–0 | 3–2 | Friendly |
United States squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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