 Cherundolo withVfB Stuttgart in 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Steven Emil Cherundolo[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1979-02-19)February 19, 1979 (age 46)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Rockford, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Right-back | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Los Angeles FC (head coach) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| College career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–1998 | Portland Pilots | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2014 | Hannover 96 | 370 | (7) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997 | United States U18 | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998–1999 | United States U20 | 25 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998 | United States U23 | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2012 | United States | 87 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | Las Vegas Lights | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022– | Los Angeles FC | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Steven Emil Cherundolo (born February 19, 1979)[2] is an Americansoccer coach and former player who serves as head coach ofMajor League Soccer sideLos Angeles FC. Aright-back, he was thecaptain ofHannover 96 of the GermanBundesliga, where he spent hisentire club career. He represented theUnited States at the2006 and2010 FIFA World Cups.
Born inRockford, Illinois, Cherundolo grew up inSan Diego, California, and attendedMt. Carmel High School inRancho Peñasquitos.[3][4][5] As a youth, he played for the La Jolla Nomads club team, which won the California state championship six times with him.[6]
Before joining Hannover, Cherundolo enrolled at theUniversity of Portland and played for thePilots soccer team from 1997 to 1998. In his freshman season, he was theWest Coast Conference Freshman of the Year.[7]
Cherundolo joinedHannover 96, then playing in the2. Bundesliga, for the end of the 1998–1999 season and quickly received first-team action, playing in four games his first year. Coming into the 1999–2000 season, Cherundolo established himself at the right back position, starting consistently before suffering a knee injury that kept him out until the end of the season and ended his chances of playing for the U.S. Olympic team. He continued to establish his place in the team during the 2000–2001 season, earning playing time in 18 games, including 10 starts. In the 2001–02 season, he started 30 of 34 games for the team as he helped the team gain promotion to theBundesliga. Cherundolo maintained his position in the 2002–03 season, starting 33 games for the team, while collecting three assists. In the 2003–04 season, he continued his consistent play, appearing in 33 games for the club.Premier League sideBolton Wanderers agreed to a deal with Hannover for Cherundolo in 2005, but he declined, opting to remain in Germany. He signed another contract extension with Hannover in the summer of 2007.
Cherundolo established himself as a leader at Hannover and was appointed team captain shortly before the start of the 2010–11 season. He set the team record for Bundesliga appearances in the second to last game of the 2012–13 season. As of 2013, Cherundolo was the longest serving player in the Bundesliga.[8] On March 19, 2014, Cherundolo announced his retirement from soccer citing failure to recover from a long-term knee injury as the main reason he left the game.[9]
Cherundolo parlayed his success in the Bundesliga into a role with theUnited States national team. Cherundolo made his debut againstJamaica on September 8, 1999. Although he was on the roster for the2002 FIFA World Cup (a late injury replacement forChris Armas), Cherundolo himself was injured in training shortly before the event began and was unable to play. In the2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Cherundolo sustained a knee injury from a tackle that prematurely ended his participation in the tournament. On March 22, 2006, Cherundolo played in a friendly match with the national team againstGermany, whose roster included some teammates from Hannover 96. He scored his first international goal in the 4–1 loss.
On May 2, 2006, Cherundolo was named to the U.S. roster for theFIFA World Cup in Germany.[10] On June 12, 2006, for the first time, aged 27, Cherundolo made his debut in aFIFA World Cup match against theCzech Republic, playing in the first half for the U.S., who started the tournament with a 3–0 loss.[11] Five days later, in the second match againstItaly (who later won the tournament), Cherundolo played the full 90 minutes, helping the team to a 1–1 draw atFritz-Walter-Stadion inKaiserslautern.[12] After a loss againstGhana in the final match in the group, the U.S. was eliminated from the tournament, finishing the group in last place with just one point.[13]
Cherundolo missed the2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup due to an injury. He also missed out on the2009 FIFA Confederations Cup due to another injury, but returned to captain the U.S. during the2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup.[14]
Cherundolo was one of seven defenders named to the U.S. squad for the2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.[15] He was given the number 6. In the first match ofGroup C againstEngland, Cherundolo was in the starting lineup and played the full 90 minutes in a 1–1 draw atRoyal Bafokeng Stadium.[16] On June 18, he retained his position for the second match, playing in the entire game againstSlovenia, which finished in a 2–2 draw, with the U.S. coming back from 2–0 down.[17] In the 48th minute of the match, Cherundolo assistedLandon Donovan who beat Slovenian goalkeeperSamir Handanović with a powerful shot.[18][19] In the final match of the group, Cherundolo again started at right back as the U.S. beatAlgeria with a last-minute winner, scored by Donovan, to finish the group in first place with five points.[20] U.S. would lose in the Round of 16 againstGhana, 2–1 after extra time.[21] Cherundolo was an ever-present figure in this competition for the United States, playing the entire 390 minutes.
Following his retirement announcement, Cherundolo remained withHannover 96 as an assistant coach for Hannover's amateur team.[22] On April 20, 2015, he was officially promoted to assistant coach of Hannover 96's first team.[23] After the end of the 2014–15 season, Cherundolo became the head coach of Hannover's U–17 academy team.[24]
In January 2018, Cherundolo moved toVfB Stuttgart and became assistant of the new head coachTayfun Korkut.[25] In November 2018, Cherundolo was named to the coaching staff of theUnited States national team by interim coachDave Sarachan.[26]
In an August 2020 interview with the Narrowing the Angle soccer podcast, Cherundolo said he "would love to coach" the US national team and also expressed interest in coaching inMajor League Soccer.[27] On August 20, 2020, it was announced that Cherundolo had joined theGermany national youth under-15 football team as an assistant coach.[28]
On March 12, 2021, Cherundolo was named head coach ofUSL Championship sideLas Vegas Lights.[29]
Cherundolo was announced as head coach ofLos Angeles FC inMajor League Soccer on January 3, 2022.[30] On October 2, 2022, Cherundolo broke the record for most wins as a first-year head coach inMajor League Soccer history with 21 wins afterLos Angeles FC defeated thePortland Timbers 2–1. The record was previously held by former Los Angeles FC coachBob Bradley in 1998 with 20 wins, when Bradley was the head coach of theChicago Fire. The match also clinched theSupporters' Shield for LAFC, the second in team history, and made Cherundolo the third coach to lead a team to the Shield in his first season in MLS. LAFC would go on to win their firstMLS Cup title against thePhiladelphia Union inMLS Cup 2022, with Cherundolo being the sixth coach to win Supporters' Shield and MLS Cup in the same season.
On April 18, 2025, LAFC announced that Cherundolo would step down as head coach at the end of the 2025 MLS season, citing family reasons.[31]
Cherundolo speaks English and German fluently, having spent his entire professional career in Germany.[32] A popular figure with Hannover fans, he is known as "Dolo" and affectionately nicknamed the "Mayor of Hannover".[33] Cherundolo married Mandy Rosier on New Year's Eve 2009 at the local St. Joseph Catholic parish church in the Hanover district ofVahrenwald-List.[34][35][36] After his retirement from soccer, he has resided with his family inGroßburgwedel, near Hanover. In 2021, Cherundolo was elected to theNational Soccer Hall of Fame as a player inductee.
| Club | Season | League | DFB-Pokal | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Hannover 96 | 1998–99 | 2. Bundesliga | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 8 | 0 | |
| 1999–2000 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 13 | 0 | |||
| 2000–01 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 19 | 0 | |||
| 2001–02 | 30 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | 32 | 1 | |||
| 2002–03 | Bundesliga | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 34 | 0 | ||
| 2003–04 | 29 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 31 | 0 | |||
| 2004–05 | 32 | 2 | 3 | 1 | – | 35 | 3 | |||
| 2005–06 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | 23 | 1 | |||
| 2006–07 | 33 | 2 | 3 | 0 | – | 36 | 2 | |||
| 2007–08 | 33 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 35 | 0 | |||
| 2008–09 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 18 | 0 | |||
| 2009–10 | 26 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | 27 | 1 | |||
| 2010–11 | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 34 | 0 | |||
| 2011–12 | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 11[a] | 0 | 35 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | 20 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10[a] | 0 | 33 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 370 | 7 | 24 | 1 | 21 | 0 | 423 | 8 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 1999 | 1 | 0 |
| 2000 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2001 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2002 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2005 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2007 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 13 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 9 | 0 | |
| Total | 87 | 2 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | March 22, 2006 | Westfalenstadion,Dortmund, Germany |  Germany | 1–4 | 1–4 | Friendly |
| 2 | November 17, 2007 | Coca-Cola Park,Johannesburg, South Africa |  South Africa | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | Ref. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||||
| Las Vegas Lights |  | January 19, 2021 | January 3, 2022 | 32 | 6 | 3 | 23 | 41 | 77 | −36 | 018.75 | |
| Los Angeles FC | January 3, 2022 | present | 192 | 104 | 38 | 50 | 364 | 221 | +143 | 054.17 | ||
| Total | 224 | 110 | 41 | 73 | 405 | 298 | +107 | 049.11 | ||||
Hannover 96
United States
Los Angeles FC
United States squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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