.jpg) Jones withLA Galaxy in 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Cobi N'Gai Jones | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1970-06-16)June 16, 1970 (age 55) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Midfielder | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1985–1988 | Westlake Warriors | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1988–1991 | UCLA Bruins | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1995 | Coventry City | 24 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1995–1996 | Vasco da Gama | 4 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–2007 | LA Galaxy | 306 | (70) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 334 | (73) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1992–2004 | United States | 164 | (15) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | LA Galaxy (interim) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2010 | LA Galaxy (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cobi N'Gai Jones (born June 16, 1970) is an American former professionalsoccer player and commentator. He is an analyst forMLS Season Pass onApple TV. He has also been seen onTime Warner Cable SportsNet,Fox Sports,BeIN Sports, thePac-12 Network, and as the host of the Totally Football Show: American Edition. In addition, during the 1990s, he hosted the health showMega-Dose onMTV.
As a player, Jones was amidfielder from 1994 until 2007, starting his career in England withPremier League clubCoventry City, before playing for Brazilian sideVasco da Gama. He is one of a significant group of United States national team stars who returned from overseas to aid the then new Major League Soccer in 1996, beginning an 11-year spell with theLA Galaxy. Jones is the all-time leader incaps for theUnited States national team and a member of theNational Soccer Hall of Fame.
Following retirement, Jones served as an assistant coach with the LA Galaxy for two seasons.
Jones grew up inSouthern California. He played soccer withAYSO starting at age 5 in Westlake Village, California.[1]After graduating fromWestlake High School, Jones emerged as a talented player incollege, making theUCLA soccer team as a non-scholarship player, ultimately becoming one of its most successful soccer-playing graduates. While attending UCLA, Jones was a member ofLambda Chi Alpha, an international fraternity.[2]
After playing in the1994 World Cup held in the United States, Jones signed with English teamCoventry City of thePremier League, where he spent one season. Jones trained with a German club1. FC Köln of theBundesliga before joining Brazilian clubVasco da Gama after impressive performances with the United States national team in the1995 Copa America.[3] After only a few months in Brazil, Jones signed with the newLos Angeles Galaxy franchise for Major League Soccer's inaugural season.
Jones's best year with the Galaxy came in 1998, when he was second in MLS with 51 points (19 goals and 13 assists), was named to theMLS Best XI, and was also namedU.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year. In 2005, he became the last player in MLS to remain with his original team since 1996. Jones announced on March 19, 2007, that he would retire following the season.
Jones is currently the all-time leader of the United States in appearances, with 164caps as of the end of 2004 (scoring 15 goals). He played for the team in the1994,1998, and2002 FIFA World Cups. He was named to the best XI at the2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup and won with the national team at the2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup. He also represented his country at the1992 Summer Olympics inBarcelona. After playing in the1995 Copa America, he also became a popular player inLatin America because the nickname used by an Argentine commentator to call him: "Escobillón" ("swab"), due to his bleacheddreadlock hairstyle and the similar pronunciation of his name, Is Cobi Jones, and the word "escobillón".
On November 9, 2007, Jones was announced as an assistant coach with the Galaxy underRuud Gullit. After Gullit's resignation on August 11, 2008, Jones served as the interim head coach until the Galaxy hired Jones's formerUnited States national team head coachBruce Arena.
In January 2011, Jones left the Galaxy to serve as associate director of soccer with theNew York Cosmos and was with the club through 2012.
On September 12, 2009, Jones married Kim Reese. Reese, a music consultant and former music executive atNew Line Cinema, met Jones in 2003 and began dating him in 2004. The couple was married at theFour Seasons Resort Aviara inCarlsbad, California.[4] They have two sons, Cayden and Cai.
On March 11, 2011, Jones was selected for induction into theNational Soccer Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.[5]
Jones is a part of the ownership group ofAngel City FC of theNational Women's Soccer League.[6]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Coventry City | 1994–95 | Premier League | 20 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 2 | |||||
| Vasco da Gama | 1995 | Série A | ||||||||||
| Los Angeles Galaxy | 1996 | Major League Soccer | 28 | 7 | ||||||||
| 1997 | 26 | 7 | 4 | 1 | ||||||||
| 1998 | 24 | 19 | ||||||||||
| 1999 | 28 | 8 | 1 | |||||||||
| 2000 | 25 | 7 | 3 | 1 | ||||||||
| 2001 | 22 | 6 | ||||||||||
| 2002 | 19 | 3 | ||||||||||
| 2003 | 28 | 2 | 4 | |||||||||
| 2004 | 23 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 2005 | 31 | 3 | ||||||||||
| 2006 | 27 | 4 | 2 | |||||||||
| 2007 | 25 | 4 | ||||||||||
| Total | 306 | 70 | ||||||||||
| Career total | 306 | 70 | 14 | 2 | ||||||||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 1992 | 3 | 1 |
| 1993 | 30 | 2 | |
| 1994 | 23 | 2 | |
| 1995 | 12 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 14 | 2 | |
| 1997 | 14 | 0 | |
| 1998 | 15 | 0 | |
| 1999 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 16 | 6 | |
| 2001 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2002 | 14 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 4 | 1 | |
| Total | 164 | 15 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 19, 1992 | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |  Ivory Coast | 2–1 | 5–1 | 1992 King Fahd Cup |
| 2 | March 23, 1993 | San Salvador, El Salvador |  El Salvador | 2–1 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 3 | October 13, 1993 | Washington, D.C., United States |  Mexico | 1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 4 | January 15, 1994 | Tempe, Arizona, United States |  Norway | 2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 5 | February 18, 1994 | Miami, Florida, United States |  Bolivia | 1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 6 | June 11, 1995 | Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States |  Nigeria | 3–2 | 3–2 | Friendly |
| 7 | May 26, 1996 | New Britain, Connecticut, United States |  Scotland | 2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 8 | December 1, 1996 | San José, Costa Rica |  Costa Rica | 1–2 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 9 | January 29, 2000 | Coquimbo, Chile |  Chile | 2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 10 | February 12, 2000 | Miami, Florida, United States |  Haiti | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2000 Gold Cup |
| 11 | February 16, 2000 | Miami, Florida, United States |  Peru | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2000 Gold Cup |
| 12 | June 3, 2000 | Washington, D.C., United States |  South Africa | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2000 Nike U.S. Cup |
| 13 | 2–0 | |||||
| 14 | November 15, 2000 | Waterford, Barbados |  Barbados | 4–0 | 4–0 | 2002 World Cup qualifying |
| 15 | September 8, 2004 | Panama City, Panama |  Panama | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2006 World Cup qualifying |
UCLA Bruins
Los Angeles Galaxy
United States
Individual
Awards | |
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United States squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| International | |
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| National | |
