Eric Boswell Wynalda was born on June 9,1969 and is an American soccer coach, television commentator, and retired player.
34 Facts About Eric Wynalda
2.
Eric Wynalda was formerly an analyst and color commentator for soccer coverage on Fox Sports 1 and ESPN.
3.
That year Eric Wynalda scored more goals than the entire division his team played in combined.
4.
Eric Wynalda's skills continued to improve year after year and he attended Westlake High School and was a three time All State selection with the school's boys soccer team and a youth club teammate of fellow national team player Cobi Jones.
5.
Eric Wynalda attended San Diego State University from 1987 to 1989 where he played for the Aztecs men's soccer team, scoring 34 goals and assisting on 25 others during his three seasons.
6.
Eric Wynalda had an immediate impact, scoring eight goals in the first half of the season where he played all 17 matches.
7.
Eric Wynalda returned to the States in 1996, signing with Major League Soccer.
8.
Eric Wynalda was named US Soccer Athlete of the Year.
9.
Eric Wynalda was loaned out to Club Leon in Mexico in 1999.
10.
Eric Wynalda tore both the ACL and medial meniscus on his left knee while with Leon which put him out of action for several months.
11.
In 2002, Eric Wynalda attempted to join the Los Angeles Galaxy, announcing that he planned to retire with the team.
12.
Eric Wynalda joined the team only to tear his anterior cruciate ligament in a pre-season match.
13.
Eric Wynalda elected to retire from professional soccer and became a broadcast announcer.
14.
Eric Wynalda earned his first cap with the United States national team against Costa Rica on February 2,1990.
15.
Later that year, Eric Wynalda played in the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, his first World Cup, earning a red card against Czechoslovakia, for retaliating against midfielder Lubomir Moracik, who had backed into Eric Wynalda during a dead ball play throw in, pushing Moracik to the ground from behind in front of the referee, lineman, field judge and both teams benches, becoming the first US player to be ejected from a World Cup match.
16.
The Czech player's treatment of Eric Wynalda was in retaliation for a wildly thrown elbow on another teammate in the first half.
17.
Eric Wynalda was lucky not to have been red carded then only to be ejected in the 53 minute leaving his side a man down for the remaining 37 minutes of the second half.
18.
Eric Wynalda was a part of the United States squad that won the 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
19.
Eric Wynalda played in Copa America 1995, where he scored against Chile and Argentina.
20.
In 1998, Eric Wynalda participated in his third World Cup, one of only three United States players to have earned that honor at that time.
21.
Eric Wynalda finished the 1998 World Cup with no goals.
22.
In 2000, Eric Wynalda retired from the United States national team as its all-time leading scorer with 34 goals in 106 appearances.
23.
Eric Wynalda was the sole owner of the record until 2007, when Landon Donovan tied the record with a penalty kick goal against Mexico in the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup Final.
24.
Eric Wynalda lost the record when Donovan scored yet another penalty kick in a friendly match against Sweden on January 19,2008.
25.
Eric Wynalda was named the Honda US Player of the Decade for the 1990s, was named to the CONCACAF All-Decade Team of the 1990s and was elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2004.
26.
Eric Wynalda has continued to play with an over-30s amateur team in Los Angeles, Hollywood United, alongside former US internationals Alexi Lalas and John Harkes, former French international Frank Leboeuf, former Welsh international player Vinnie Jones, and actor Anthony La Paglia.
27.
On July 2,2012, it was announced that Wynalda will become the interim head coach and team adviser of the new North American Soccer League's Atlanta Silverbacks.
28.
On January 7,2014, the Silverbacks announced they would get rid of the head coach position and have Eric Wynalda act as the manager and technical director of the team.
29.
On October 17,2018, Las Vegas Lights FC of the USL announced that Eric Wynalda would be their new Head Coach and Technical Director.
30.
On July 30,2020, New Amsterdam FC of the National Independent Soccer Association announced Eric Wynalda has the team's first head coach.
31.
Eric Wynalda was one of the most vocal critics of US head coach Bruce Arena during the tournament.
32.
Eric Wynalda was one of the main analysts for ESPN and ABC during the 2007 Major League Soccer season.
33.
Eric Wynalda is currently an analyst for Fox Sports 1, covering Bundesliga, UEFA Champions League, and FA Cup.
34.
In October 2015, Eric Wynalda joined SiriusXM FC 85 as the host of the new program WTF: Eric Wynalda Talks Football.