Friday 11 April 2014

BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY : AFRICAN AMERICAN " COBI N'GAI JONES " IS AN AMERICAN FORMER SOCCER PLAYER AND ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF SOCCER FOR NEW YORK COSMOS : GOES INTO THE " HALL OF BLACK GENIUS "

























































































































































                                            BLACK              SOCIAL           HISTORY                                                                                                                                                                                                   Cobi N'Gai Jones (born June 16, 1970) is an American[1] former soccer player and Associate Director of Soccer for New York Cosmos.
As a player, he was a midfielder from 1994 until 2007, starting his career in England with Premier League club Coventry City, before playing for Brazilian side Vasco da Gama. He is one of a significant group of American national team stars who returned from overseas to aid the then new Major League Soccer in 1996, beginning an 11 year spell with the Los Angeles Galaxy. Jones is the all-time leader in caps for the United States national team and a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Following retirement, he served as an assistant coach with the former club Galaxy.

Youth

Jones grew up in Southern California. He played soccer with AYSO starting at age 5 in Westlake, California.[2] After graduating from Westlake High School, Jones emerged as a talented player in college, making the UCLA 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.[3]

Club career

After playing in the 1994 World Cup held in the United States, Jones signed with English team Coventry City of the Premier League, where he spent one season. Jones trained with German club FC Köln of the Bundesliga before joining Brazilian clubVasco da Gama after impressive performances with the U.S. national team in the 1995 Copa America. After only a few months in Brazil, Jones signed with the new Los Angeles Galaxy franchise for Major League Soccer's inaugural season.
Jones's best year with the Galaxy came in 1998, where he was second in MLS with 51 points (19 goals and 13 assists), was named to the MLS Best XI, and was also named U.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 played his last game with the Galaxy on October 21, 2007. The club retired his number 13 making it the first number retired in MLS history. Jones finished his Galaxy career with 306 appearances and 70 goals.

International career

Jones is currently the all-time leader of the United States in appearances, with 164 caps as of the end of 2004 (scoring 15 goals). He played for the team in the 1994, 1998, and2002 FIFA World Cups. He was named to the best XI at the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup and won with the national team at the 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup. He also represented his country at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. After playing in the 1995 Copa America he also became a popular player in Latin America because the nickname used by an Argentine commentator to call him: "Escobillón" ("swab"), due to his bleached dredlock hairstyle and the similar pronunciation of his name, Is Cobi Jones, and the word "escobillón".

U.S. national team appearances

National TeamYearAppsStartsGoalsAssists
United States
19923112
1993301625
 1 994231920
199512614
1996141220
1997141001
1998151400
19998700
2000161269
200110500
200214701
20031000
20044010
Total1641091512

U.S. national team goals

[hide]#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1October 19, 1992Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Ivory Coast2–15–11992 King Fahd Cup
2March 23, 1993San Salvador, El Salvador El Salvador2–12–2Friendly
3October 13, 1993Washington, D.C. Mexico1–11–1Friendly
4January 15, 1994Tempe, Arizona Norway2–12-1Friendly
5February 18, 1994Miami, Florida Bolivia1–11–1Friendly
6June 11, 1995Foxborough, Massachusetts Nigeria3–23-2Friendly
7May 26, 1995New Britain, Connecticut Scotland2–12–1Friendly
8December 1, 1996San Jose, Costa Rica Costa Rica1–21-2Friendly
9January 29, 2000Coquimbo, Chile Chile2–12–1Friendly
10February 12, 2000Miami, Florida Haiti3–03-02000 Gold Cup
11February 16, 2000Miami, Florida Peru1–01-02000 Gold Cup
12June 3, 2000Washington, D.C. South Africa1–04-02000 Nike U.S. Cup
132–0
14November 15, 2000Waterford, Barbados Barbados4–04–02002 World Cup qualifying
15September 8, 2004Panama City, Panama Panama1–11–12006 World Cup qualifying

Coaching career[edit]

On November 9, 2007, Jones was announced as an assistant coach with the Galaxy under Ruud Gullit. After Gullit's resignation on August 11, 2008, Jones served as the interim head coach until the Galaxy hired Jones's former U.S. national team head coach Bruce Arena.
In January 2011, Jones left the Galaxy to serve as associate director of soccer with the New York Cosmos.

Personal life[edit]

On September 12, 2009, Jones married longtime girlfriend, Kim Reese. Reese, a music consultant and former music executive at New Line Cinema, met Jones in 2003 and began dating him in 2004. The couple was married at the Four Seasons Resort Aviara in Carlsbad, California.[5]
On March 11, 2011, Cobi Jones was selected for induction into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.[6]

Honors[edit]

United States

Los Angeles Galaxy

Career statistics

Club performanceLeagueCupLeague CupContinentalTotal
SeasonClubLeagueAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
USALeagueOpen CupLeague CupNorth AmericaTotal
1996Los Angeles GalaxyMajor League Soccer287
199726741
19982419
19992881
200025731
2001226
2002193
20032824
2004230
2005313
20062742
2007254
TotalUSA30670
Career total30670142
at

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