UCLA Greatest All-Time Soccer Team

This blogger Artur Yanturin of Russia copied many of my blog teams.  This blog was one of them.  It was my Russia All-Time Team here.  His team was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.   His Spartak Moscow All-Time team entry of was published in October 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2017.  His entry of the Dutch-German rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.  He also copied many many of my blog entries.

His Facebook and Instagram

Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.

USA,
NY Cosmos, LA Galaxy, DC United,
University of Virginia.

This is my selection of a 25 member all-time team for the club.  The number 25 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the Champions' League.

The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public research university in the Westwood district of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is among the best institution of higher learning in the world.  There soccer program completes in the Pac-12 and it is the best in the conference.  Moreover, it has won 4 NCAA titles. A large number of MLS soccer players came from them.

2002 NCAA Champion

Team
GK: Brad Friedel (USA)
Brad Friedel is the current holder of the English Premier League record for most consecutive appearances with 310.  He played with Liverpool, Blackburn Rovers, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspurs.  He is one of the oldest player to start a game at the English Premiership.  He also played for clubs in Denmark and Turkey.  He earned 82 caps.  He represented the USA at the World Cup in 1994, 1998 and 2002. He is best remembered for reaching the quarterfinal in 2002. 

Brad Friedel 

GK: Nick Rimando (USA)
Nick Rimando's father is of Filipino descent and his mother is of Mexican descent.  He played for Miami Fusion and DC United.  Since 2007, he played for Real Salt Lake.  He is one of the best keeper in MLS.  At the time of writing, he was capped 22 times for the United States.  He is mainly a backup to Tim Howard. He was a member of the 2010 World Cup team.

GK: Kevin Hartman (USA)
Nicknamed El Gato (Spanish for "the cat"), Kevin Hartman was drafted 29th overall in the 1997 MLS College Draft by Los Angeles Galaxy. He played with them until 2006.  He won two MLS Cups with them and was MLS Goalkeeper of the Year: 1999. He also played with KC Wizards, FC Dallas and NY Red Bulls.  He earned 6 caps with USMNT.

RB:  Paul Caligiuri (USA)
Paul Caligiuri is best remembered for his game-winning goal widely dubbed the"Shot heard round the world," which helped the USA to qualify for the WC Finals in 1990.  He was one of the few professional players on the 1990 WC team.  He spent most of his career playing in Germany. He was capped 110 times.  He went to two WC Finals: 1990 and 1994.

RB: Frankie Hejduk (USA)
Hejduk played for Tampa Bay Mutiny.  In 1998 after an impressive WC Finals, he signed with Bayer Leverkusen.  He stayed there in 2003.  He then joined St Gallen in Switzerland.  He later played for Colombus Crew and LA Galaxy. He was capped 85 times.  Hejduk was a frequent starter for the U.S. Men's National Team, and is the only individual to have represented the U.S. in the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympic Games and the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cup Finals tournaments.

CB/LB: Carlos Bocanegra (USA)
Carlos Bocanegra started his career playing NCAA soccer with UCLA. He joined Chicago Fire in 2000. He also played professionally in England, Scotland, France, and Spain. His longest European stint was with Fulham, where he played from 2004 to 2008. He earned over 100 caps with the United States between 2001 and 2012, serving as captain for six years. He played in the World Cup Finals of 2006 and 2010.  He also won two Gold Cups for the USA.

CB: Jimmy Conrad (USA)
While playing for UCLA, Jimmy Conrad was a member of the 1997 NCAA Championship team.  During his 13-year MLS career, he was four-time MLS Best XI and the 2005 MLS Defender of the Year. He also earned 27 caps with the United States men's national soccer team between 2005 and 2010.  He went to the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. 

CB: Mike Lapper (USA)
Mike lapper won the 1990 NCAA Championship with UCLA. During his fifteen-year professional career, Lapper played mainly as a sweeper, he played in England, Germany and the United States. He earned 44 caps, scoring one goal, with the U.S. national soccer team between 1991 and 1995. He was part of the U.S. teams at both the 1992 Summer Olympics and the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

CB/DM: Paul Krumpe (USA)
Paul Krumpe spent his career between the end of MLS and NASL.  He spent two seasons in the Major Indoor Soccer League, two in the Western Soccer Alliance and two in the American Professional Soccer League. From 1986 to 1991, he represented the US national team 24 times. He was a member of the U.S. national team at the 1990 FIFA World Cup.

LB: Jonathan Bornstein (USA)
Jonathan Bornstein was a son of a Mexican mother and a Jewish father.  Drafted by Chivas USA, he was MLS Rookie of the Year in 2006. He also played for Tigres de la UANL and Queretaro in Mexico.  In 2018, he joined Maccabi Netanya in Israel. He was capped over 38 times.  He went to the 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa. He played two matches there.

DM: Jorge Salcedo (USA) 
Jorge Salcedo was a star at UCLA.  He played with the Los Angeles Salsa of the American Professional Soccer League and Monarcas Morelia of the México He joined LA Galaxy in 1996.  He also played Columbus Crew, Chicago Fire, Tampa Bay Mutiny and Orange County Zodiac. He was capped 3 times between 1994 and 1998.

CM: Leo Stolz (Germany)
Leo Stolz was offered a senior contract with Munich 1860 in 2011 after playing in their youth team, but decided to play college soccer in the United States joining George Mason University and then, transferred to UCLA. He was awarded the Hermann Trophy recognizing him as the top college soccer player in the country.  Since 2015, he has been playing for NY Red Bulls after being selected 18th in the MLS SuperDraft.

Leo Stolz

CM: Peter Vagenas (USA)
Peter Vagenas was drafted by Los Angeles Galaxy in the second round of the 2000 MLS SuperDraft and subsequently spent nine years with the team, winning the U.S. Open Cup in 2001 and 2005, and the MLS Cup in 2002 and 2005, captaining the team to the 2005 double. He later played for Seattle Sounders, Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Chivas USA.  He earned only 3 caps largely due to injuries.

CM/DM: Benny Feilhaber (USA)
Born in Brazil, Benny Feilhaber moved to the US as a 6 years old.  From 2006 onward, he played in Europe with Hamburg, Derby County and AGF Aarbus.  In 2011, he joined MLS playing for New England Revolution.  His longest spell was with Sporting Kansas City. At the time of writing, he is playing for Los Angles FC.  He was capped over 40 times.  He played in the 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa.

CM: Dale Ervine (USA)
Dale Ervine helped UCLA to win the NCAA title in 1985.  He played professionally all across the United States between the end of NASL and the formation of MLS.  It was not a good period for American professional soccer players.  He was capped 5 times between 1985 and 1993.  He also played for the U.S. National Futsal Team, where he played in FIFA Futsal World Championship.

CM: Sasha Victorine (USA)
He spent his entire professional career in Major League Soccer in the United States, making over 100 appearances for both Los Angeles Galaxy and Kansas City Wizards, before finishing his career with Chivas USA. Victorine spent five years with LA, winning the U.S. Open Cup in 2001 and the MLS Cup in 2002.  He also made four appearances and scored one goal for the United States national team, and represented his country at the 2000 Summer Olympics.

Sasha Victorine

RW/LW/FW: Kamani Hill (USA)
Kamani Hill was born in Berkeley, California to a Trinidadian father and an American mother of Hawaiian origin. He was a star at UCLA beofore turining professional. He played briefly with VfL Wolfsburg and Vitoria Guimaraes in Europe.  Hill signed with Major League Soccer club Colorado Rapids on March 28, 2012. He stayed there until 2014. At the international level, he was capped twice by the USA, playing against China and Sweden in 2007.

RW: Cobi Jones (USA)
After playing college soccer with UCLA,  Cobi Jones played with Coventry City and Brazilian side Vasco da Gama before joining the MLS in 1996, where he won two MLS Cups with LA Galaxy.  He was capped 164 times. He is the all-time cap recorder for the USA.  He played in three World Cup Finals(1994, 1998 and 2002). He also won the 2002 Gold Cup with the national team. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Cobi Jones

LW: Eddie Lewis (USA)
During his 14-year professional career, Lewis played for San Jose Clash, Fulham, Preston North End, Leeds United, Derby County and Los Angeles Galaxy. He was also a veteran member of the United States national team throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s; he acquired 82 caps, scored 10 goals and represented his country at the 1999 Confederations Cup, 2002 World Cup, 2003 Confederations Cup, 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup and 2006 World Cup.

FW: Jeff Hooker (USA)
Jeff Hooker played UCLA, but missed the season in which UCLA won its NCAA title in 1985.  He earned twelve caps, scoring one goal, with the U.S. national team between 1984 and 1987 and was a member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic soccer team. He played professionally in the Western Soccer Alliance and American Professional Soccer League.

FW/AM: Billy Thompson (USA)
Thompson played for UCLA from 1986 to 1990. He was the captain of the Bruins team which won the 1990 NCAA championship. He was also the 1990 ISAA Player of the Year and finished his time at UCLA with 42 goals and 27 assists.  In 1995, he spent a single season with the Hawaii Tsunami of the USISL. He was the league’s Offensive MVP. He also guest played with Raj Pracha FC of Thailand. He also played for Colombus Crew.  Capped once.

FW: Chris Henderson (USA)
Chris Henderson played two years of college soccer at UCLA, where he helped the team to win a national championship his sophomore season. Later, Henderson played for FSV Frankfurt and Stabæk before the launch of MLS in 1996. From 1996 to 2006, he played in MLS. At the time of his retirement, he was the league's all-time leader in games played.  Henderson was capped 79 times.  He was the youngest member at the US team in the 1990 World Cup.

Chris Henderson 

FW: Chad Barrett (USA)
After playing for UCLA, Chicago Fire drafted Barrett with the third overall pick of the 2005 MLS SuperDraft.  Later, he also played for Chicago Fire, New England Revolution, LA Galaxy, Seattle Sounders, San Jose Earthquake and Real Salt Lake City. He retired in 2017. He won a MLS Cup with LA Galaxy.  He was capped once in 2008 in a World Cup qualifier against Barbados.

ST: Antè Razov (USA)
Ante Razov is the all-time leading goal scorer for two current or former MLS clubs: the Chicago Fire with 76 goals and Chivas USA with 30 goals. In April 2007, Razov became the third player in MLS history to score 100 goals.  In his professional career, he also played for Racing de Ferrol in Spain, New York Metrostars and Colombus Crew. He was capped 25 times, making his debut in 1996 against Uruguay.

ST: Joe-Max Moore (USA)
Moore played professionally for clubs in Germany, England and the United States. He finished his career with the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer. In addition to his club career, Moore earned 100 caps, scoring 24 goals, for the U.S. national team between 1992 and 2002. During those years, he was part of US teams at the 1992 Summer Olympics and the 1994, 1998 and 2002 World Cups. In  2013, Moore was elected to the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame.

Joe-Max Moore

Honorable Mention  
Sergio Velázquez, David Vanola, Matt Reis, Zak Ibsen, Kamani Hill, Chandler Hoffmann, Frank Marshall, Sigi Schmid, Sal Zizzo, Tony Beltran, Marvell Wynne.

Squad Explanation
-- Any player who played a single game for UCLA is eligible.
-- I tried my best to look at the players' college career, but I have selected players based on achievements after college. -- I based a lot of my selection on careers after UCLA because I do not know much about the players while at UCLA. 
-- The Pac-12 All-Century Men's Soccer team was announced in 2015.  Nine of the starting 11 on the first team went to UCLA.  They are Ante Razor, Cobi Jones, Brad Friedel, Billy Thompson, Joe-Max Moore, Chris Henderson, Carlos Bocanegra, Paul Caligiuri and Frankie Hedjuk.  Matt Reis, Leo Stolz, Eddie Lewis and Dale Ervine made the second team.  Sigi Schmid was voted the coach of the Century for Pac-12.   
-- Kevin Hartman is on my all-time team. Matt Reis made the all-century team.
-- Cobi Jones, Brad Friedel, Paul Caligiuri, Carlos Bocanegra made my All-time Greatest Team for the USA.
-- Cobi Jones was the all-time cap leader for the US national team. he began his UCLA career as a walk-on.
-- There are too many good rightbacks: Marvell Wynne, Zak Ibsen, Tony Beltran and Sal Zizzo stayed with Honorable Mention.
-- BillyThompson was the ISAA Player of the Year and was named in the PAC-12 Team of the Century. Dale Ervine was on the second team.
-- Frank Marshall was honored as a pioneer at UCLA.  He is also a well-known movie producer in the Hollywood.
-- Benny Feilhaber was a walk-on at UCLA.  One of his roommates was the future national teammate Jonathan Bornstein.
-- Leo Stolz was a transfer

Formation