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Eddie Pope

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Eddie Pope
Pope in 2008
Personal information
Full name George Edward Pope[1]
Date of birth (1973-12-24) December 24, 1973 (age 50)
Place of birth High Point, North Carolina, U.S.
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s) Defender
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–1995 North Carolina Tar Heels
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–2002 D.C. United 143 (8)
2003–2004 MetroStars 42 (0)
2005–2007 Real Salt Lake 69 (2)
Total 254 (10)
International career‡
1996–2006 United States 82 (8)
Medal record
Representing  United States
Men's soccer
CONCACAF Gold Cup
Runner-up 1998 United States
Winner 2005 United States
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 19, 2007
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of August 3, 2006

George Edward Pope (born December 24, 1973) is an American former soccer player who last played for Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer and spent eleven years as a defender for the United States national team. He spent most of his career playing for D.C. United.[2] Pope is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.[3]

Youth

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Born in High Point, North Carolina, Pope attended Southwest Guilford High School. Pope had a very successful career playing for the North Carolina Tar Heels where he also kicked for Mack Brown's football team. In 1994, he was a first-team All-American, and also earned All-ACC and All-South Region honors.

Professional club career

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In 1996, D.C. United selected Pope in the first round (second overall) in the MLS College Draft. His first season in Washington, D.C. was split between United and the men's Olympic team, which was preparing for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.[4] However, he still played 18 games for United and won a league title with the team, scoring a golden goal in the first-ever MLS Cup against the Los Angeles Galaxy.[4] He also played his first game with the national team, helping the team beat Trinidad and Tobago 2–0 on November 10 that year.

In 1997, Pope made quite a splash on the MLS scene. He was named MLS Defender of the Year and earned a place in the MLS Best XI, as well as winning a second MLS title.[4] In 1998, Pope helped United win both the CONCACAF Champions Cup and the InterAmerican Cup, the first continental honors earned by an MLS team. He scored goals in both of these two finals; including the winning goal in United's victory in the Interamerican Cup.

Pope's 1999 season was beset by injuries, and his playing time was limited, which continued to pester him into 2000, although he would play 19 and 21 games, respectively, in those seasons, and he earned his third and fourth consecutive trips to the MLS All-Star Game. Injuries continued to dog Pope in 2001, but he again played in the All-Star Game and also played an important role in the national team's World Cup qualification. His injuries continued into the 2002 MLS season, and he only appeared in seventeen matches.

On December 23, 2002, Pope was traded to the MetroStars, along with Jaime Moreno and Richie Williams, in return for Mike Petke, a first-round draft pick, and an allocation. Pope continued his quality play with the MetroStars, captaining the team to an excellent defensive record. He was named to the MLS Best XI for the third time for his efforts. In 2004, he had a down year with the Metros, but was still voted to the MLS Best XI for a second consecutive season. After the year, Pope was traded to expansion Salt Lake for an allocation. He played three seasons with Real Salt Lake, providing veteran leadership for the expansion franchise. In 2007, he retired from professional soccer. In ten years in MLS, he scored nine goals and ten assists, plus added that MLS Cup goal and an assist in the playoffs. In 2005, he was named to the MLS All-Time Best XI.

On June 14, 2007, Pope announced his plans to retire from all competitive soccer at the end of the 2007 season, saying: "It's just time...You get up in the morning and you're in pain. Before practice, you are in pain. And after practice you are still in pain."[1][permanent dead link‍]

On March 11, 2011, he was selected for induction into the National Soccer Hall of Fame.[5]

International career

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Pope began his international career with the United States men's national soccer team on November 10, 1996, in a World Cup qualifier against Trinidad and Tobago. At the time, he was in his rookie season with D.C. United. He quickly became a fixture for the national team, which surprised the world when it defeated Brazil 1-0 and made its way to the finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Pope also played in two games for the disappointing U.S. campaign at the 1998 FIFA World Cup. In 2002, he started all five U.S. matches in the World Cup, and played a big part in the surprising success of the United States in that tournament. In 2006, Pope was part of the U.S. team that participated in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. In the second match against Italy, he received a red card which caused him to miss the third match against Ghana, the last of his team at the tournament.

Pope started every game he played with the national team. On August 3, 2006, Pope announced his retirement from international soccer. His international career included 82 caps and 8 goals over an eleven-year period.

Post playing career

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Pope served as the director of player relations for the MLS Players Union following his playing retirement.[6] In 2015, Pope left the MLS Players Union to work at the Octagon sports agency.[7][4]

In 2022, Pope was named as sporting director of the newly founded MLS Next Pro club Carolina Core FC, to begin play in 2024. The club is based in his hometown of High Point, North Carolina.[8]

Career statistics

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Club

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[2]

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
U.S. League Open Cup League Cup North America Total
1996 D.C. United Major League Soccer 18 2 1 1 6 1 0 0 25 5
1997 29 3 0 0 5 0 0 0 34 3
1998 20 1 0 0 6 0 0 0 26 1
1999 19 1 0 0 6 0 0 0 25 1
2000 21 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 22 0
2001 19 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 22 1
2002 17 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 17 0
2003 MetroStars 20 0 4 2 2 0 0 0 26 2
2004 22 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 25 0
2005 Real Salt Lake 20 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 1
2006 22 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 22 0
2007 27 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 27 1
Total U.S. 254 10 10 4 27 1 0 0 291 15
Career total 254 10 10 4 27 1 0 0 291 15

International goals

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# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 March 16, 1997 Palo Alto, California  Canada 2–0 3–0 1998 World Cup qualifying
2 April 20, 1997 Foxboro, Massachusetts  Mexico 1–1 2–2 1998 World Cup qualifying
3 February 7, 1998 Oakland, California  Costa Rica 1–0 2–1 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup
4 August 16, 2000 Foxboro, Massachusetts  Barbados 1–0 7–0 2002 World Cup qualifying
5 April 17, 2002 Dublin, Ireland  Ireland 1–1 1–2 Friendly
6 April 29, 2004 Dallas, Texas  Mexico 1–0 1–0 Friendly
7 January 29, 2006 Carson, California  Norway 3–0 5–0 Friendly
8 February 10, 2006 San Francisco, California  Japan 1–0 3–2 Friendly

Honors

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DC United
United States
Individual

References

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  1. ^ "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: List of Players: United States" (PDF). FIFA. March 21, 2014. p. 32. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 10, 2019.
  2. ^ Eddie Pope | MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  3. ^ "Eddie Pope - 2011 Inductee | National Soccer Hall of Fame". Eddie Pope - 2011 Inductee | National Soccer Hall of Fame. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h "Eddie Pope's remarkable rookie year: from college student to MLS hero". The Guardian. December 9, 2016. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
  5. ^ Cobi Jones, Eddie Pope, and Earnie Stewart Elected to National Soccer Hall of Fame Class of 2011 Archived December 27, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Freedman, Jonah (October 20, 2011). "The Throw-In: 2002 WCup alumni are staying in the game". www.mlssoccer.com. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  7. ^ Strauss, Brian (October 15, 2015). "Key MLS Players Union officials, including Pope, leaving for Octagon". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  8. ^ "New Independent Club led by soccer legend Eddie Pope to join MLS NEXT Pro in 2024". MLSNEXTPro.com. November 10, 2022.
  9. ^ All-Star Game flashback, 1997 at MLSsoccer.com
  10. ^ "1998 MLS All-Star Game". MLSsoccer.com. August 2, 1998. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  11. ^ "1999 MLS All-Star Game". MLSsoccer.com. July 17, 1999. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  12. ^ "2000 MLS All-Star Game". MLSsoccer.com. July 29, 2000. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  13. ^ "National Soccer Hall of Fame Inducts Five New Members for 2011". USSF. ussoccer.com. June 4, 2011. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
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