 Gordon at Buck Shaw stadium | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alan Eugene Gordon II | ||
| Date of birth | October 16, 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Long Beach, California, United States | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | San Jose Earthquakes | ||
| Number | 24 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2000–2001 | Yavapai Roughriders | ||
| 2002–2003 | Oregon State Beavers | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2004 | Portland Timbers | 27 | (17) |
| 2004 | → Los Angeles Galaxy (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2005–2010 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 96 | (16) |
| 2006 | → Portland Timbers (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2010 | Chivas USA | 9 | (1) |
| 2011 | Toronto FC | 8 | (4) |
| 2011– | San Jose Earthquakes | 49 | (18) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2012– | United States | 1 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of November 3, 2013.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of October 12, 2012 | |||
Alan Gordon (born October 16, 1981 in Long Beach, California) is an American soccer player who currently plays for San Jose Earthquakes in Major League Soccer.
Career
College
Gordon moved to Gilbert, Arizona in his mid-teens, and played two years of college soccer forYavapai College, where he scored 39 goals in his two seasons, before attending Oregon State University, where he won All Pac-10 honors twice, and scored 11 goals as a junior and 15 as a senior.
Professional
Upon graduating, Gordon was drafted 53rd overall in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft by Los Angeles Galaxy. He was awarded number 16, but in 2006 changed his number to 21. However, Gordon did not make the team, and signed with the Portland Timbers of the A-League. With the Timbers, Gordon was an instant success, playing 27 games and scoring 17 goals, tying Dante Washingtonfor the league lead, and helped the Timbers finish the regular season with the league's best record. In recognition of his achievement Gordon was named the league's Rookie of the Year, and was a finalist for the MVP Award. After the end of the A-League season, Gordon was loaned back to the Galaxy. During the 2006 season, Gordon saw increased playing time for the Galaxy, scoring 4 goals.
On July 21, 2007 during a friendly with Chelsea, Gordon was pulled for David Beckham's first appearance with the Galaxy in the 78th minute. On April 26, 2008, Gordon scored two goals off the bench in the Galaxy's 5-2 victory over rivals Chivas USA. He finished 2008 with a career year. He scored five goals and seven assists, even though he was not a full-time starter.
In August 2010, he was traded to neighboring Chivas USA for allocation money just one match short of his 100 league appearances with the Galaxy, during which time he notched sixteen goals. On November 24, 2010, he was selected by Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the 2010 MLS Expansion Draft,[1] but was immediately traded back to Chivas USA, along with Alejandro Moreno, for an international player spot.[2]
He was traded to Toronto FC on March 11, 2011 in exchange for Nick LaBrocca.[3] Gordon made his debut for Toronto on March 26 in a 2-0 home victory against Portland Timbers with both goals coming from Javier Martina.[4] On April 2 Gordon scored his first goal for Toronto in a 1-1 tie against his former team Chivas.[5] Gordon had a memorable return to The Home Depot Center on June 11 when he scored 2 goals against The Galaxy in a 2-2 thriller which saw two goals scored in injury time of the second half.[6]
Following Toronto's designated player signing of Danny Koevermans Gordon became a dispensable asset and was traded along with Jacob Peterson and Nana Attakora to San Jose Earthquakes for Ryan Johnson on July 14, 2011.[7] Gordon signed a new contract with San Jose in January 2012.[8] Alan Gordon has had a career best of 13 goals in 23 appearances with the Earthquakes.[9]
On April 14, 2013, during the 60th minute of a match with the Portland Timbers, Gordon was caught on camera using the word "Faggot" in reference to Portland midfielder Will Johnson. Gordon was suspended for three matches following the incident, in addition to the one-match ban he received for drawing a red card in the 78th minute of the same match.[10]
International
Gordon earned his first call-up to the United States men's national soccer team on August 13, 2012, in advance of a friendly match against Mexico on August 15. Gordon was again called up in October 2012 to prepare for the final two matches in the semifinal round of qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He made his first international appearance on October 12, 2012 as a substitute against Antigua and Barbuda, where he provided a critical assist to Eddie Johnson, who scored a 90th minute game-winning goal.
He was called into the squad for the 2013 Gold Cup, after the USA advanced to the knockout stages. He did not play however, as the USA won the tournament.
