Frank Klopas
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Frank Klopas | ||
Personal information | ||
---|---|---|
Full name | Frank "Foitos" Klopas | |
Date of birth | September 1, 1966 (age 40) | |
Place of birth | Prosimna, Greece | |
Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | |
Playing position | Striker | |
Club information | ||
Current club | Retired | |
Senior clubs1 | ||
Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
1983-1988 1988-1994 1994-1996 1996-1997 1998-1999 |
Chicago Sting AEK Athens Apollon FC Kansas City Wizards Chicago Fire |
140 (62) 49 (6) 54 (7) 45 (6) |
National team2 | ||
1987-1998 | United States | 39 (12) |
Teams managed | ||
2004-2006 | Chicago Storm | |
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
Frank (Foitos) Klopas (born September 1, 1966 in Prosimna, Greece) is a former Greek-American soccer forward and midfielder.
Klopas immigrated to the United States when he was 8 years old and received U.S. citizenship on his 18th birthday. He and his family settled in Chicago, where he attended and played boys soccer, at Mather High School, which he led to the Chicago Public League championship his senior year. In 1983, he signed with the Chicago Sting of the North American Soccer League straight out of high school, but an injury led to him missing the team's final outdoor season. Klopas would play for the indoor Sting in the MISL for four seasons. He earned second team All Star honors during the 1986-1987 season.
In 1988, Klopas moved to Greece to play with AEK Athens. He played four seasons with the team. However, he tore his anterior crucaite ligament in 1991. That injury and a subsequent infection hindered his playing for nearly two years. In 1992, Klopas signed a contract with the U.S. Soccer Federation to play full time for the United States men's national soccer team. After the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Klopas returned to Greece and signed with Apollon FC in 1994 for the remainder of the 1994-1995 season, as well as the 1995-1996 season. He debuted with Apollon on January 7, 1995 against his former Greek club, AEK Athens.
In 1996, Major League Soccer began developing teams for its inaugural season. In order to ensure an equitable distribution of talent to each team, MLS allocated known players to each team. MLS allocated Klopas to the Kansas City Wizards. Klopas would spend two years with the club, and was then dealt to the expansion Chicago Fire. He would play two years for Chicago before retiring, helping them to the MLS Cup in 1998. In four years in MLS, Klopas scored 13 goals and added 16 assists.
Klopas made his debut for the U.S. national team in 1987 and scored 12 goals in 39 international appearances. He played for his country at the 1988 Olympics. In 1994, he had surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament, but returne in time for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. He also scored the game-winner in a 3:0 shocker over Argentina at the (Catalan).
On January 25, 2000, Klopas announced his retirement from playing professional soccer. The Fire then hired him as the team strength and conditioning trainer. On January 16, 2004 Klopas left the Fire to became the head coach and general manager of MISL's expansion franchise Chicago Storm. He led the team to a playoff berth in its second season, but left the team on July 24, 2006.
United States squad - 1994 FIFA World Cup | ||
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1 Meola | 2 Lapper | 3 Burns | 4 Kooiman | 5 Dooley | 6 Harkes | 7 Perez | 8 Stewart | 9 Ramos | 10 Wegerle | 11 Wynalda | 12 Sommer | 13 Jones | 14 Klopas | 15 Moore | 16 Sorber | 17 Balboa | 18 Friedel | 19 Reyna | 20 Caligiuri | 21 Clavijo | 22 Lalas | Coach: Milutinović |
Categories: 1966 births | Living people | Greek-Americans | American soccer players | United States men's international soccer players | NASL players | Chicago Sting players | Indoor soccer players | AEK Athens players | Apollon Smyrnis footballers | Kansas City Wizards players | Chicago Fire players | Olympic soccer players of the United States | Footballers at the 1988 Summer Olympics | FIFA World Cup 1994 players | American soccer coaches