Josh Wolff

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Josh Wolff
Personal information
Full name	Joshua David Wolff
Date of birth	February 25, 1977 (age 30)
Place of birth	Stone Mountain, GA, United States
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Nickname	El Lobo
Playing position	forward
Club information
Current club	1860 Munich
Number	11
Youth clubs
1995-97	South Carolina                    43 (21)
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1998-2002 2003-2006 2007-	Chicago Fire Kansas City Wizards 1860 Munich	84 (32) 80 (27) 7 (1)
National team2
1999-	United States	48 (9)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 8 February 2007. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 17 June 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

Joshua David "Josh" Wolff (born February 25, 1977 in Stone Mountain, Georgia) is an American soccer player, who currently plays forward for the TSV 1860 München of the Second Bundesliga.

Wolff played three years of college soccer at the University of South Carolina, where he scored 21 goals and eight assists in 43 games, while playing with another future United States national team star in Clint Mathis. After his junior season, Wolff left college and signed with Major League Soccer (MLS). MLS assigned Wolff to the Chicago Fire. He set the MLS rookie scoring record (together with Jeff Cunningham, since broken by Damani Ralph) by scoring eight goals, doing so in just 14 games (only four of those starts). Wolff would play the next four seasons for the Fire, scoring 24 goals, developing a reputation as one of the league's most explosive offensive players, but unfortunately also one of its most injury prone.

Before the 2003 MLS Superdraft, the Fire traded Wolff, in a cost-cutting move, to the Kansas City Wizards in exchange for the third overall pick, which the Fire used to select Nate Jaqua. In 2003, Wolff lived up to his reputation, missing most of the season due to injuries, but was very productive for an excellent Wizards team in 2004, finishing the year with ten goals and seven assists. He scored ten goals and ten assists in 2005.

In September 2006, Wolff had a try out with British club Second Division club Derby County. The team was pleased enough with his performance to offer MLS a $500,000 transfer fee. However, British immigration officials denied Wolff a work permit based on the fact he had failed to play the required 75% of the U.S. national team's games in the last two years.

From England, Wolff travelled to Germany for a try out with German Second Division club 1860 Munich. On December 6, 2006, 1860 Munich signed Wolff to a contract through the 2007-2008 season. Munich paid MLS a $191,000 transfer fee. Wolff joined the team during its January 2007 mid-winter training camp.

Wolff is among the first-choice forwards for the United States men's national soccer team and has scored nine goals in 45 caps since his debut against Jamaica on September 8, 1999. He also starred for the US in the 2000 Summer Olympics, scoring two goals, helping the team to a fourth-place finish. As with his club teams, however, Wolff has had trouble securing a definite spot because of continual injury problems. He did play for the United States in the 2002 World Cup, assisting on the opening goal in the second-round win against Mexico. On May 2, 2006, for the second time in his career, Wolff was named to the US roster for the FIFA World Cup in Germany.

[edit] External links

• Josh Wolff articles on Yanks Abroad
• Josh Wolff profile on MLSNet

	United States squad - 2002 FIFA World Cup Quarter-finalists
1 Friedel | 2 Hejduk | 3 Berhalter | 4 Mastroeni | 5 O'Brien | 6 Regis | 7 Lewis | 8 Stewart | 9 Moore | 10 Reyna | 11 Mathis | 12 Agoos | 13 Jones | 14 Cherundolo | 15 Wolff | 16 Llamosa | 17 Beasley | 18 Keller | 19 Meola | 20 McBride | 21 Donovan | 22 Sanneh | 23 Pope | Coach: Arena

	United States squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup
1 Howard | 2 Albright | 3 Bocanegra | 4 Mastroeni | 5 O'Brien | 6 Cherundolo | 7 Lewis | 8 Dempsey | 9 Johnson | 10 Reyna | 11 Ching | 12 Berhalter | 13 Conrad | 14 Olsen | 15 Convey | 16 Wolff | 17 Beasley | 18 Keller | 19 Hahnemann | 20 McBride | 21 Donovan | 22 Onyewu | 23 Pope | Coach: Arena