Alexi Lalas
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Panayotis Alexander Lalas | ||
Date of birth | June 1, 1970 | ||
Place of birth | Birmingham, Michigan, U.S. | ||
Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||
Position(s) | Defender | ||
College career | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1988–1991 | Rutgers Scarlet Knights | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1994–1995 | Padova | 33 | (3) |
1995–1996 | → Padova (loan) | 11 | (0) |
1996–1997 | New England Revolution | 57 | (3) |
1997 | → Emelec (loan) | 10 | (0) |
1998 |
MetroStars | 25 | (2) |
1999 |
Kansas City Wizards | 30 | (4) |
2001–2003 |
Los Angeles Galaxy | 69 | (7) |
Total | 235 | (19) | |
International career | |||
1992 | United States U23 | 1 | (0) |
1996 | United States Olympic (O.P.) | 3 | (0) |
1991–1998 | United States | 96 | (10) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Panayotis Alexander Lalas (
Lalas would later return to the United States in 1996 to take part in the newly formed
Following his playing career, Lalas served as
Early life
Lalas was born in Birmingham, Michigan, United States, to a Greek father, Demetrios Lalas and an American mother, Anne Harding Woodworth. His father was a professor who later became the director of Greece's national observatory, while his mother is a widely published poet. Lalas speaks Spanish and Italian in addition to his native English and Greek. Lalas is married and has two children.[7] His younger brother, Greg Lalas, is a former professional soccer player and currently the Chief Marketing Officer at United Soccer League.
Club career
High school
Lalas attended
College
Lalas attended
Lalas left Rutgers in 1991 to focus on the U.S. national team despite being interested in finishing his degree. He resumed his education in 2013, when Rutgers began offering enough online classes to fulfill what Lalas required to graduate. Lalas took 12 classes and 36 credits over 10 months to finish what he jokingly called "a 26-year plan", earning a bachelor's degree in English with a minor in music in May 2014.[10]
After college and the
Padova
After the
Major League Soccer
Before the inaugural
Just over a year later, he returned to playing when he signed with the
International career
Lalas earned 96
Lalas was part of the United States Olympic soccer team for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Spain. He was also selected as overage player on the United States Olympic soccer team at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Post-playing career
Lalas served as president and General Manager of the San Jose Earthquakes during the 2004 and 2005 MLS seasons. He served as a General Manager of the MetroStars/New York Red Bulls from 2005 to 2006.[17] Lalas served as President of the LA Galaxy from 2006 to 2008 during which time the club signed David Beckham.[18] Following his time at the Galaxy, Lalas spent six years as a commentator for ESPN before signing a commentary deal with Fox Sports.[19] He also appeared in both FIFA 16 and FIFA 17, by EA Sports, as a legend card having an 86 rated center back card in both iterations of the game. Currently Lalas, alongside pundit David Mosse, hosts the podcast State of the Union, dedicated to discussing American soccer.[20]
Personal life
Lalas is a Republican and endorsed Ron DeSantis in the 2024 United States presidential election.[21][22]
Musical career
Lalas has released eight solo albums over the past three decades: Far from Close (1996), Ginger (1998), So It Goes (2010), Infinity Spaces (2014), Shots (2016), Sunshine (2018), Look at You (2019) and Melt Away (2022). With a noted affinity for
Career statistics
Club
Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Padova | 1994–95 | Serie A | 33 | 3 | ||||||||
Padova (loan) | 1995–96 | Serie A | 11 | 0 | ||||||||
New England Revolution | 1996 | Major League Soccer | 25 | 1 | ||||||||
1997 | 30 | 2 | ||||||||||
Total | 55 | 3 | ||||||||||
Emelec (loan) | 1997 | Ecuadorian Serie A | 10 | 0 | ||||||||
MetroStars |
1998 | Major League Soccer | 25 | 2 | ||||||||
Kansas City Wizards |
1999 | Major League Soccer | 30 | 4 | ||||||||
Los Angeles Galaxy |
2001 | Major League Soccer | 11 | 2 | ||||||||
2002 | 26 | 4 | ||||||||||
2003 | 22 | 1 | ||||||||||
Total | 59 | 7 | ||||||||||
Career total | 223 | 19 |
International
- Scores and results list the United States' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Lalas goal.
No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | May 8, 1993 | Miami, United States | Colombia | 1–0 | 1–2 | Friendly
|
2 | June 9, 1993 | Foxboro, United States | England | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1993 U.S. Cup |
3 | June 22, 1993 | Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Ecuador | Venezuela | 2–0 | 3–3 | 1993 Copa América |
4 | July 17, 1993 | Dallas, United States | Honduras | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1993 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
5 | November 7, 1993 | Fullerton, United States | Jamaica | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
6 | January 29, 1994 | Seattle, United States | Russia | 1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly |
7 | July 14, 1995 | Paysandú, Uruguay | Argentina | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1995 Copa América |
8 | October 8, 1995 | Washington, D.C., United States | Saudi Arabia | 1–3 | 4–3 | Friendly |
9 | February 1, 1997 | Guangzhou, China | China | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
10 | June 17, 1997 | Jacksonville, United States | Israel | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
Honors
Los Angeles Galaxy
- CONCACAF Champions' Cup: 2000[26]
- Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup: 2001[27]
- MLS Cup: 2002[28]
- MLS Supporters' Shield: 2002[28]
Rutgers
Individual
- Honda Player of the Year: 1995[28]
- U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year: 1995[28]
- MLS Best XI: 2002[29]
- 1999[33]
References
- ^ Lalas, a rock n' roll star
- ^ This essay on U.S. soccer history Archived May 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, however, indicates that other two American-born players, Alfonso Negro and Armando Frigo, appeared for Serie A teams in the late 1930s, making Lalas the third American-born player in the Italian top league.
- ^ Alexi Lalas – USMNT
- ^ "The Most Influential XI as U.S. Soccer turns 100". espnfc.com. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
- ^ "Alexi Lalas - 2006 Inductee | National Soccer Hall of Fame". Alexi Lalas - 2006 Inductee | National Soccer Hall of Fame. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
- ^ "Soccer analyst Alexi Lalas opens up about decision to leave ESPN for Fox". si.com. December 16, 2014. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
- ^ "ESPN_ Serving sports fans. Anytime. Anywhere". www.espn.com.
- ^ "Rutgers History". Scarletknights.com. Archived from the original on January 2, 2010. Retrieved March 10, 2009.
- ^ a b c "Alexi Lalas profile". Soccertimes.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2009.
- ^ Politi, Steve (May 15, 2014). "Alexi Lalas returns to Rutgers for 'unfinished business:' His college degree (Politi)". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
- ^ Mooney, Kevin. "Lalas in London". USA.Arsenal.com. Archived from the original on November 26, 2009. Retrieved November 23, 2009.
- ^ a b WORLD CUP '94 / 25 DAYS AND COUNTING : A SOCCER ROCKER : Lalas Plays to Own Beat : U.S. Defender Is a Hit With Fans but Hits Sour Note With Game's Purists
- ^ "MLS timeline". Sams-army.com. Archived from the original on January 7, 2009. Retrieved March 10, 2009.
- ^ "USA - Details of International Matches 1990-1994". Archived from the original on September 29, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
- ^ "Sports Illustrated". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 10, 2009.
- ^ "Team Roster". Fifa.com. Archived from the original on January 22, 2009. Retrieved March 10, 2009.
- ^ "Alexi Lalas resigns as President and General Manager of Red Bull New York". Major League Soccer. January 22, 2010.
- ^ Serrano, Adam (April 17, 2014). "Alexi Lalas reflects on the lessons of his tumultuous tenure as LA Galaxy General Manager". LA Galaxy.
- ^ Deitsch, Richard (December 16, 2014). "Soccer analyst Alexi Lalas opens up about decision to leave ESPN for FOX". Sports Illustrated.
- ^ "Alexi Lalas' State of the Union Podcast on Apple Podcasts". July 18, 2023.
- ^ @AlexiLalas (May 24, 2023). "Thought @GovRonDeSantis ultimately came off as a candidate of competence, confidence, and common sense...and it will be lost in the technical disaster of Twitter Spaces" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ @AlexiLalas (March 15, 2023). "I like POTUS" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Alexi Lalas interview: Solace in sound springs eternal for former US international
- ^ "Alexi Lalas". Spotify.
- ^ "Major League Soccer: History: All-Time MLS Player Register". Archived from the original on May 22, 2009. Retrieved July 27, 2008.
- ^ "CCL stats". LA Galaxay. Archived from the original on May 18, 2017. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
- ^ "Alexi Lalas runs the hill during the 2001 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup". LA Galaxy. Archived from the original on May 28, 2014. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
- ^ a b c d "Alexi Lalas – USMNT". ussoccerplayers.com. April 2, 2008. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
- ^ "Anschutz, Lalas called to soccer's Hall". MLS Soccer. January 23, 2010. Archived from the original on August 27, 2014. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
- ^ "2018 New England Revolution Media Guide – Stats and Records" (PDF). pp. 1–2. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
- ^ All-Star Game flashback, 1997 at MLSsoccer.com
- ^ "1998 MLS All-Star Game". MLSsoccer.com. August 2, 1998. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
- ^ "1999 MLS All-Star Game". MLSsoccer.com. July 17, 1999. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
External links
- Alexi Lalas at Major League Soccer
- Alexi Lalas at ESPN FC
- Alexi Lalas at National-Football-Teams.com
- Alexi Lalas at USSoccerPlayers
- Alexi Lalas at Olympics.com
- Alexi Lalas at Olympedia
- Alexi Lalas at AllMusic