Mike Grella
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Michele Grella | ||
Date of birth | January 23, 1987 | ||
Place of birth | Glen Cove, New York, United States | ||
Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
Position(s) | Winger | ||
College career | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2005–2008 | Duke Blue Devils | 80 | (41) |
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2007–2008 | Long Island Rough Riders | 17 | (10) |
2008 |
Cary Clarets | 3 | (2) |
2009–2011 | Leeds United | 29 | (1) |
2010 | → Carlisle United (loan) | 10 | (3) |
2011 | → Swindon Town (loan) | 7 | (1) |
2011–2012 | Brentford | 11 | (0) |
2012 | Bury | 10 | (4) |
2012–2013 | Scunthorpe United | 25 | (1) |
2013 | Viborg FF | 2 | (0) |
2014 |
Carolina RailHawks | 7 | (2) |
2015–2017 | New York Red Bulls | 73 | (16) |
2018 |
Columbus Crew SC | 12 | (1) |
Total | 207 | (41) | |
International career | |||
United States U18 | |||
United States U20 | |||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of November 26, 2018 |
Michele Grella (born January 23, 1987) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a forward and winger, who is currently a soccer analyst for CBS Sports Network and Paramount+.
Club career
Youth and amateur
Grella was born in
During the 2007 collegiate offseason, he played for the
Leeds United
2008–09 season
In February 2009, he was drafted in the third round (34th overall) of the 2009 MLS SuperDraft by Toronto FC. However, Grella decided against signing for the Canadian club, and instead tried his luck at playing in Europe. Grella went on trial with Leeds United in January 2009, and scored a hat-trick for the club's reserves on the 21st of that month against Barnsley FC.[1] He also scored a goal in a behind closed doors game, with news of a permanent deal pending. He signed a full-time contract for Leeds United on transfer deadline day, 2 February 2009, until the end of the 2009–10 season.[2]
He made his Leeds debut on 14 February 2009, after coming on as a 74th minute substitute for Lee Trundle in a 1–0 defeat to Huddersfield Town.[3] His first season in professional football was mainly spent making short cameos as a substitute during Leeds fight for promotion. He came on late in Leeds' playoff semi final against Millwall but was unable to grab a goal during his first team appearances for Leeds.
2009–10 season
Grella scored his first senior goal for Leeds in a pre-season friendly against Burnley. On 10 August 2009 he was voted Man Of The Match in a League Cup match against Darlington although he didn't score. He signed a new long-term contract with Leeds.
Grella had to wait just over seven months for his first league start. Replacing the injured
Grella scored for Leeds after coming on as a late substitute in the 2–0 FA Cup win against Oldham.
Grella's fifth goal of the season for Leeds came in Football League Trophy Northern Area Final second leg against Carlisle United. With Grella coming on as a second-half substitute and scoring the late winner to send the tie to penalties, one of which Grella converted in the shootout, but Leeds ended up crashing out of the tournament after losing 6–5 on penalties.
2010–11 season
He made his first appearance in The Championship when he came on in the opening fixture as a second-half substitute in the loss to
Carlisle United and Swindon Town loan spells
On 12 October 2010, Grella joined Carlisle United on a month's loan to gain some more first team experience and gain regular football.[14] He joined fellow Leeds loanee Ľubo Michalík who was already at the club.[14] Grella made his debut as a second-half substitute against Exeter City, he started the next game against Charlton, and scored his first goal for Carlisle against Charlton Athletic.[15] He scored in his second consecutive game against Bristol Rovers.[16] Leeds refused permission for Grella to play for Carlisle in the FA Cup against Tipton Town.[17] After impressing during his first month at Carlisle, Grella's loan was extended to 1 January 2011, with Leeds including a 24-hour recall clause if he is needed.[18][19][20] Carlisle had requested to loan Grella for the entire season but had that request turned down by Ken Bates.[21] On 20 November, Grella scored his third goal for Carlisle against Walsall.[22]
On 20 January 2011, Scottish Premier League side Motherwell announced they had signed Grella on loan until the end of the 2010–11 season.[23] Grella returned to Leeds the following day, however, when it became clear that he could not play for Motherwell as he had already played for two different clubs (Leeds and Carlisle) earlier in the season.[23]
On 24 February 2011, Grella agreed to join Swindon Town on loan until the end of the 2010–11 season. Grella scored his first goal for Swindon against
2011–12 season
Leeds chairman, Ken Bates announced on 12 May that Grella was to be transfer listed by Leeds as he didn't figure in the club's future plans.[26]
On 8 June, Grella was given permission to train with American team
Brentford
On 26 August 2011, Mike Grella joined League One side Brentford on an emergency loan deal.
On 14 February, Grella left the club after having his contract terminated by mutual consent.[34]
Bury
Following his release from Brentford,
Having scored four goals in his short spell with the club, manager
Scunthorpe United
After rejecting a new deal in favour of joining an unnamed club, a number of League One and League Two clubs had been tracking him, including
Viborg
Grella was released at the end of the 2012–13 season by mutual consent. He signed with Viborg FF in the Danish Superliga in October 2013.[41] He left the club at the end of 2013 after appearing in only 2 league matches as a substitute.
RailHawks
Grella signed with the
New York Red Bulls
On 17 February 2015, Grella signed with New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer after a successful trial spell.[45] Grella made his debut for New York on 8 March 2015 appearing as a starter in a 1–1 draw at Sporting Kansas City.[46]
On 28 March 2015, Grella scored his first goal for New York and the 1,000th goal in club history in a 2–1 victory over
On 19 July 2015, Grella scored his sixth goal of the season in a 2–0 victory over
On 19 March 2016, Grella scored his first goal of the season in helping New York to a 4-3 come from behind victory over
Columbus Crew SC
After an injury-shortened 2017 season, New York declined Grella's 2018 contract option and he entered the
Grella made his debut for Columbus on 28 April 2018 appearing as a substitute in the 65th minute and scoring the game-winning goal in a 2–1 win at home.[58] His contract option would be declined by the club at the end of the season, after he had appeared in 12 games with one goal.[59]
International career
Grella has represented the United States at both under-18 and
Honors
- Football League One Runners up: 2009–10
- 2015
Career statistics
Club | Season | League | Domestic Cup[a] | League Cup[b] | Continental[c] | Other | Total | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Long Island Rough Riders | 2007 | USL PDL
|
12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 12 | 5 | |||
2008 | 5 | 5 | – | – | – | – | 5 | 5 | ||||||
Total | 17 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 10 | ||
Cary Clarets
|
2008 | USL PDL | 3 | 2 | – | – | – | – | 3 | 2 | ||||
Leeds United | 2008–09 | League One | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1[d] | 0 | 12 | 0 | |
2009–10 | League One | 18 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | – | 4[e] | 1 | 29 | 5 | ||
2010-11 | Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 2 | 0 | |||
Total | 30 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 43 | 5 | ||
Carlisle United (loan) | 2010–11 | League One | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1[e] | 0 | 11 | 3 | |
Swindon Town (loan) | 2010–11 | League One | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | |
Brentford | 2011–12 | League One | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 4[e] | 4 | 17 | 4 | |
Bury | 2011–12 | League One | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 10 | 4 | |
Scunthorpe United | 2012–13 | League One | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | 1[e] | 0 | 29 | 2 | |
Viborg FF | 2013–14 | Superliga | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 2 | 0 | |||
Carolina RailHawks
|
2014
|
NASL | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | 9 | 2 | |||
New York Red Bulls | 2015 | MLS | 33 | 9 | 3 | 1 | – | – | 4[f] | 0 | 40 | 10 | ||
2016 | 32 | 7 | 2 | 1 | – | 2 | 0 | 2[f] | 0 | 38 | 8 | |||
2017 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |||
Total | 73 | 16 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 89 | 18 | ||
Columbus Crew SC
|
2018 | MLS | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | ||
Career total | 207 | 41 | 15 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 17 | 5 | 249 | 52 |
- ^ Includes the FA Cup and U.S. Open Cup
- Football League Cup
- CONCACAF Champions League
- Football League One play-offs
- ^ Football League Trophy
- ^ a b Appearances in the MLS Cup Playoffs
Personal life
He spends his time off with his family – wife Jessica and their children Michele Joseph and Liliana June, mother Grazia, father Michele Sr., and brother Frank – back in Glen Cove, NY. His family is originally from Sturno, province of Avellino in Italy. He is an ardent supporter of Italian Serie A side
As of April 2022, he is currently a Serie A analyst at Paramount+ and occasionally for MLS Season Pass.[65]
References
- ^ "Grella impresses in reserves win". BBC Sport. 21 January 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2009.
- ^ "Striker Grella seals Leeds move". BBC Sport. 2 February 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2009.
- ^ "Huddersfield 1–0 Leeds". BBC Sport. 14 February 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
- ^ "Leeds United 2–0 Stockport". BBC. 5 September 2009. Retrieved 6 September 2009.
- ^ "Oldham 0–2 Leeds United". BBC. 7 November 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
- ^ "Leeds United 5–1 Kettering". BBC. 8 December 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
- ^ Kay, Oliver; Trafford, Old (4 January 2010). "Leeds United shock Manchester United in the FA Cup third round". The Times. London.
- ^ "Carlisle 2–3 Leeds United (agg 4–4)". BBC. 9 February 2010. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
- ^ "Leeds - LUFC Grella turns down move away from Elland Road". Leeds.vitalfootball.co.uk. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
- ^ "Good News As United Beat Boro". Leeds United. Archived from the original on 2010-09-16. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
- ^ "Football | League 2 | Bradford City News". TEAMtalk. 7 February 2012. Archived from the original on March 13, 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
- ^ "Leeds United: Grayson's warning to Grella - Sport". Yorkshire Evening Post. 25 September 2010. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
- ^ "McCartney will strengthen Leeds - Grayson". BBC News. 23 September 2010.
- ^ a b "Striker Moves Out In Loan Deal". Leeds United. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
- ^ "Carlisle 3-4 Charlton". BBC News. 23 October 2010.
- ^ "Bristol Rovers 1-1 Carlisle". BBC News. 30 October 2010.
- ^ "Carlisle 6-0 Tipton Town". BBC News. 6 November 2010.
- ^ "Striker'S Loan Extended". Leeds United. 15 November 2010. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
- ^ "Grella extends Carlisle loan stay". BBC News. 15 November 2010.
- ^ "Grella staying with Carlisle". Sky Sports. 15 November 2010.
- ^ "Leeds United: Carlisle's bid to keep Grella for season rejected - Sport". Yorkshire Evening Post. 15 November 2010. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
- ^ "Walsall 2-1 Carlisle". BBC News. 20 November 2010.
- ^ a b "Mike Grella's Motherwell move from Leeds falls through". BBC Sport. 21 January 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
- ^ Fletcher, Paul (12 March 2011). "Swindon 1-1 Dag & Red". BBC News.
- ^ "Hart says good riddance to Grella". BBC News. 12 April 2011.
- ^ "Trio set to leave Leeds". Sky Sports. 12 May 2011.
- ^ "Grella's Big Apple Opportunity". Leeds United. 8 June 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
- ^ "About Mike Grella, Carl Shutt, and the Cult of Soccer Dog". The Square Ball. 8 July 2011. Archived from the original on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
- ^ Grella, Mike (8 June 2011). "Twitter Status Update". Twitter.
- ^ "Foxes Beaten At Thorp Arch". Leeds United. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
- ^ "Trialists In Frame At Farsley". Leeds United. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
- ^ "Grella Departs Elland Road". Leeds United FC. Archived from the original on 4 September 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
- ^ "Mike Grella Finally Parts Company With Leeds". The Scratching Shed. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
- ^ "Mike Grella Contract Terminated at Brentford by Mutual Consent". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
- ^ "Shakers snap up striker Grella". Sky Sports. 27 February 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
- ^ "Shakers secure safety". Yahoo! Europsort. 22 April 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
- ^ "Grella survives squad shake up". Sky Sports. 8 May 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
- ^ "Good offer gets Grella going". Sky Sports. 30 May 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- ^ "Miller The Next Scot Dynamo?". soccer365.com. 14 June 2012. Archived from the original on 2 February 2013.
- ^ "Scunthorpe boss Alan Knill confirms Mike Grella offer". BBC Sport. 28 Jun 2012.
- ^ Mike Grella vff.dk - vff.dk
- ^ Grella added to the roster - carolinarailhawks.com
- ^ "Railhawks defeat Atlanta to extend home unbeaten streak". carolinarailhawks.com. Archived from the original on 2015-02-05. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- ^ "Record crowd watch Railhawks extend home unbeaten streak". carolinarailhawks.com. Archived from the original on 2015-02-05. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
- ^ "New York Red Bulls sign forward Mike Grella". newyorkredbulls.com. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- ^ "RBNY earn hard-fought point on the road vs. Sporting Kansas City". newyorkredbulls.com. Archived from the original on 10 May 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- ^ "Grella chips in to give RBNY road win over Columbus". newyorkredbulls.com. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ^ "MATCH RECAP: New York Red Bulls 2, San Jose Earthquakes 0". newyorkredbulls.com. Archived from the original on 22 April 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
- ^ "New York Red Bulls 1, Real Salt Lake 0 MLS Match Recap". newyorkredbulls.com. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
- ^ "New York Red Bulls 4, New York Cosmos 1". New York Red Bulls. Archived from the original on 2016-05-17. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
- ^ "FULL TIME: Four star Red Bulls down Union, clinch Eastern Conference regular season title". newyorkredbulls.com. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "#GrellaGIFS: A collection of Mike Grella's best moments with the Red Bulls". newyorkredbulls.com. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
- ^ "MATCH RECAP: New York Red Bulls 4, Houston Dynamo 3". newyorkredbulls.com. 19 March 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
- ^ "MATCH RECAP: New York Red Bulls 3, Orlando City SC 2". newyorkredbulls.com. 24 April 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
- ^ "New York Red Bulls 4, FC Dallas 0: 2016 MLS Match Recap". MLSSoccer.com. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
- ^ "New York Red Bulls' Mike Grella wins MLS Player of the Week for Week 15". MLSSoccer.com. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
- ^ "Mike Grella to Columbus, Tyrone Mears to Minnesota after Re-Entry Stage 1 | MLSSoccer.com".
- ^ "Grella makes fairytale return to action | Columbus Crew".
- ^ Crew SC Communications (November 26, 2018). "Columbus Crew SC exercises options on contracts of eight players ahead of 2019". ColumbusCrewSC.com. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
- ^ "Leeds United: Mike Grella on his World Cup finals dream - Latest Whites News". Yorkshire Evening Post. 13 November 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
- ^ Mike Grella at Soccerway
- ^ Mike Grella at Soccerbase
- ^ Mike Grella at Major League Soccer
- ^ "Mike Grella moves closer to Juventus". Calcio Mercado. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
- ^ "ViacomCBS Press Express - Soccer".
External links
- Mike Grella at Major League Soccer
- Mike Grella at Soccerway
- Mike Grella at Soccerbase
- Mike Grella at WorldFootball.net
- Duke University player profile Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine