Taylor Twellman
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Taylor Timothy Twellman | ||||||||||||||||
Date of birth | February 29, 1980 | ||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||
Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||||||||||
Position(s) | Forward | ||||||||||||||||
College career | |||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
1998–1999 | Maryland Terrapins | 43 | (28) | ||||||||||||||
Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
2000–2002 | 1860 Munich II | 36 | (7) | ||||||||||||||
2002–2010 | New England Revolution | 174 | (101) | ||||||||||||||
Total | 210 | (108) | |||||||||||||||
International career | |||||||||||||||||
1997 |
United States U17 | 3 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
1999 |
United States U20 | 4 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
2002–2008 | United States | 30 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Taylor Timothy Twellman (born February 29, 1980) is an American former soccer player who played professionally from 1999 to 2010. He now works in the media as a soccer television commentator for MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Twellman is best known for his play with the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer (MLS) from 2002 to 2009, during which time he scored more goals in MLS than any other player.[1] He was the youngest player to score 100 goals in MLS in 2009 at the age of 29,[2] and is New England's all-time leading goal scorer. Twellman was a five-time MLS all-star and in 2005 was the league MVP.[3] Twellman also earned 30 caps for the United States national team, scoring 6 international goals.
Twellman has been active since his retirement in promoting awareness of concussions and working in the media as a color commentator for ESPN/ABC until 2023 and for Apple TV since 2023.
Youth and college
Taylor was raised in
Professional career
In 2000, Twellman signed with German
Twellman returned to the U.S. when he was drafted second overall by the New England Revolution in the 2002 MLS SuperDraft. In Twellman's first season in MLS, he established himself as one of the best players in the league, scoring 23 goals.[5] He finished second in league MVP voting, and was named to the 2002 MLS Best XI.[3] In the 2003 season, despite being beset by a number of injuries, Twellman finished tied with Carlos Ruiz of the L.A. Galaxy for top goalscorer of the league with 15. His production went down in 2004, as he ended up with just nine goals.
Twellman's best MLS season came in 2005, winning both the
In 2007, Twellman won his first title with the Revolution: the
In January 2008, English
Injuries and retirement
Twellman suffered a neck injury and a serious
International career
Twellman began his involvement with the U.S. national program at youth level with the U-17 and U-20 squads. He first gained professional attention after scoring four goals for the U-20 national team at the 1999
After establishing himself in MLS, Twellman made his first appearance with the
Twellman was selected by new U.S. coach Bob Bradley as a member of the U.S. squad for the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, scoring in a group stage win over El Salvador. Twellman gradually fell out of the national team pool in the following years after a series of concussions sidelined his club career.
Post-retirement
Since retirement, Twellman has created the THINKTaylor foundation, a charitable organization regarding sports-related concussions. Twellman has agreed to donate his brain to science after death. His brain could be of use to determine whether multiple concussions cause permanent harm to the brain.[12]
Twellman Soccer provides programs and tools for players, coaches and organizations across the United States.
Media career
Twellman has had an active media career after retiring as a player. He joined ESPN/ABC from November 2011 until January 2023 as a soccer analyst,[13][14][15] serving as lead color commentator for their Major League Soccer coverage alongside lead play-by-play commentator Adrian Healey and later Jon Champion.[16] He also hosted a weekly recap show about the league, MLS Rewind, on ESPN+. Twellman called the 2012, 2016, and 2020 European Championships, and in 2014 Twellman was the USMNT lead color commentator in the World Cup in Brazil.[17] He left the network in January 2023 to join Apple's MLS coverage.[13]
Personal life
Taylor's father
Career statistics
MLS
Club | Season | League | Open Cup
|
North America | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
New England Revolution | 2002 | Major League Soccer | 28 | 23 | – | – | 28 | 23 | ||
2003 | 22 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 25 | 17 | ||
2004 | 23 | 9 | 1 | 0 | – | 24 | 9 | |||
2005 | 25 | 17 | 1 | 0 | – | 26 | 17 | |||
2006 | 32 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 36 | 12 | ||
2007 | 26 | 16 | 4 | 4 | – | 30 | 20 | |||
2008 | 16 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 9 | ||
2009 | 2 | 2 | – | – | 2 | 2 | ||||
Career total | 174 | 101 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 190 | 109 |
Honors
New England Revolution
United States
Individual
- Major League Soccer MVP: 2005
- MLS Golden Boot (2): 2002, 2005
- MLS Best XI: 2002, 2005
- MLS 100 goals club
In 2004, Twellman received the inaugural Keough Award, which recognizes the outstanding male soccer player from the St. Louis area.
References
- ^ a b "MLS blocks another offer for Twellman", Boston Globe, Frank Dell'Apa, January 31, 2008.
- ^ "TWELLMAN NAMED MLS PLAYER OF THE WEEK", Soccer By Ives, June 8, 2009.
- ^ a b "Revs' Twellman retires 2 years after concussion", Washington Post, Steve Ulman, November 3, 2010.
- ^ Rosewater, Amy (August 1, 2002), "Twinkle returns for Twellman", USA Today, retrieved November 9, 2007
- ^ "Landon Donovan may have the record, but Twellman's abbreviated career showed the Revs striker was truly the best at finding the net", Goal.com, Keith Hickey, May 27, 2014.
- ^ Revs' Taylor Twellman signs contract extension, MLS, February 12, 2007, archived from the original on December 29, 2007, retrieved November 9, 2007
- ^ "Dynamo beat Revolution 2–1 to repeat as MLS champions", Fox Sports, November 18, 2007, archived from the original on November 20, 2007, retrieved November 18, 2007
- ^ "English team ponders new pitch for Twellman", Boston Globe, Frank Dell'Apa, January 8, 2008.
- ^ "Twellman Vents About Preston Approach". The Washington Post. January 18, 2008. Retrieved January 30, 2008.
- ^ "Revolution F Twellman out with concussion symptoms". USA Today. Associated Press. October 28, 2008. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
- ^ Ulman, Howard (November 3, 2010). "Revs' Twellman retires 2 years after concussion". The Washington Post. Associated Press. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
- ^ "Twellman's retirement 'not a choice'". Archived from the original on 2012-09-08. Retrieved 2010-11-05.
- ^ a b Koons, Zach (January 6, 2023). "Taylor Twellman Announces Departure From ESPN". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
- ^ Wahl, Grant (2011-11-21). "Grant Wahl: Harkes out as ESPN's lead analyst". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
- ^ "Taylor Twellman Replacing John Harkes In ESPN's Soccer Booth Next Year". www.sportsbusinessjournal.com. 2011-11-22. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
- ^ Hofheimer, Bill (2018-12-10). "Renowned British Broadcaster Jon Champion Will Move to the United States as ESPN's New Play-by-Play Voice for Major League Soccer". ESPN Press Room U.S. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
- ^ "After concussion ends playing career, Taylor Twellman is again a rising star", Baltimore Sun, Ryan Bacic, June 20, 2014.