Aidan Zen Patrick Morris (born November 16, 2001) is an American professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

club

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

and the United States national team.

Youth career

Originally from Florida, Morris played academy soccer for

Weston FC Weston FC is a soccer club in Weston, Florida competing in the USL League Two. They are also one of the largest soccer clubs in the country for youth soccer. History The club was founded in 1998 as a youth soccer club. They have approximately 1 ...

, and was recruited to the Columbus Crew Academy, where he played from 2017 to 2019, accumulating 43 appearances and scoring eight goals across his three years in the academy. He attended

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

in 2019, scoring two goals and providing a team-leading eight assists. Morris was recognized as the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week twice on October 8 and 29, and was later named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and won the 2019 TopDrawerSoccer.com National Freshman of the Year Award. After his lone college season, Morris signed as a homegrown player for the

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...

Professional career

Columbus Crew

2020 season

Morris was announced as a homegrown player signing by the Columbus Crew on January 14, 2020. He made his professional debut in a July 11 match during the

MLS is Back Tournament The MLS is Back Tournament took place during the 2020 Major League Soccer season to mark the league's return to action after being suspended as a result of the Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports, COVID-19 pandemic. Of the 26 Major League ...

, coming on late in a 4–0 trouncing of in-state rival

FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati is an American professional soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team was first announced on August 12, 2015 as a United Soccer Leag ...

. He made his second appearance for the Crew on July 16, coming off the bench for an injured

Darlington Nagbe Darlington Joephillip Nagbe (born July 19, 1990) is a professional association football, soccer player who plays as a midfielder for and captains Major League Soccer club Columbus Crew. Born in Liberia, he played for the United States men's nat ...

in the 67th minute of a 2–0 win against

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conferenc ...

. He made his first start for the Crew in October 2020. Overall, Morris made eleven appearances for the Crew during the 2020 MLS season. To cap off the season, on December 12, 2020, he became the youngest player in league history to start in

MLS Cup MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Confere ...

as he helped guide the Crew to a 3–0 win over the Seattle Sounders.

2021 season

Morris started the first game of the 2021 season for the Crew, a 4–0 win against

Real Estelí Real may refer to: Currencies * Argentine real * Brazilian real (R$) * Central American Republic real * Mexican real * Portuguese real * Spanish real * Spanish colonial real Nature and science * Reality, the state of things as they exist, rath ...

in the round of 16 of the

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...

. Morris again started the second leg against Real Esteli, however, he left the game in the fourth minute of what was a 1–0 victory for Columbus with an ACL injury that sidelined him for the entirety of the 2021 MLS season.

Middlesbrough

After an "emotional" final game with Columbus, Morris was announced as a signing by

club

on June 28, 2024. The transfer fee was reported by ''

The Athletic ''The Athletic'' is a subscription-based sports journalism department of ''The New York Times''. It provides national and local coverage in 47 North American cities as well as the United Kingdom. ''The Athletic'' also covers national stories ...

'' to be in the region of $4 million. He made his debut for Middlesbrough against

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

on 10 August 2024, becoming the 1000th player to make a competitive appearance for the club.

International career

He has made appearances for the United States under-18 and under-20 soccer teams. He made his senior debut in a 2–1 loss to

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

on January 25, 2023. In May 2023, Morris was listed on both the United States and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

preliminary rosters for the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League Finals. In June 2023, he committed to the United States, joining their roster for the

2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 17th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the biennial international men's association football, soccer championship of the North, Central American and Caribbean region organized by CONCACAF. Canada and the United ...

. On October 8, 2023, Morris was called up to the United States under-23 national team ahead of friendlies against

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Style of play

Morris is known for his drive, aggression, and his excellent ball-winning abilities, which have been attributed to his positioning, determination and impressive work rate. He is a player that not afraid to tackle or get involved in any part of the field.

Personal life

Born in the United States, Morris is of Canadian descent through his father. He is a fan of

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

Career statistics

Club

International

Honors

Indiana Hoosiers * Big Ten men's soccer tournament:

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Columbus Crew *

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Individual * ''Top Drawer Soccer'' Freshman of the Year: 2019 *

MLS All-Star The Major League Soccer All-Star Game is an annual Association football, soccer game held by Major League Soccer featuring selected players from the league against an international club or selected players from another league. MLS initially ado ...

References

External links

*
Aidan Morris
at

Aidan Morris
at

Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the demonym for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Aidan 2001 births Living people Soccer players from Fort Lauderdale, Florida American men's soccer players Men's association football midfielders United States men's international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players American sportspeople of Canadian descent Indiana Hoosiers men's soccer players Columbus Crew players Columbus Crew 2 players Middlesbrough F.C. players Major League Soccer players MLS Next Pro players Homegrown Players (MLS) English Football League players 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup players United States men's under-23 international soccer players American expatriate men's soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in England American expatriate sportspeople in England 21st-century American sportsmen