Andrew Jacobson (born September 24, 1985) is a retired 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 played 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 ...

Early life

Jacobson is Jewish and was born in

Fort Myers, Florida Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 86,395; it was estimated to have grown to 95,949 in 2022, making it the List o ...

. He attended Gunn High School, where he was named 2003 Central Coast Section Player of the Year, and played college soccer at

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

from 2003 to 2006, where he was named to the all

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

team three times.

Professional career

Jacobson was the 24th overall pick in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft and the first pick by D.C. United. However, instead of playing in MLS, Jacobson signed a contract with

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

’s

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

. However, injuries limited his playing time, and he never played a first team game for ''Les Merlus''. Despite trialling with several clubs in Europe, Jacobson returned to MLS in 2009 and was allocated to the team which originally drafted him, D.C. United. He made his United debut as a substitute in DC's first game of the 2009 MLS season against

Los Angeles Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

. Jacobson was selected by

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the Union began ...

in the 2009 MLS Expansion Draft on November 25, 2009. Jacobson was traded to

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The franchise be ...

on February 18, 2011, in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft. He scored his first professional goal on May 28, 2011, while playing for Dallas against

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their fo ...

. After three and a half years served at the Texas club, Jacobson was traded to

New York City FC New York City Football Club (often referred to as NYCFC) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in New York City. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern C ...

for a third-round pick in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft, becoming only their fifth ever player. As the new expansion club was not due to begin competitive games until 2015, he was immediately loaned out to Stabæk IF of the Tippeligaen in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

to preserve his match fitness. He returned to NYC for the 2015 season and appeared in 33 matches. On March 11, 2016, NYC traded Jacobson to

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The MLS ite ...

in exchange for targeted allocation money. Jacobson announced his retirement on January 17, 2018.

International

Jacobson was named to the United States national futsal team and was a substitute in four matches at the 2008 FIFA Futsal World Cup in Brazil.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobson, Andrew 1985 births Living people American men's soccer players Jewish American soccer players California Golden Bears men's soccer players FC Lorient players D.C. United players Philadelphia Union players FC Dallas players New York City FC players Stabæk Fotball players Vancouver Whitecaps FC players Men's association football midfielders Sportspeople from Palo Alto, California Soccer players from Santa Clara County, California Major League Soccer players Eliteserien players D.C. United draft picks All-American college men's soccer players American men's futsal players Gunn High School alumni 21st-century American Jews Jews from Florida