Ante Razov (born March 2, 1974) is an American

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 ...

coach and former player who is an assistant coach for

Los Angeles FC Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Los Angeles. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. It was establi ...

. A prolific forward, Razov is one of the leading goal scorers in the history of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the all-time leading goal scorer for two current or former MLS clubs: the Chicago Fire with 76 goals and

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competed in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conf ...

with 30 goals. In April 2007, Razov became the third player in MLS history to score 100 goals. Razov also played for the

United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT), officially recognized as USA by FIFA, represents the United States in men's international Association football, soccer. The team is governed by the United States Soccer Federation, which is ...

Early life

Razov, who was born in a family of Croatian immigrants, spent his childhood in Fontana, California. He attended Fontana High School, and went on to play college soccer at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

Playing career

Club

Razov was drafted by the

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 ...

in the third round of the

1996 MLS College Draft The 1996 Major League Soccer College Draft was held on March 4, 1996, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. History As Major League Soccer prepared for its first season, the league began stocking teams with players. As the teams were being created at the ...

. He played two seasons in LA, but did not get much playing time, scoring just one goal, and signed with the expansion Chicago Fire prior to the 1998 season. During his time with the Galaxy, he went on loan with the Sacramento Scorpions of

USISL The United States Interregional Soccer League (USISL) was a semi-professional men's outdoor soccer league that played six seasons from 1989 to 1994. It was the first outdoor league to be operated by the organization known today as the United ...

. Razov spent the next seven years with Chicago, save a brief period in 2001 that he spent with Spanish second division club

Racing de Ferrol Racing Club de Ferrol, commonly known as Racing de Ferrol, is a Spanish football team based in Ferrol, Province of A Coruña, in the autonomous community of Galicia. Founded in 1919, the club currently plays in , holding home games at '' E ...

. In his seven years with the Fire he led the club in goals and points five times (including club record 18 goals and 42 points in 2000). He is the club's all-time leader with 76 goals and 190 points. Razov was named to the

MLS Best XI The MLS Best XI is an annual acknowledgment of the best eleven players in Major League Soccer. The selection is determined by a collection of media, players, and MLS club technical staffs. Winners Appearances by player The following players ...

in 2003. With Chicago, he won the

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 ...

in 1998 and the US Open Cup in 1998, 2000, and 2003. Following a disappointing 2004 season and clashes with head coach

Dave Sarachan Dave Sarachan (born June 7, 1954) is an American former soccer player and coach. Sarachan spent two seasons as a player in the North American Soccer League and four in Major Indoor Soccer League before retiring in 1982. Since then, he has coa ...

, Razov was traded to 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 ...

in exchange for Tony Sanneh. However, one blemish in Razov's career was being stopped from the penalty spot in the 2003 MLS Cup. The Fire went on to lose the game, 4–2. But Razov did not last long in Columbus. Even though he scored in the 2005 season opener, his tenure with the club lasted five games. Disagreement with head coach Greg Andrulis led to Razov's reuniting with his ex-coach with the Fire,

Bob Bradley Robert Frank Bradley (born March 3, 1958) is an American association football, soccer coach, who most recently managed Norwegian football team Stabæk Fotball, Stabæk fron 2023 - 2024. A native of New Jersey and graduate of Princeton Universi ...

, at the MetroStars. He was acquired in exchange for John Wolyniec and a partial allocation. After the season, Bradley acquired Razov again, for Thiago Martins and another partial allocation. On April 21, 2007, Razov scored his 100th career regular-season MLS goal. At 33 years old, he became the third player in MLS history to reach 100 goals. At the time, he trailed only Jaime Moreno and Jeff Cunningham, having passed Jason Kreis. All three joined MLS at its inception in 1996.

International

Razov received his first cap with the U.S. national team on March 25, 1995, against

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. Although he never played in the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

, he scored a couple of key goals in qualifiers, including one against

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

in 2000 and

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

in 2001. Overall, Razov scored six goals in 25 caps for the US.

International goals

, - , 1. , June 6, 2000 ,

Foxboro Stadium Foxboro Stadium, originally Schaefer Stadium and later Sullivan Stadium, was an outdoor stadium in the New England region of the United States, located in Foxborough, Massachusetts. It opened in 1971 and served as the home of the New England ...

, Foxboro, United States , , , , , - , 2. , June 11, 2000 ,

Giants Stadium Giants Stadium (sometimes referred to as Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands) was a stadium located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The venue was open from 1976 to 2010, and primarily hosted sporting events and ...

, East Rutherford, United States , , , , , - , 3. , July 16, 2000 , Estadio Carlos Salazar Hijo, Mazatenango, Guatemala , , , , , - , 4. , November 15, 2000 ,

Barbados National Stadium Barbados National Stadium is a multi-use outdoor stadium in Waterford, St. Michael, Barbados. Occupying a 22-acre site, it was officially opened on 23 October 1970 by Prince Charles. Situated approximately 4.3 km northeast of the capital ...

Bridgetown Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Barbados. Formerly The Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the Parishes of Barbados, parish of Saint Michael, Barbados, Saint Mic ...

, Barbados , , , , , - , 5. , June 20, 2001 ,

, Foxboro, United States , , , , , - , 6. , January 27, 2002 , Rose Bowl, Pasadena, United States , , , ,

Coaching career

In 2012, Razov was hired to serve as the

LA 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 ...

's U14 head coach. He replaced Craig Harrington, who was their coach for their first year in the Southern California Developmental Soccer League. Razov joined

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...

as an assistant coach under Sigi Schmid, his former college coach, in 2015. Razov spent one season as an assistant coach for the LA Galaxy's senior squad under Curt Onalfo in 2017. In January 2018, he was announced as an assistant coach for expansion side

under his former coach

Honors

United States

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup () is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament is held every two ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

Chicago Fire

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 199 ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

* U.S. Open Cup:

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

Individual

* MLS 100 goals club * MLS 50/50 Club *

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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Razov, Ante 1974 births Living people Sportspeople from Whittier, California Soccer players from Los Angeles County, California American people of Croatian descent American men's soccer players American expatriate men's soccer players United States men's international soccer players CONCACAF Gold Cup–winning players 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Chicago Fire FC players Columbus Crew players LA Galaxy players Racing de Ferrol footballers New York Red Bulls players Sacramento Scorpions players Chivas USA players Major League Soccer players UCLA Bruins men's soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in Spain USISL players Major League Soccer All-Stars LA Galaxy draft picks United States men's youth international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's under-23 international soccer players LA Galaxy non-playing staff Seattle Sounders FC non-playing staff Men's association football forwards Los Angeles FC non-playing staff Fontana High School alumni 20th-century American sportsmen