Joe Franchino (born August 9, 1976, in

Fontana, California Fontana is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. Founded by Azariel Blanchard Miller in 1913, it remained essentially rural until World War II, when entrepreneur Henry J. Kaiser built a large steel mill in the area. It ...

) is an American former

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.

Youth and college

Franchino played youth club soccer in Alta Loma, CA for such competitive teams as the Aztecs and Arsenal. His first club team, the Aztecs, won the State Cup Championships the first year the Under-10 age bracket started. For High School he attended and played soccer at

Damien High School Damien High School is an all-boys Roman Catholic high school in La Verne, in the U.S. state of California, named for Saint Damien of Molokai. It is located in and operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, part of the tri-school ...

La Verne, California La Verne is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 31,334 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History The area was home to Native Americans. The European history of the area dates back to the ...

. He played college soccer at Cal State Fullerton- where he was coached by Al Mistri in 1994 and 1995, and was named to Soccer America's All-Freshman team. After his sophomore year, Franchino transferred to the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

, where he played in 1996 and 1997.

Career

Professional

Franchino was selected 30th overall in the

1998 MLS College Draft The 1998 Major League Soccer College Draft was held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on January 31 and February 1, 1998. The College Draft was followed by the 1998 MLS Supplemental Draft. Format On Saturday, January 31, 1998, Major League Soccer hel ...

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 ...

. After appearing in 16 games and recording four assists as a rookie, Franchino became a consistent starter for the Galaxy in 1999. He played in 25 games in 1999, 16 of them starts, and recorded three assists.

New England Revolution

In the middle of the 2000 season, however, the Galaxy were forced by the league to give Franchino to the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. It is on ...

, along with

Clint Mathis Clint Mathis (born November 25, 1976) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a forward or midfielder. He appeared at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, scoring one goal. He also played in Major League Soccer for the MetroStars, wh ...

to the MetroStars, in exchange for the marquee acquisition of Luis Hernández. While Hernandez was a colossal failure, Franchino became an important and consistent part of the Revolution's lineup. He was a fixture for the Revolution in the backline and midfield during his first six seasons with the club, never playing in fewer than 20 games per season. After a MLS "Special Draft" sent Franchino to the Revolution on May 17, 2000, he started all 22 games he appeared in for New England in

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 ...

and played a semi-regular starting role for the next six years, during some of which he was team captain, including the 2002 season, in which he led the Revolution to

MLS Cup 2002 MLS Cup 2002 was the seventh edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS), which took place on October 20, 2002. It was hosted at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, and contested by the New England Re ...

final. Franchino made his Revolution debut on May 20, 2000, in a 1-0 victory over

Chicago Fire FC Chicago Fire Football Club is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Chicago. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The Fire play their hom ...

. Four days later he made his home debut, in a 2-1 win over his former club, the LA Galaxy. He scored his first Revolution goal (part of a

brace Brace (formerly known as ''Brace For War'') was an Australian mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion. Brace was founded in 2005 by Kya Pate. In an interview with MMA Kanvas Kya Pate detailed what it is like to be the promoter of Australian MMA. Si ...

) in the final match of the season, a 4-3 win over the MetroStars, on September 9, 2000. Franchino was second in matches-started for the Revolution during the

2001 New England Revolution season The 2001 New England Revolution season was the sixth season for the New England Revolution both as a club and in Major League Soccer (MLS). The club missed the playoffs after finishing third in the Eastern conference. The club was reached the fi ...

with 23, and recorded 23 more starts in

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 ...

. As a result, he received the Revolution Defender of the Year Award. He was also a finalist for the 2003 MLS Goal of the Year Award. Franchino became the first player in Revolution history to ever win MLS Goal of the Week, earning the honors for his week 5 goal against the LA Galaxy on May 1.

Return to LA

On April 18, 2008, the Revolution traded Franchino to the

in exchange for a second-round pick in the

2009 MLS SuperDraft The 2009 MLS SuperDraft took place on January 15, 2009, in St. Louis, Missouri. It was the tenth annual Major League Soccer MLS SuperDraft, SuperDraft. The first selection was owned by the expansion Seattle Sounders FC. Unlike previous years, ...

. On November 26, 2008, the Galaxy waived Franchino.

International

Franchino played one game with the U.S. national team, earning a cap in a friendly 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 ...

on October 25, 2000.

Honors

LA Galaxy *

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 ...

: 1998 * Western Conference (Playoff): 1999 * Western Conference (Regular Season): 1998, 1999 New England Revolution *

U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

* Eastern Conference (Playoff): 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007 * Eastern Conference (Regular Season): 2005 Individual * New England Revolution Defender of the Year: 2002

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Franchino, Joe 1976 births Living people American men's soccer players Cal State Fullerton Titans men's soccer players American people of Italian descent LA Galaxy players Major League Soccer players MLS Pro-40 players New England Revolution players Orange County Blue Star players A-League (1995–2004) players United States men's international soccer players Washington Huskies men's soccer players LA Galaxy draft picks Men's association football midfielders Damien High School alumni