Sal Zizzo
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Salvatore "Sal" Zizzo Jr. (born April 3, 1987 in
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
, CA) is an American former 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 winger or full-back.


Career


Youth and amateur

Zizzo attended Patrick Henry High School, where he played
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 ...
and
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
. As a baseball center fielder, he was a four-year letterman and voted first-team All-CIF his junior year. He also excelled in soccer, he was voted All-
CIF CIF, c.i.f. or Cif may refer to: Finance * Climate Investment Funds, in international climate change agreements * Community Infrastructure Fund (CIF), a method of UK government funding for transport infrastructure * Cost, Insurance and Freight, ...
honors four years straight (2002–05). He played club soccer for Hotspurs USA (El Cajon, CA), and was a member of his region's Olympic Development Program (ODP) team. Zizzo then went on to play two years of
college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...
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 ...
. At UCLA he was an NCSAA/adidas
All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
n as a freshman in 2005. Zizzo was also selected as Pac10 Freshman Player of the Year the same year. In 2006, UCLA reached the College Cup vs. Santa Barbara in St. Louis. He finished his career at UCLA with 43 appearances, eight goals, and 14 assists. During his college years he also played two seasons with senior amateur team
Orange County Blue Star Orange County Blue Star was an amateur American soccer team based in Irvine, California. Founded in 1997, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Southwest Division of th ...
in the
USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...
.


Professional

Zizzo left college early and turned professional in July 2007 after a successful U20 World Cup in Canada for the United States. He signed to
Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...
club Hannover 96, for a three-year contract. Zizzo made his Bundesliga debut for Hannover on May 10, 2008, in a match against
Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen, Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...
. In October 2009, Zizzo suffered an
ACL injury An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during in ...
and missed the entire 2009–10 season. During his stay at the club he was a regular starter for the reserve side, Hannover 96 II, appearing in 45 league matches and scoring 8 goals. On July 21, 2010,
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 ...
acquired Zizzo through a weighted lottery conducted by MLS. Zizzo played in ten games (making one start) over the second half of the season, totaling 254 minutes and one assist. On February 15, 2011, Zizzo was traded by Chivas USA to MLS expansion side
Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Timbers have p ...
in exchange for allocation money. Zizzo scored his first MLS goal on August 15, 2012, in a 2–2 draw at
Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...
. On August 31, 2013, Zizzo scored his second career league goal in a 4–2 loss to
Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Fou ...
. In three seasons with Portland Zizzo appeared in 60 league matches and scored two goals and assisted on seven. On December 13, 2013, Zizzo was traded to
Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The ad ...
in exchange for allocation money. On September 23, 2014, Zizzo helped Sporting to a 3–0 victory over
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 a
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, ...
match, scoring the third goal of the match. On December 10, 2014, Zizzo was the ninth pick of
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 ...
in the 2014 MLS Expansion Draft. The following day he was traded to local rivals
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 ...
in a deal agreed prior to the draft, with Red Bulls goalkeeper Ryan Meara going the other way on a one-year loan. Zizzo made his debut for New York on March 8, 2015, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 1–1 draw at former club
Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The ad ...
. On March 22, 2015, Zizzo started his first match for New York in a 2–0 victory over rival
D.C. United D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...
at Red Bull Arena. On July 1, 2015, Zizzo scored his first goal for New York, helping the Red Bulls to a 4–1 victory in the
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 ...
over local rival
New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Indepen ...
. Zizzo ended the season as the club's starting right back and helped New York in capturing the 2015
MLS 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 ...
. On August 15, 2017, Zizzo helped New York to a 3–2 come from behind victory over
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 ...
, providing the game winning assist on
Bradley Wright-Phillips Bradley Edward Wright-Phillips or “BWP” (born 12 March 1985) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is currently a studio host on MLS Season Pass. Wright-Phillips is the son of Ian Wright and younger brot ...
's goal in the 101st minute which sent New York to their first
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 ...
final since
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 ...
. In January 2018, Zizzo signed as a free agent with
Atlanta United FC Atlanta United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won one MLS Cup, one U.S. Open Cup, and one Eastern ...
. Zizzo announced his retirement from playing professional soccer on May 21, 2019. Just over six months following his announced retirement, Zizzo returned to professional soccer when he was announced as the first ever signing for
USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...
side San Diego Loyal ahead of their inaugural season in 2020. Following the 2021 season, Zizzo again announced his retirement.


International

Zizzo represented the U.S. at the U18 and U20 levels. He participated in the Lisbon International Tournament and the Milk Cup in Northern Ireland with the U18s in 2005. Zizzo suited up for the United States. U20 National Team in the 2007 FIFA U20 World Cup, starting all five of the team's matches in the tournament and helping the team reach the quarterfinals. He made his senior national team debut on August 22, 2007, in a friendly against Sweden.


Personal life

Zizzo holds both American and Italian citizenship, as both his parents were born in
Palermo, Sicily Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...
. This helped with negotiating a contract in Europe with
Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years between 19 ...
.German club Hannover signs U.S. U-20 Zizzo – Soccer America
In November 2013 Zizzo married Destiny Moniz. They have three daughters and one son, Capri Kalei born April 27, 2015, Aeri Elalia born on January 6, 2017, Zuri Meadow born June 29, 2018, and Massi Kailo born June 19, 2021.


Career statistics


Honors

New York Red Bulls *
MLS 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 ...
:
2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
Atlanta United FC *
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 ...
:
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zizzo, Sal 1987 births Living people American men's soccer players American people of Italian descent American expatriate men's soccer players in Germany UCLA Bruins men's soccer players Orange County Blue Star players Hannover 96 players Hannover 96 II players Fortuna Düsseldorf players Chivas USA players Portland Timbers players Sporting Kansas City players New York Red Bulls players Atlanta United FC players Atlanta United 2 players San Diego Loyal SC players University of California, Los Angeles alumni Soccer players from California USL League Two players Bundesliga players Major League Soccer players USL Championship players United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's under-23 international soccer players United States men's international soccer players Men's association football fullbacks Men's association football wingers American expatriate men's soccer players