Steven Emil Cherundolo (born February 19, 1979) 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 serves as head coach of

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

side

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

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

, he was the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

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 ...

of the German

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 ...

, where he spent his entire club career. He represented the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

at the

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

FIFA World Cups.

Early life

Born in

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, Winnebago and Ogle County, Illinois, Ogle counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in far northern Illinois on the banks of the Rock River (Mississippi River tributary), Rock River, Rockfor ...

, Cherundolo grew up in

San Diego, California 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 ...

, and attended Mt. Carmel High School in

Rancho Peñasquitos Rancho or Ranchos may refer to: Settlements and communities *Rancho, Aruba, former fishing village and neighbourhood of Oranjestad *Ranchos of California, 19th century land grants in Alta California ** List of California Ranchos * Ranchos, Buenos ...

. As a youth, he played for the La Jolla Nomads club team, which won the California state championship six times with him. Before joining Hannover, Cherundolo enrolled at the

University of Portland The University of Portland (UP) is a private Catholic university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1901 and is affiliated with the Congregation of Holy Cross, which also founded UP's sister school, the University of Notre Da ...

and played for the Pilots soccer team from 1997 to 1998. In his freshman season, he was the

West Coast Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting o ...

Freshman of the Year.

Playing club career

Cherundolo joined

, then playing in the 2. Bundesliga, for the end of the 1998–1999 season and quickly received first-team action, playing in four games his first year. Coming into the 1999–2000 season, Cherundolo established himself at the right back position, starting consistently before suffering a knee injury that kept him out until the end of the season and ended his chances of playing for the U.S. Olympic team. He continued to establish his place in the team during the 2000–2001 season, earning playing time in 18 games, including 10 starts. In the 2001–02 season, he started 30 of 34 games for the team as he helped the team gain promotion to the

. Cherundolo maintained his position in the 2002–03 season, starting 33 games for the team, while collecting three assists. In the 2003–04 season, he continued his consistent play, appearing in 33 games for the club.

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

side

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

agreed to a deal with Hannover for Cherundolo in 2005, but he declined, opting to remain in Germany. He signed another contract extension with Hannover in the summer of 2007. Cherundolo established himself as a leader at Hannover and was appointed team captain shortly before the start of the 2010–11 season. He set the team record for Bundesliga appearances in the second to last game of the 2012–13 season. As of 2013, Cherundolo was the longest serving player in the Bundesliga. On March 19, 2014, Cherundolo announced his retirement from soccer citing failure to recover from a long-term knee injury as the main reason he left the game.

International career

Cherundolo parlayed his success in the Bundesliga into a role with the United States national team. Cherundolo made his debut against

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

on September 8, 1999. Although he was on the roster for the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

(a late injury replacement for

Chris Armas Christopher Armas (born August 27, 1972) is an American professional soccer coach and former player who is the head coach of Major League Soccer club Colorado Rapids. Youth and college Born in The Bronx, New York City, Armas is of Puerto R ...

), Cherundolo himself was injured in training shortly before the event began and was unable to play. In the

2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the eighth edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF). It was contested in the United States in July 2005. The United States emerged victorious i ...

, Cherundolo sustained a knee injury from a tackle that prematurely ended his participation in the tournament. On March 22, 2006, Cherundolo played in a friendly match with the national team against

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, whose roster included some teammates from Hannover 96. He scored his first international goal in the 4–1 loss. On May 2, 2006, Cherundolo was named to the U.S. roster for the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

in Germany. On June 12, 2006, for the first time, aged 27, Cherundolo made his debut in a

match against the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, playing in the first half for the U.S., who started the tournament with a 3–0 loss. Five days later, in the second match against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

(who later won the tournament), Cherundolo played the full 90 minutes, helping the team to a 1–1 draw at

Fritz-Walter-Stadion Fritz-Walter-Stadion () is the home stadium of 1. FC Kaiserslautern and is located in the city of Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It was one of the stadia used in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. It is named after Fritz Walter (1920–200 ...

Kaiserslautern Kaiserslautern (; ) is a town in southwest Germany, located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate Forest. The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfurt am Main, 666 kilometers (414 m ...

. After a loss against

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

in the final match in the group, the U.S. was eliminated from the tournament, finishing the group in last place with just one point. Cherundolo missed the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup due to an injury. He also missed out on the

2009 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup was the eighth FIFA Confederations Cup, Confederations Cup, and was held in South Africa from 14 June to 28 June 2009, as a prelude to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The draw was held on 22 November 2008 at the Sandton ...

due to another injury, but returned to captain the U.S. during the

2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the tenth edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup competition, and the twentieth soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF). It was played from July 3 to 26, 2009 in the United Stat ...

. Cherundolo was one of seven defenders named to the U.S. squad for the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

in South Africa. He was given the number 6. In the first match of

Group C Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for Touring car racing, touring cars and ''Group B'' for Grand tourer, GTs. It was designed to replace both Group 5 (motorspor ...

against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, Cherundolo was in the starting lineup and played the full 90 minutes in a 1–1 draw at Royal Bafokeng Stadium. On June 18, he retained his position for the second match, playing in the entire game against

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

, which finished in a 2–2 draw, with the U.S. coming back from 2–0 down. In the 48th minute of the match, Cherundolo assisted

Landon Donovan Landon Timothy Donovan (born March 4, 1982) is an American former professional association football, soccer player and coach who was most recently the interim head coach of San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Often co ...

who beat Slovenian goalkeeper

Samir Handanović Samir Handanović (born 14 July 1984) is a Slovenian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Since August 2024, he is the head coach of Inter Milan's Inter Milan Youth Se ...

with a powerful shot. In the final match of the group, Cherundolo again started at right back as the U.S. beat

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

with a last-minute winner, scored by Donovan, to finish the group in first place with five points. U.S. would lose in the Round of 16 against

, 2–1 after extra time. Cherundolo was an ever-present figure in this competition for the United States, playing the entire 390 minutes.

Coaching career

Following his retirement announcement, Cherundolo remained with

as an assistant coach for Hannover's amateur team. On April 20, 2015, he was officially promoted to assistant coach of Hannover 96's first team. After the end of the 2014–15 season, Cherundolo became the head coach of Hannover's U–17 academy team. In January 2018, Cherundolo moved to

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...

and became assistant of the new head coach Tayfun Korkut. In November 2018, Cherundolo was named to the coaching staff of the United States national team by interim 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 ...

. In an August 2020 interview with the Narrowing the Angle soccer podcast, Cherundolo said he "would love to coach" the US national team and also expressed interest in coaching in

. On August 20, 2020, it was announced that Cherundolo had joined the Germany national youth under-15 football team as an assistant coach. On March 12, 2021, Cherundolo was named head coach of

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 Las Vegas Lights. Cherundolo was announced as head coach of

on January 3, 2022. On October 2, 2022, Cherundolo broke the record for most wins as a first-year head coach in

history with 21 wins after

defeated the

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 ...

2–1. The record was previously held by former Los Angeles FC coach

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 ...

in 1998 with 20 wins, when Bradley was the head coach of the Chicago Fire. The match also clinched the

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 ...

for LAFC, the second in team history, and made Cherundolo the third coach to lead a team to the Shield in his first season in MLS. LAFC would go on to win their first

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 ...

title against the

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 ...

MLS Cup 2022 MLS Cup 2022 was the 27th edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS) at the conclusion of the 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs. The soccer match took place on November 5, 2022, at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angel ...

. On April 18, 2025, LAFC announced that Cherundolo would step down as head coach at the end of the 2025 MLS season.

Personal life

Cherundolo speaks English and German fluently, having spent his entire professional career in Germany. A popular figure with Hannover fans, he is known as "Dolo" and affectionately nicknamed the "Mayor of Hannover". Cherundolo married Mandy Rosier on New Year's Eve 2009 at the local St. Joseph Catholic parish church in the Hanover district of Vahrenwald-List. After his retirement from soccer, he has resided with his family in

Großburgwedel Großburgwedel (, , in contrast to "Kleinburgwedel, Little Burgwedel"; ) is a village northeast of Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany. Formerly an independent municipality, it is part of the town of Burgwedel since 1974. Großburgwedel is home to the ...

, near Hanover. In 2021, Cherundolo was elected to the

National Soccer Hall of Fame The National Soccer Hall of Fame is a public-private partnership among FC Dallas, the City of Frisco, Frisco Independent School District, and the U.S. Soccer Federation, and currently located in Toyota Stadium (Texas), Toyota Stadium in Frisco, T ...

as a player inductee.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list the United States' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Cherundolo goal''

Coaching statistics

Honors

Player

Hannover 96 * 2. Bundesliga: 2001–02 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 ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

Coach

Los Angeles FC *

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

* U.S. Open Cup:

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

References

External links

Kinderherz Hannover e.V. – Children's charity organization, co-founded by Cherundolo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cherundolo, Steve 1979 births Living people American men's soccer players American expatriate men's soccer players American expatriate men's soccer players in Germany 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2010 FIFA World Cup players 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup players CONCACAF Gold Cup–winning players Hannover 96 players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players United States men's international soccer players University of Portland alumni Portland Pilots men's soccer players Soccer players from Rockford, Illinois 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 Hannover 96 non-playing staff VfB Stuttgart non-playing staff Men's association football defenders Las Vegas Lights FC coaches USL Championship coaches Los Angeles FC head coaches Major League Soccer head coaches National Soccer Hall of Fame members