The Top Twenty Five Jews In The World Of Football – Part 2
Shep Messing: Messing is a former goalkeeper who became famous while playing for the New York Cosmos along with Franz Beckenbauer, Giorgio Chinagila, and Pele.
The player actually graduated from Harvard University, he was a part of the U.S National team in the early seventies and played mostly as a backup for the Cosmos.
Another interesting factor to this player is that he gained a lot of fame posing nude in the end of a 1974 issue of a magazine and was paid five thousand dollars for the pictures.
Messing went on to achieve more success in Major Indoor Soccer League in 1978-87 and became the all time star thrice.
Ever since then Shep Messing became a well know footballer and he hosts MLS Extra time.
Jeff Agoos: In spite of being maligned as a liability Jeff Agoos was a star of the U.S national team from 1988-2003.
He played left footed, wore a pony tail and won a record five MLS Championships. Two while playing for San Jose Earthquakes, three while playing for D.C united and was also named Defender of the year in 2001.
In 2009 this player was also included in the National Soccer hall of fame and left his permanent mark there. Agoos also participated in the Maccabiah Games from 1985 and 1989 in the US.
Sara Whalen: Sara Whalen was a US national women’s team defender. She was also a part of the 1999 American team that won the Women’s World Cup and she also managed to win the silver medal in the 2000 Olympics that took place in Sydney.
Whalen also played as a defender and occasionally as a forward in the University of Connecticut. She also showcased one of the biggest disturbances in Women’s Final four histories.
Sara Whalen scored both goals in the final and the Lady Huskies topped the unbeaten Notre Dame with a score of two to one.
After becoming a successful U.S. International player, she went on to become a Founding member of WUSA. She player with the New York Powers for a year and a half after which this athlete sadly suffered a career ending knee injury and had to take an early
retirement.
Jonathan Bornstein: At twenty five years Jonathan Bornstein with the Mensches made up one of the biggest Jewish Contingent squads in the American National Team’s history.
Bornstein was from South California and made his first national team appearance in 2007 and was also a part of the squad in the World Cup squad in South Africa.
He graduated from UCLA and went on to try a trade at club level for Chivas USA in the Major League Soccer. He was also named MLS Rookie of the year in 2006 and was a part of the Best XI in the MLS in 2007.
Jonathan Bornstein was born in 1984 to a Jewish father and a Mexican mother though he does not consider himself to be observant to his religion but while growing up he did observe Passovers with relatives and Rosh Hashanah.
He told the media in an interview that the World Cup was an experience that he fell in love with and not only because of the opportunity to play football at that level but because it made him feel enriched and fulfilled in the Jewish culture.
Jonathan Spector: Jonathan Spector at twenty four years old was a real up comer just like Bornstein and made the back line in the U.S national team.
This player did not get any play time in the World Cup at South Africa and was kept benched throughout the endeavour. It is only hoped that he became a contributor in the years to come.
He was signed as a teenager by the Red Devils and Spector grew up in a Jewish family in Chicago. He also showed a lot of promise in his youth career overseas.
He spent several years in Manchester United’s youth program and was loaned to Charlton for a year and after that he became a part of West Ham United in 2006.
Article continued in Part 3
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