Brian McBride
Name: Brian McBride
Nationality: American
Date and Place of Birth: Born June 19, 1972 in Arlington Heights, Illinois, United States of America
Playing Position: Striker
Current Club:
Unattached
Club Career:
1994 Milwaukee Rampage
1994 – 1995 VfL Wolfsburg
1996 – 2004 Columbus Crew
2000 Preston North End (loan)
2002 Everton (loan)
2004 – 2008 Fulham
International Career:
1993 - present - United States of America
About Brian McBride:
A High School and College All American soccer star, Brian McBride took his steps in the professional game for the Milwaukee Rampage, claiming a goal a game record and building a playing relationship with future international team-mate Tony Sanneh. His burgeoning reputation took him, along with some other budding American stars such as Claudio Reyna, to the German Bundesliga 2 and VfL Wolfsburg but McBride struggled to find goalscoring form and relished the chance to move back to the United States in 1996 for the inaugural season of Major League Soccer.
In eight seasons at Columbus Crew, Brian McBride helped shoot himself in the MLS All-Time Best XI by scoring 62 goals and creating 45 assists in his 161 Crew league games, earning himself a reputation as a fan's favourite and a regular in the United States international squad. His time at Columbus was interspersed with two loan spells to English football, firstly with Preston North End and then Premier League Everton in 2002, both times under manager David Moyes.
McBride finally left Columbus in 2004 for a full time contract with English Premier League side Fulham where he would stay for four years scoring 32 goals and captaining the London club. McBride's main strengths of high work rate, battling physcial presence and excellent heading technique again made him a firm fan favourite in England. After a season wracked with injury problems in 2007/2008, McBride left Fulham and is currently unattached to a club although Toronto FC do hold the rights to his signature if he returns to Major League Soccer.
McBride's international career with the United States earned him 95 caps, 30 goals and appearances at three different World Cup finals. He has also been selected as one of three overage players in the US squad for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
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