Alexander Frank Nimo (born March 21, 1990) is a former

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player. Born in Liberia, he represented the United States at youth level.

Early life

Alex moved with his parents, Tommy and Maima Nimo, to a refugee camp in

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

as an infant. There he spent most of the first nine years of his life as the family escaped from the

First Liberian Civil War The First Liberian Civil War lasted from 1989 to 1997. President Samuel Doe had established a regime in 1980 but totalitarianism and corruption led to unpopularity and the withdrawal of support from the United States by the late 1980s. The Nat ...

. Nimo and his family were granted asylum as political refugees and moved to

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

with the assistance of Catholic Ministries. In Oregon, he was discovered by the late

University of Portland , mottoeng = The truth will set you free , established = 1901 , type = Private university , religious_affiliation = Catholic (Congregation of Holy Cross) , endowment = $218 million , president = Robert D. Kelly , students = 3,731 (fall 20 ...

soccer coach

Clive Charles Clive Michael Charles (3 October 1951 – 26 August 2003) was an English football player, coach and television announcer. He was one of five National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) coaches to win more than 400 games. Born in Dagenham, E ...

and placed in

F.C. Portland FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Paki ...

Career

Youth

In 2003, Nimo was chosen for the player pool of the under-14 U.S. national team. The midfielder attended

Benson Polytechnic High School Benson Polytechnic High School is a technical public high school in the Portland Public Schools district. It is temporarily located in Portland's Lents neighborhood while a renovation project is underway at its campus in the Central Eastside ...

in Portland, and was a two-time all-state forward. He was considered one of the best players to ever come out of Oregon. He was named a

Parade All-American ''Parade'' was an American nationwide Sunday magazine, Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 700 newspapers in the United States until 2022. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., ''Parade'' had a circulation of 32 million and a ...

, and all-state at Benson. Nimo received his U.S. citizenship in November 2006. In 2007, he joined the U.S. Residency camp located in

Bradenton, Florida Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698. History Late 18th and early 19th centuries ...

, and played for the U-17 national team.

Professional

In the

2008 MLS SuperDraft The 2008 MLS SuperDraft took place on January 18, 2008 in Baltimore, Maryland. It was the ninth annual Major League Soccer SuperDraft. The first selection was made by the Kansas City Wizards, after acquiring the selection from the expansion San ...

, Nimo—who had already been signed by the league to a

Generation Adidas Generation Adidas is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at raising the level of young professional soccer talent in the United States. The program, sponsored by Adidas, offers professional-ready players in the U.S. ...

contract worth $45,000 per year—was selected 17th overall by

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 20 ...

. He scored his first goal for the team on July 9, 2008, in an exhibition game against

Santos Laguna Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V. (), commonly known as Santos Laguna or Santos, is a Mexican professional football club that competes in the Liga MX. It is located in northern Mexico and represents the urban area of La Comarca Lagunera, made up o ...

, but would not see any league appearances during the season. Shortly before the opening of the 2009 season, in March, the club announced that Nimo would be loaned out to the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...

of the

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system b ...

. He was loaned to the Timbers again for the 2010 season. It was announced on November 18, 2010, that Nimo would graduate from the MLS

program at the end of the 2010 season. On January 10, 2012, Nimo went on trial with Polish team

Bytovia Bytów Bytovia Bytów is a Polish semi-professional association football club based in Bytów, Poland, founded in 1946. Bytovia currently plays in the IV liga Pomerania. Players Current squad Out on loan League histor ...

, which played in

Polish Second League II liga (Druga Liga, ), currently named eWinner II liga due to sponsorship reasons by eWinner, is a Polish football league that sits at the third tier of the Polish football league system. Until the end of the 2007–08 season ''II Liga'' referr ...

(3rd tier).

JK Tammeka Tartu

On March 7, 2012, Nimo signed a two-year contract with Estonian

Meistriliiga Meistriliiga (, known as the A. Le Coq Premium Liiga for sponsorship reasons) is the highest division of the Estonian Football Association annual football (soccer), football championship. The league was founded in 1992, and was initially semi-p ...

club

JK Tammeka Tartu Tartu JK Tammeka, commonly known as Tartu Tammeka or simply Tammeka, is a football club, based in Tartu, Estonia, that competes in the Meistriliiga, the top flight of Estonian football. Founded in 1989, the club has played in the Meistriliiga ...

. He made 34 appearances and scored six goals for the team in that season. The contract was mutually terminated before the 2013 season.

International

In 2006, Nimo was called up to the

United States U-17 men's national soccer team The United States U-17 men's national soccer team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation. The highest level of competition in which the team may compete is in the FIFA U-17 World Cup, which is held every two years. History Champ ...

as it entered its qualification campaign for the

2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup The FIFA U-17 World Cup 2007, the twelfth edition of the tournament, was held in South Korea between 18 August and 9 September 2007. For this event, the number of teams had been expanded from 16 to 24, with the top two of each group and the four ...

. He then played all four U.S. games at the World Cup as the U.S. went to the Round of 16 before being eliminated by Germany. In 2008, he became a regular with the United States U-20.

Honors

Portland Timbers

Commissioner's Cup (1):

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

References

External links

*
Portland Timbers player profile
* ttp://www.liberiansoccer.com/Nimo_long_journey_leads_him_to_Utah200712345617.htm Nimo's long journey leads him to Utah LiberianSoccer.com
2008 combine notable for defensive talent
– ESPN * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nimo, Alex 1990 births Living people Liberian men's footballers American men's soccer players Men's association football forwards American people of Liberian descent Real Salt Lake players Portland Timbers (2001–2010) players Footballers from Monrovia USL First Division players USSF Division 2 Professional League players American expatriate men's soccer players Tartu JK Tammeka players Meistriliiga players Expatriate men's footballers in Estonia Benson Polytechnic High School alumni Soccer players from Portland, Oregon United States men's youth international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players Real Salt Lake draft picks American expatriate sportspeople in Estonia Liberian expatriate sportspeople in Estonia