Alexander Yi (born February 27, 1982) is a retired American

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 ...

defender who last played for

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise be ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

. He is currently head coach for

Academy of Art Urban Knights The Academy of Art Urban Knights are the 14 varsity athletic teams that represent Academy of Art University, located in San Francisco, California, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Urban Knights compete as members of the Pacific West ...

Playing career

As a teenager, Yi was a member of Under-17 national team, and as such was part of the inaugural class of the USSF's

Bradenton Academy IMG Academy is a preparatory boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As t ...

, along with other players such as

Landon Donovan Landon Timothy Donovan (born March 4, 1982) is an American former professional soccer player. Donovan is also the co-founder and vice-president of soccer operations for USL Championship side San Diego Loyal SC, and serves as strategic advisor fo ...

DaMarcus Beasley DaMarcus Lamont Beasley (; born May 24, 1982) is an American former professional soccer player. A left-footed player, Beasley played both as a left winger and left wingback throughout his career. He retired from soccer after the 2019 MLS Season. ...

, and

Oguchi Onyewu Oguchialu Chijioke Onyewu (born May 13, 1982) is an American former soccer player who is the secretary-general of R.E. Virton. He was previously the sporting director for Orlando City B. During his professional career, he played as a defender ...

. Upon graduating, he matriculated to

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, where he played

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

in 2000 and 2001, where he started in 41 games and was named a third team All-American as a sophomore. He was named PAC-10 Player of the Year. Following his sophomore year Yi left UCLA to pursue a professional career in Europe; he signed with Royal Antwerp of the Belgian First Division, a feeder club of

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

, before the start of the 2002–03 season. Yi disappointingly only appeared in four matches for Antwerp in the 2002–03 season, and, after appearing in only seven for the struggling club in the subsequent season, was released from his contract to pursue opportunities in America. Yi was coveted by several teams upon his return to the United States, most notably his hometown

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Suppo ...

, but was eventually allocated to F.C. Dallas through a weighted lottery on January 12, 2005. Yi has played for the U-17, U-20, and U-23 United States youth national teams, and played in the 2001

Football World Youth Championship The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when ...

. His father, Kyom Yi, played for the South Korean national team at the youth level.

Coaching career

Alex Yi retired from soccer in April 2008. He struggled with injury and decided to head back to school, applying to

and

UT-Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduat ...

. Eventually, he was hired as an assistant coach at the

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the nation and the second-largest private university in Ohio. The univ ...

, where he became a full-time student.

References

External links

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Alex Yi at University of Dayton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yi, Alex 1982 births Living people American expatriate soccer players Royal Antwerp F.C. players FC Dallas players Soccer players from Alexandria, Virginia American people of Korean descent Sportspeople from Alexandria, Virginia UCLA Bruins men's soccer players Dayton Flyers men's soccer coaches Major League Soccer players 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 LA Galaxy non-playing staff Association football defenders American soccer players American soccer coaches