Chukwudi Ibegbunaneke 'Chuck' Chijindu (born February 20, 1986) is an American professional

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.

Career

Youth

A native of

Fontana, California Fontana is a city in San Bernardino County, California. Founded by Azariel Blanchard Miller in 1913, it remained essentially rural until World War II, when entrepreneur Henry J. Kaiser built a large steel mill in the area. It is now a regional h ...

, Chijindu attended

Damien High School Damien High School is an all-boys Roman Catholic high school in La Verne, in the U.S. state of California named for Saint Damien of Molokai. The school had its first graduating class in 1963. Each of Damien's freshmen classes draws from an avera ...

La Verne, California La Verne is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 31,063 at the 2010 census, down from 31,638 at the 2000 census. History The European history of the area dates back to the 1830s when Ygnacio Palomares ...

, He was a 4-year Varsity letterman and full starter as a freshman. He led his team in scoring his junior and senior seasons, and was the team MVP as well as a 2-time Sierra League MVP. Chijindu was also an All-America Top 100 pick. He played NCAA Div-1

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 ...

at the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...

winning several Big East titles and All-Conference personal accolades. He led his team in scoring in his freshman, sophomore, and senior years- finishing his college career with 26 goals and 19 assists in 86 career matches.

Professional

After being invited to join Chivas USA for preseason camp in 2008, Chijindu showed well throughout and was offered a contract but in the end did not come to terms. Chivas USA would retain his rights. After other

MLS 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 ...

sides expressed interest in his services, he would return to

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. Guada ...

as they had first right of refusal due to discovery claim rule. On April 5, 2009 Chijindu signed a senior developmental contract with

. He made his professional debut on 11 April 2009, in Chivas's game against

Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began play ...

, and just one week later would score his first professional goal on 18 April 2009 against

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

. On August 6, 2010,

sent Chijindu, along with teammate Gerson Mayen, on loan to

USSF Division 2 Professional League The USSF Division 2 Professional League (D2 Pro League) was a temporary professional soccer league created by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) for the 2010 season. The twelve-team league was formed as a compromise between the feuding Un ...

side

Miami FC The Miami FC is an American professional soccer team based in Miami, Florida that competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The club began play in the North American Soccer League (NASL) in the 2016 se ...

On March 23, 2011

sent Chijindu on loan to first year newcomers

USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

side

Los Angeles Blues Orange County Soccer Club is an American soccer team based in the Orange County, California city of Irvine. Founded in 2010 as the Los Angeles Blues, the team currently plays in the second tier USL Championship. The team plays its home games a ...

. He would lead his team to the a playoff berth in their inaugural season as a professional club. Chijindu's loan with LA Blues ended at the close of the

2011 USL Pro season The 2011 USL Pro season was the 25th season of third-division soccer in the United States, and was the inaugural season of the United Soccer Leagues' (USL) new professional competition. The league is effectively a combination of the USL's former ...

and his rights reverted to Chivas USA. At the end of the MLS season his 2012 contract option was declined by the club and Chijindu entered the

2011 MLS Re-Entry Draft The two-stage 2011 MLS Re-Entry Draft took place on December 5, 2011 (Stage 1) and December 12, 2011 (Stage 2). All 19 Major League Soccer clubs participated. The Stage 1 and Stage 2 Drafts were conducted in the same order as the traditional Waive ...

. He was not selected in the draft and became a free agent. Chijindu signed with

club

Wilmington Hammerheads Wilmington Hammerheads FC was a semi-professional American soccer team based in Wilmington, North Carolina. Founded in 1996, the team last competed in the Premier Development League, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid in 2017. History ...

in April, 2012. After a brief stint with Wilmington, Chijindu was released from his contract to sign with Icelandic club

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...

midway through their season and showed extremely well. During the

2013 Úrvalsdeild The 2013 Úrvalsdeild karla (English: ''Men's Premier League''), also known as the Pepsi-deild for sponsorship reasons, is the 102nd season of top-flight Icelandic football. Twelve teams will contest the league; the defending champions are FH, wh ...

, Chijindu scored a team-high 10 goals, good for fifth in the league. He attracted interest from the biggest clubs in Iceland as well as bigger leagues across Europe and Scandinavia but would return. He would depart the club in December 2014 after having played nearly 3 seasons, appearing 38 times and scoring 15 league goals. He returned to Icelandic football for struggling side Keflavik FC in

2015 Úrvalsdeild The 2015 Úrvalsdeild karla, also known as ''Pepsi-deild karla'' for sponsorship reasons, was the 104th season of top-flight Icelandic football. Twelve teams contested the league; the defending champions were Stjarnan, who had won their first ...

in the July 2015 transfer window but failed to score in 8 matches for the club.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chijindu, Chukwudi 1986 births Living people American soccer players Association football forwards Chivas USA players UConn Huskies men's soccer players Knattspyrnudeild Keflavík players Major League Soccer players Miami FC (2006) players Orange County SC players People from Fontana, California People from Upland, California Soccer players from California Þór Akureyri players USSF Division 2 Professional League players Wilmington Hammerheads FC players African-American soccer players American sportspeople of Nigerian descent 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people