Clarence Edgar Goodson IV (born May 17, 1982) is an American former
soccer player who played as a defender.
Youth career
Born in
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, Goodson attended
Annandale High School his freshman and sophomore seasons before moving to
Wilbert Tucker Woodson High School
Wilbert Tucker Woodson High School, commonly known as W.T. Woodson High School or simply Woodson, is a high school located in Fairfax County, Virginia, in the east end of the city of Fairfax, opposite the shopping center on Main Street.
The sc ...
. He was the Annandale team MVP, setting a school record for goals and points by a sophomore in 1998. He then went on to win the Virginia State High School Soccer title playing for W.T. Woodson High School in 2000. He played his club soccer with the Braddock Road Warhawks, winning the 1999 U-17 national championship. Goodson played three years of soccer at the
University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
, which he joined in 2000. After
redshirting in 2001, Goodson helped anchor the defense of one of the best teams in
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 K ...
. In his career at Maryland, Goodson played 66 games, registering 10 goals and 11 assists. In 2003, he spent the collegiate offseason with the
Boulder Rapids Reserve
Colorado Rapids U–23 were an American soccer team based in the Denver suburb of Commerce City, Colorado, United States. Originally founded in 2000 as part of the development system for the Colorado Rapids, the team played in the Premier Develo ...
.
Club career
After his junior year, Goodson signed a
Project-40 with
Major League Soccer (MLS), entering the
2004 MLS SuperDraft
The 2004 MLS SuperDraft, held in Charlotte, North Carolina on January 16, 2004, was the fifth incarnation of the annual Major League Soccer SuperDraft. The draft was most notable at the time for the selection of one of the youngest athletes in Am ...
as an underclassman, where he was drafted seventh overall by the Dallas Burn. In his first year with the Burn, Goodson played only 247 league minutes in five games; however, he saw extended action in Cup competitions and exhibitions. He became a starter in 2005, the year the team was renamed
FC Dallas
FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as a charter club of the le ...
.
On November 21, 2007, Goodson was selected by the
San Jose Earthquakes in the
2007 MLS Expansion Draft
The 2007 MLS Expansion Draft was held on November 21, 2007, and is a special draft for the Major League Soccer expansion team San Jose Earthquakes. They made 10 selections from a pool of players from current MLS clubs.
Format
* Only one player may ...
but declared that he would not be signing a new contract with MLS in January 2008; instead, he signed a contract with the Norwegian team
IK Start
Idrettsklubben Start (or simply IK Start, translates to The sports club Start ) is a Norwegian football club from the city of Kristiansand that currently plays in the 1. divisjon, the second tier of the Norwegian football league system. The c ...
. He remained with Start through the 2010 season. In November 2010, Goodson signed with
Brøndby of the
Danish Superliga
The Danish Superliga ( da, Superligaen, ) is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each ye ...
.
Goodson returned to MLS on June 28, 2013 when he signed with
San Jose Earthquakes.
Goodson served as an elected Board Member for the Major League Soccer Players Association (Union) and was a critical leader to establish a new Collective Bargaining Agreement for MLS athletes.
International
Goodson made his international debut in a
friendly against
Sweden on January 19, 2008. He was a member of the U.S. squad at the
2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup
The 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the tenth edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup competition, and the twentieth soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF). It was played from July 3 to 26, 2009 in the United State ...
, and scored in the semifinal against Honduras on July 23, 2009. On May 26, 2010, Goodson was selected to be part of the 23 man roster for the
American national team at the
2010 FIFA World Cup
, image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg
, size = 200px
, caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
.
Goodson served as an elected Union Representative for US Soccer.
Goodson has been used in the rotation of Centerbacks for the U.S. Men's National Team under
Jürgen Klinsmann
Jürgen Klinsmann (, born 30 July 1964) is a German professional football manager and former player. Klinsmann played for several prominent clubs in Europe including VfB Stuttgart, Inter Milan, Monaco, Tottenham Hotspur, and Bayern Munich. He ...
. Goodson was named to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
roster for the
2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup
The 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 12th CONCACAF Gold Cup competition and the 22nd CONCACAF regional championship overall in CONCACAF's fifty years of existence. The United States was the host nation.
The competition began on 7 July 2013 at the ...
competition. He was included on Klinsmann's 30-man preliminary roster for the US team at the
2014 FIFA World Cup, but he was not included on the final roster.
International goals
Honours
* CONCACAF Gold Cup All-Tournament Team:
2009
Retirement
Goodson retired from professional soccer after a spinal injury in December, 2016. Goodson now works professionally as a players relations manager for
MLSPA. He stays active coaching soccer in his community.
Goodson and wife Kelsey, in partnership with the US Soccer Foundation, built a soccer field at his childhood school, North Springfield Elementary School. The Clarence Goodson Field is used to serve underprivileged youth in his childhood neighborhood. The "Mini-Pitch Initiative" is to create a safe space in the community to play, be coached, mentored, and learn the benefits nutrition and exercise, specifically serving US Soccer Foundation Soccer youth teams for underprivileged youth. His generous contribution has inspired other current and former professional athletes to build mini-pitch's in their communities as well. The couple are licensed ministers and serve as Youth Directors in San Jose, California. Goodson is a public and motivational speaker, focusing on teams and youth development.
Personal
Goodson married Kelsey Dawson on January 31, 2009, in Tacoma, Washington.
The couple were featured on an episode of
HGTV's ''
House Hunters International'', searching for an apartment in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
after Goodson's transfer to
Brøndby IF. He purchased an apartment valued at $900,000.
Goodson is a
Christian. Goodson participates in a weekly team
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...
study.
Career statistics
Honors
International
;United States
*
CONCACAF Gold Cup
The CONCACAF Gold Cup ( es, Copa de Oro de la CONCACAF, french: Coupe D'or CONCACAF) is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the continental champion of North Ameri ...
:
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
; runner-up
2009,
2011
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodson, Clarence
1982 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Alexandria, Virginia
American soccer players
American expatriate soccer players
Colorado Rapids U-23 players
FC Dallas players
IK Start players
Brøndby IF players
San Jose Earthquakes players
Maryland Terrapins men's soccer players
United States men's international soccer players
2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
2010 FIFA World Cup players
2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning players
FC Dallas draft picks
Expatriate footballers in Norway
Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark
Soccer players from Alexandria, Virginia
American expatriate sportspeople in Norway
USL League Two players
Major League Soccer players
Eliteserien players
Danish Superliga players
Association football defenders
Annandale High School alumni
Wilbert Tucker Woodson High School alumni