Craig Ziadie (born 20 September 1978 in

Pembroke Pines, Florida Pembroke Pines is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States. The city is located 22 miles (35 km) north of Miami. The population of Pembroke Pines is 171,178 as of the 2020 census. It is a suburb of and the fourth-most populous c ...

) is a

Jamaican-American Jamaican Americans are an ethnic group of Caribbean Americans who have full or partial Jamaican ancestry. The largest proportions of Jamaican Americans live in South Florida and New York City, both of which have been home to large Jamaican commu ...

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, who last played

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for the MetroStars of

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 ...

Youth and College

Although he was born in Florida, Ziadie grew up in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

. He came back to America first to attend high school, and then to play

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 Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a private liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approximately 4,350 undergraduate and graduate students in five schools: the School ...

. While at Richmond, Ziadie was a three-time All-Colonial Athletic Association selection, and was named the CAA Player of the Year in his 2000 senior year. He also played for the

Palm Beach Pumas Palm Beach Pumas was an American soccer team based in West Palm Beach, Florida, United States. Founded in 2000, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2008, when the franc ...

of the

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental association football, soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United Stat ...

during his college years.

Professional career

Upon graduating, Ziadie was selected 28th overall by

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 Supp ...

in the 2001 MLS SuperDraft. Ziadie surprised many by earning a starting spot in the D.C. lineup, and finished the year with three assists in 18 appearances, 13 of which were starts. Shortly into the 2002 season, however, Ziadie was traded to the MetroStars along with

Mark Lisi Mark Lisi (born October 11, 1977) is an American former soccer player who played midfielder for New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer until his retirement due to debilitating injuries at the finish of the 2006 season. Lisi Court in Franklin To ...

in exchange for

Petter Villegas Petter Villegas (born November 15, 1975 in Esmeraldas) is an Ecuadorian-born Puerto Rican footballer who played for Puerto Rico Islanders in the North American Soccer League. Career Youth and college Villegas came to the United States with h ...

and

Orlando Perez Orlando Perez (born July 12, 1977 in Pomona, California) is an American soccer defender, who played eight seasons in Major League Soccer. Perez never played college soccer, but he was drafted twice in MLS, both times by coach Octavio Zambran ...

. He quickly earned a starting position with the MetroStars, though, and finished the season with 18 starts. Ziadie has maintained his starting position at right back through most of 2003 and 2004, adding a goal and four assists over 42 games. He was taken by

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 ...

in the

2004 MLS Expansion Draft The 2004 MLS Expansion Draft was held on November 19, 2004 and consisted of 10 rounds. The two new teams, Chivas USA and Real Salt Lake, drafted players from the other 10 Major League Soccer teams. Existing MLS teams were allowed to protect 12 pl ...

, but did not sign with the team.

International career

Ziadie also plays for the Jamaica national team; he made his debut for the team 16 October 2002 against

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, opting not to wait for 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 territorie ...

to call him in. He has since made more than 20 appearances for the team, and has been a fixture at right back during

World Cup 2006 The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won ...

Qualifying.

Personal

Ziadie's father,

Dennis Ziadie Dennis Patrick Ziadie (1 October 1946 – 24 June 1986) was a Jamaican footballer who played in the NASL with the Boston Beacons in 1968, as well as the Jamaican national side. He is the father of fellow players Chris Ziadie, Nick Ziadie and ...

, played in the NASL with the

Boston Beacons The Boston Beacons were an American soccer professional team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) in 1968. The team was based in Boston and played their home games at Fenway Park. Originally intended to be a charter member o ...

as well as for the Jamaica national team. Ziadie is a cousin of the American soccer player

Mark Chung Mark Chung (born June 18, 1970) is an American former soccer midfielder who played ten seasons in Major League Soccer. He also earned twenty-four caps, scoring two goals, with the US national team. Youth Chung was born in Toronto to Hakka Ch ...

References

External links

* 1978 births Living people American people of Jamaican descent Jamaican footballers D.C. United players Major League Soccer players New York Red Bulls players Jamaica international footballers Palm Beach Pumas players Richmond Spiders men's soccer players 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup players USL League Two players People from Pembroke Pines, Florida Soccer players from Florida D.C. United draft picks Association football defenders {{Jamaica-footy-bio-stub