Dan Gargan (born December 14, 1982) is an 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 ...

player who last played for

LA 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 pl ...

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 the former color commentator for Atlanta United FC on Fox Sports South and Fox Sports Southeast. Currently, Gargan is the managing director of one of the best youth sports clubs in the midwest
Lou Fusz Athletic

Career

High School and College

Gargan attended the prestigious Chestnut Hill Academy, which he helped to back-to-back Interacademic League championships in 2000 and 2001, as well as being named All-State and team and league MVP. Played for the Olympic Development Program Regional Team in 1998, 1999, and 2000. Played club ball for the strong FC Coppa team. He played college soccer at Georgetown University, scoring 11 goals and assisted on 18 while appearing in 75 games. He also garnered team MVP honors and captained the squad in both his junior and senior seasons.

Professional

Gargan was drafted in the fourth round (43rd overall) by Colorado Rapids in the

2005 MLS Supplemental Draft Following the signature of the first MLS players' union contract, the MLS Superdraft was limited to four rounds. As a result, the Supplemental Draft was re-incarnated to hold the additional rounds. The 2005 MLS Supplemental Draft, held on February 4 ...

. After what some considered a breakout season in 2006, he was awarded the "Rapids Most Improved Player" title. Though considered an adequate right back, Gargan was waived by the Rapids early in the 2008 season, after undergoing surgery for both a torn ACL and separated shoulder that offseason, as they faced a roster crunch and a surplus of defenders. It was popular among Rapids fans to cheer "Release the Gargan!" every time Dan came onto the field. Following a brief period as an unattached player on trial, Gargan was signed by Chivas USA on April 25, 2008., but announced his retirement from professional soccer, citing personal reasons, on May 9, 2008 without playing a game. Gargan returned to the game to play for Puerto Rico Islanders of the USL First Division in mid-2009, playing in 29 games for the team, helping them reach the USL-1 post season and advance in the CONCACAF Champions League to group stage play. In early 2010, he was on trial with Toronto FC, scoring the first goal of their preseason. On March 26, 2010, Toronto FC signed Gargan to a contract. He made his debut for Toronto in away loss to New England Revolution on April 10. He scored his first career MLS goal in a 1–1 draw with

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo FC (formerly officially, but still commonly, called the Houston Dynamo) is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Establi ...

on July 1. He quickly earned a spot as a continual starter, playing in all spots across the midfield and back line, sporting the captain's armband towards the close of the season. Even with a coaching change that offseason, this role would continue in to the following season when he started in 12 of his 16 appearances, before being traded to Chicago midseason. Gargan was traded along with a second-round pick in the

2012 MLS SuperDraft The 2012 MLS SuperDraft was the thirteenth annual SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. It was held on January 12, 2012 at 12:00 p.m. (ET). The draft was reduced from three rounds to two with the 19 MLS clubs selecting a total of 38 p ...

to Chicago Fire for defender Dasan Robinson on July 28, 2011. Gargan made his debut for Chicago on August 13 against New York Red Bulls, the game ended in a 2–2 away draw. Less than a month after joining Chicago from Toronto, Gargan started his third match for the Fire against his old side and tallied a 69th-minute header off a cross from Pavel Pardo to help his new club to a 2–0 victory on August 21, 2011. Gargan would appear in a total of nine league matches to close out the 2011 campaign and an additional two in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, helping the team back to its first final since 2006, where they eventually fell 2–0 to Seattle Sounders F.C. 2–0 on October 4, 2011. He played 22 games for the Chicago Fire in the 2012 season. On December 14, 2012, after a new contract was unable to be agreed upon, he was selected as the ninth pick in the

2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft The two-stage 2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft took place on December 7, 2012 (Stage 1) and December 14, 2012 (Stage 2). All 19 Major League Soccer clubs were eligible to participate. The Stage 1 and Stage 2 Drafts were conducted in the same order as the t ...

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

. He signed with the Earthquakes on January 25, 2013. On March 7, 2014 Gargan signed with the

. Gargan and the

were forced to part ways on February 29, 2016 as a result of salary cap considerations a few days prior to the start of the 2016 and roster compliance. On August 23, 2016, Gargan was announced to be the first General Manager of Lou Fusz Athletic.

Honours

;Toronto FC *

Canadian Championship The Canadian Championship (french: Championnat canadien) is an annual soccer tournament contested by premier Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and Canada's berth in the CONCACAF Champions League. It is contest ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

;LA Galaxy * MLS Cup:

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

References

External links

MLS player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gargan, Dan 1982 births Living people American soccer players American expatriate soccer players Georgetown Hoyas men's soccer players Chesapeake Dragons players Colorado Rapids players Chivas USA players Puerto Rico Islanders players Toronto FC players Chicago Fire FC players San Jose Earthquakes players LA Galaxy players Expatriate footballers in Puerto Rico Expatriate soccer players in Canada Soccer players from Philadelphia Major League Soccer players USL League Two players USL First Division players Colorado Rapids draft picks Chestnut Hill Academy alumni Association football defenders