Danny Jackson (born 20 October 1979) is an English central defender/sweeper who last played for the Seattle Sounders, and served as captain from 2004 to 2008.

Youth

In England, Jackson began playing

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

through the Leeds United Youth Program. After 10 years in the program, Jackson headed to the United States to play college soccer at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

where he received numerous honors. As a Tarheel, he was nominated for the All-South Team from 1998 to 2001, he was All-ACC and All-American in 2000 and 2001. Jackson was the team captain for three years including the 2001 season when the Tar Heels won the NCAA Division I National Championship over

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

and was named Soccer America MVP, National Championship MVP and was voted to the Final Four All Tournament Team. At UNC he was also the 2001 Patterson Medal Recipient as the outstanding student athlete at UNC.

Professional

After a successful college career, Jackson joined the Colorado Rapids of MLS for the 2002 season, and he appeared in one league match. On 17 March 2003, the Rapids waived Jackson and he signed with the

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system b ...

Seattle Sounders. Jackson was voted the Sounders' Defender of the Year, as well A-League.com's Defender of the Year and was selected to the A-League First-Team.

Broadcasting

In 2023, Jackson became the play-by-play radio commentator for

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 ...

, the successor to the Sounders who play in

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 ...

Honors

Seattle Sounders

Championship (1):

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

Commissioner's Cup (1):

References

1979 births Living people English men's footballers North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer players Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) players Colorado Rapids players Major League Soccer players A-League (1995–2004) players USL First Division players English expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Colorado Rapids draft picks Men's association football defenders All-American college men's soccer players English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Footballers from Leeds {{England-footy-defender-1970s-stub