Danny Pena (born June 17, 1968, in

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The city is in the South Bay ...

) is a retired U.S.

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 ...

defensive

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He spent most of his career, both indoors and outdoors, with teams in the western U.S.

Player

Youth

Pena grew up in Southern California, playing for the Fram-Culver soccer club. In 1986, he, and teammate

Marcelo Balboa Marcelo Balboa (born August 8, 1967) is an American former professional soccer who played as a defender in the 1990s for the United States national team, becoming its captain. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. After retirin ...

, took Fram-Culver all the way to the U-19 McGuire Cup title. The next year, he played all three games at the

1987 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in Chile from 10 to 25 October 1987. The 1987 championship was the 6th contested and won for the first time by Yugoslavia. Remarkably, in the course of the tournament the Yugoslavs defeated each of ...

Professional

After high school, he chose to forgo college and signed with the

Los Angeles Heat Los Angeles Heat joined the Western Soccer Alliance in 1986. They joined the American Professional Soccer League in 1990 when the WSL merged with the American Soccer League, then folded in 1990. The club played in Torrance, California at West Hi ...

of the

Western Soccer Alliance Western Soccer Alliance was a professional soccer league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States and Western Canada. The league began in 1985 as the Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, it became the Western Soccer Alli ...

(WSA) in 1988. He remained with the Heat through the 1990 season which the Heat played in the

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. It ...

(APSL). In 1991, the Blackhawks won the league title, defeating the

Albany Capitals The Albany Capitals joined the third incarnation of the American Soccer League in 1988. The team joined the American Professional Soccer League in 1990 when the ASL merged with the Western Soccer League. The club played in Albany, New York. After ...

as Pena was selected as a first team All Star. The next season, the Blackhawks lost to the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Champions ...

in the semifinals. However, Pena again was selected as a first team All Star. When the Blackhawks owner withdrew the team from the APSL and moved them down a division to the USISL, Pena left the team and joined the

Los Angeles Salsa The Los Angeles Salsa was an American soccer team based in Los Angeles that played in the American Professional Soccer League (APSL) and the USISL Pro League. The club played on the campus of California State University, Fullerton at Titan Stad ...

of the APSL. He remained with the Salsa for two seasons, 1993 and 1994. In both seasons, he continued his streak of being selected to the All Star team. In 1993, the Salsa lost the title game to the

Colorado Foxes The Colorado Foxes were a professional soccer team, based in Commerce City, Colorado, that played in the American Professional Soccer League, and later in the A-League, between 1990 and 1997. The Foxes won two APSL titles, in 1992 and 1993. In 19 ...

. He began his indoor career with the

Wichita Wings The Wichita Wings were a professional indoor soccer franchise based in Wichita, Kansas. The Wings were admitted to the Major Indoor Soccer League as an expansion team on August 21, 1979.

of Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) with the 1991–1992 season. In 1994, he joined the

Dayton Dynamo The Dayton Dynamo was a professional indoor soccer team from Dayton, Ohio. The team played in the American Indoor Soccer Association (AISA). Founded by former University of Dayton and Central State University coach Jerry Butcher, the Dynamo jo ...

of the 1994-1995 National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) season. His brother, Carlos, was the goalkeeper for Dayton. In 1995, he moved to the

Sacramento Knights Sacramento Knights were an indoor soccer team that played from 1993 to 2001 in ARCO Arena and were owned by the NBA's Sacramento Kings. The team played in the Continental Indoor Soccer League from 1993 to 1997. The team then moved to the Wo ...

of the

Continental Indoor Soccer League The Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) was a professional indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997. History In the summer of 1989 Dr Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and California Sports, told his executive Vice Pre ...

(CISL). That season he was a CISL first team All Star and the CISL Defender of the Year as the Knights lost to the

Monterrey La Raza Monterrey La Raza refers to one of two different indoor soccer franchises: *Monterrey La Raza (1992–2001) The original Monterrey La Raza ( es, La Raza de Monterrey) was a professional indoor soccer team based in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexi ...

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 ...

(MLS) signed Pena to a contract in 1996, but then loaned him to the

Cincinnati Silverbacks The Cincinnati Silverbacks was an indoor soccer club based in Cincinnati, Ohio that competed in the National Professional Soccer League. History They performed under the leadership of All-Star goalkeeper Carlos Pena. Other star players include ...

of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) in November 1996. The

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 ...

of MLS selected Pena in the

1997 MLS Supplemental Draft The 1997 Major League Soccer Supplemental Draft was held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on February 2, 1997. Round 1 Round 1 trades Round 2 Round 2 trades Round 3 Round 3 trades References {{DEFAULTSORT:1997 Mls Supplemental Draft ...

. He spent the 1997 season in Los Angeles, but the Galaxy failed to protect him in the

1997 MLS Expansion Draft The 1997 MLS Expansion Draft was held November 6, 1997. Two teams participated, the Chicago Fire and Miami Fusion F.C., both expansion Major League Soccer clubs starting play in the 1998 season. Format Each team in the league made ten players, in ...

and the Chicago Fire selected him with their first pick. However, he expressed his dissatisfaction with this development and on January 27, 1998, the Galaxy traded

Chris Armas Christopher Armas (born August 27, 1972) is an American professional soccer coach and former player. He is currently sharing interim head coach duties at Leeds United with Michael Skubala and Paco Gallardo after the sacking of Jesse Marsch. ...

and

Jorge Campos Jorge Campos Navarrete (born 15 October 1966) is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. A notable player of Mexico in the 1990s and early 2000s, Campos was an eccentric player, known for his constant play outside ...

to the Fire for Pena and

Kevin Hartman Kevin Eugene Hartman (born May 25, 1974) is an American former soccer player who played 17 seasons in Major League Soccer, being on the field for a record 37,260 minutes. Nicknamed ''El Gato'' (Spanish for "the cat") because of his agility, re ...

. Pena suffered a season ending knee injury in June 2000. While he returned for the 2001 season, the Galaxy sent Pena to the

Tampa Bay Mutiny Tampa Bay Mutiny was a professional soccer team based in Tampa, Florida. They were a charter member of Major League Soccer (MLS) and played from 1996 to 2001. They played their home games at Tampa Stadium and then at Raymond James Stadium. The ...

on July 30, 2001, for a conditional pick in the 2002 draft. He saw time in six games, then was released at the end of the season.

National team

In 1997, the

USMNT The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. The U.S. team ha ...

called up Pena, but he declined the invitation.http://www.thefreelibrary.com/FROM+THE+FIELD:+THEY'RE+BUTTING+HEADS+ON+AND+OFF+THE+FIELD-a083875942

Managerial career

Pena now coaches boys soccer in

Torrance, California Torrance is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the m ...

. He is also on staff with the Beach Soccer Club. He won nationals with his boys team. He has a silver elite girls team at Beach Soccer Club. He also has a boys team who won Cal South State Cup and were invited to Dallas Cup.

References

External links

Career overview from St. Petersburg Times

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pena, Danny 1976 births Living people American soccer players American Professional Soccer League players Cincinnati Silverbacks players Continental Indoor Soccer League players Dayton Dynamo players LA Galaxy players Los Angeles Heat players Los Angeles Salsa players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Major League Soccer players Monterrey La Raza players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Sportspeople from Inglewood, California Sacramento Knights players San Francisco Bay Blackhawks players Tampa Bay Mutiny players Western Soccer Alliance players Wichita Wings (MISL) players United States men's under-20 international soccer players LA Galaxy draft picks Association football midfielders