Jermaine Omar Taylor (born 14 January 1985) is a Jamaican professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

Club career

Jamaica

Born in

Portland, Jamaica Portland, with its capital city, capital town Port Antonio, is a Parishes of Jamaica, parish located on Jamaica's northeast coast. It is situated to the north of Saint Thomas Parish, Jamaica, St Thomas and to the east of Saint Mary Parish, Ja ...

, Taylor started his senior career as a first team regular by the age of 19. While at Harbour View, Taylor won the CFU Club Championship and the National Premier League. In 2009, Taylor moved to Portland to play along with his brother Ricardo Taylor for St. George's SC.

United States

Houston Dynamo

In February 2011 it was reported that Taylor would be joining

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 ...

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 ...

with the American club paying a transfer fee to St. George's SC. The American club had scouted Taylor during the 2010 Digicel Caribbean Cup. Taylor signed with Houston on 16 February 2011.

Portland Timbers

After the 2015 MLS season the Houston Dynamo did not pick up Taylor's option, making him eligible for the

2015 MLS Re-Entry Draft The two-stage 2015 MLS Re-Entry Draft took place on December 11, 2015, (stage 1) and December 17, 2015, (stage 2). All 20 Major League Soccer clubs were eligible to participate. The priority order for the draft was reverse order of finish in 2015, ...

. In the second stage he was selected by the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...

with the 20th pick. On 22 January 2016, Taylor signed with the Portland Timbers.

Minnesota United FC

It was announced on 24 January 2017, that

Minnesota United FC Minnesota United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Saint Paul, Minnesota that plays in the Western Conference of Major League Soccer. The club began play in 2017 as the league's 22nd club, and replaced the North American Socc ...

had signed Taylor as the team began its first season in

. His option was not renewed at the end of the 2017 season.

Austin Bold FC

On 23 January 2019, Taylor joined

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

side Austin Bold ahead of their inaugural season.

International career

Taylor has been capped at U-17, U-20, U-23 and national level for

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. He made his debut for the senior side in 2004 and has been a regular since. Along with team mates

Andre Blake Andre Jason Blake (born 21 November 1990) is a Jamaican professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer and the Jamaica national team. College soccer Blake spent three years playing colleg ...

and

Kemar Lawrence Kemar Michael Lawrence (born 17 September 1992) is a Jamaican professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Major League Soccer club Minnesota United and the Jamaica national team. His nickname is Taxi. In January 2014, Lawrence was an ...

he was named in the Gold Cup Tournament Best XI in 2017. Jamaica played

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 ...

in the final, losing 2–1. In late 2017, he was included in a

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

list of active players with 100 or more international caps. However, the

Jamaica Football Federation The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) is the governing body of football in Jamaica and is in charge of the Jamaica national football team and the Jamaica National Premier League. History Early history (1893–1962) According to the JFF, th ...

recorded only 99 matches.

Honours

Jamaica *

Caribbean Cup The Caribbean Cup was the championship tournament for national association football teams that are members of the Caribbean Football Union. The first competition, established by Shell and run by former England Cricket fast bowler Fred Rumsey, wa ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

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 ...

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 ...

Harbour View * Jamaica National Premier League: 2017 *

CFU Club Championship The Caribbean Club Championship, also known as the CFU Club Championship or CFU Club Champions' Cup, was an annual international football competition held amongst association football clubs that are members of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU). ...

: 2004 Houston Dynamo *

Eastern Conference Championship:

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 ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Individual *

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 ...

Best XI:

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

References

External links

* * 1985 births Austin Bold FC players Living people Jamaican footballers Jamaican expatriate footballers Jamaica youth international footballers Jamaica international footballers Association football defenders People from Portland Parish Harbour View F.C. players Houston Dynamo FC players Portland Timbers players Minnesota United FC players 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2014 Caribbean Cup players 2015 Copa América players 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Copa América Centenario players 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Expatriate soccer players in the United States Major League Soccer players National Premier League players USL Championship players FIFA Century Club {{Jamaica-footy-bio-stub