Joe Franchino (born August 9, 1976, in

Fontana, California Fontana is a city in San Bernardino County, California. Founded by Azariel Blanchard Miller in 1913, it remained essentially rural until World War II, when entrepreneur Henry J. Kaiser built a large steel mill in the area. It is now a regional h ...

) is an American former

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.

Youth and college

Franchino played youth club soccer in Alta Loma, CA for such competitive teams as the Aztecs and Arsenal. His first club team, the Aztecs, won the State Cup Championships the first year the Under-10 age bracket started. For High School he attended and played soccer at

Damien High School Damien High School is an all-boys Roman Catholic high school in La Verne, in the U.S. state of California named for Saint Damien of Molokai. The school had its first graduating class in 1963. Each of Damien's freshmen classes draws from an avera ...

La Verne, California La Verne is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 31,063 at the 2010 census, down from 31,638 at the 2000 census. History The European history of the area dates back to the 1830s when Ygnacio Palomares ...

. He played college soccer at Cal State Fullerton- where he was coached by Al Mistri in 1994 and 1995, and was named to Soccer America's All-Freshman team. After his sophomore year, Franchino transferred to the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

, where he played in 1996 and 1997.

Career

Professional

Franchino was selected 30th overall in the

1998 MLS College Draft The 1998 Major League Soccer College Draft was held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on January 31 and February 1, 1998. The College Draft was followed by the 1998 MLS Supplemental Draft. Format On Saturday, January 31, 1998, Major League Soccer held ...

by 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 ...

. After appearing in 16 games and recording four assists as a rookie, Franchino became a consistent starter for the Galaxy in 1999. He played in 25 games in 1999, 16 of them starts, and recorded three assists. In the middle of the 2000 season, however, the Galaxy were forced by the league to give Franchino to the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compet ...

, along with

Clint Mathis Clint Mathis (born November 25, 1976) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a forward or midfielder. He appeared at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, scoring one goal. He also played in Major League Soccer for the MetroStars, whe ...

to the MetroStars, in exchange for the marquee acquisition of Luis Hernández. While Hernandez was a colossal failure, Franchino became an important part of the Revolution's lineup. He started all 22 games he appeared in for New England in 2000 and played a semi-regular starting role for the next six years, during some of which he was team captain. On April 18, 2008, Franchino was acquired by the

in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft. On November 26, 2008, the Galaxy waived Franchino.Revolution Trades Joe Franchino to L.A. Galaxy
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International

Franchino played one game with the U.S. national team, earning a cap in a friendly against

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

in October 2000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Franchino, Joe 1976 births Living people American men's soccer players Cal State Fullerton Titans men's soccer players American people of Italian descent LA Galaxy players Major League Soccer players MLS Pro-40 players New England Revolution players Orange County Blue Star players A-League (1995–2004) players United States men's international soccer players Washington Huskies men's soccer players LA Galaxy draft picks Men's association football midfielders Damien High School alumni