Sean Michael Franklin (born March 21, 1985) 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 who played as a defender.

Career

Youth and amateur

Franklin was a three-time letter-winner at Highland High School in

Palmdale, California Palmdale is a city in northern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. The city lies in the Antelope Valley region of Southern California. The San Gabriel Mountains separate Palmdale from the Los Angeles Basin to the south. On Aug ...

. He was named the Golden League's Most Valuable Player as a senior, and also earned all-area first-team honors in 2003 after helping the Bulldogs to a Golden League crown in 2003. At Cal State Northridge, he was an invaluable member of the Matadors’ defense, starting over 50 games since 2004, being named to the All-Big West Conference team in both 2005 and 2006. During his college years Franklin spent two years with the

San Fernando Valley Quakes San Fernando Valley Quakes was an American association football, soccer team based in Calabasas, California, Calabasas, California, United States. Founded in 2006, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of th ...

of the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...

, helping them reach the playoffs for the first time in 2007, although his campaign was cut short when he broke his arm in the playoff semi-final against

BYU Cougars The BYU Cougars are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Brigham Young University (BYU), located in Provo, Utah. BYU fields 21 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) varsity athletic teams. They are a member of the West ...

Professional

Franklin was the fourth overall pick in the

2008 MLS SuperDraft The 2008 MLS SuperDraft took place on January 18, 2008 in Baltimore, Maryland. It was the ninth annual Major League Soccer SuperDraft. The first selection was made by the Kansas City Wizards, after acquiring the selection from the expansion San ...

, selected by the Los Angeles Galaxy, and made his MLS debut in Galaxy's home opener against

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 ...

on April 3, 2008. In late April, Greg Daurio reported coach Gullit saying Franklin had been their best player, saying "I think again he played an excellent game. If you see how he goes into midfield, gives long balls to David (Beckham) all the time, I think he's made huge progress. That makes me happy." Franklin was awarded

MLS Rookie of the Year The MLS Young Player of the Year Award (known as the Rookie of the Year Award from 1996 to 2019) is an annual award given to the top player in Major League Soccer under the age of 22. The award was initially awarded to a rookie, or a player who no ...

for the 2008 season. He beat fellow finalists

Geoff Cameron Geoffrey Scott "Geoff" Cameron (born July 11, 1985) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender. Cameron began playing college soccer with the West Virginia Mountaineers and the Rhode Island Rams, as well as USL Premier ...

and

Kheli Dube Mkhokheli "Kheli" Dube (born 18 June 1983 in Bulawayo) is a Zimbabwean footballer. Career Early career and college Dube played in the youth system of his hometown team, Zimbabwe Saints, and played professionally for Two years in the Zimbabwe ...

to the award. Franklin missed the majority of the 2009 MLS season after undergoing surgery to repair a hamstring tear he suffered during a game against Columbus Crew on May 17, 2009. He signed a new contract with Los Angeles on December 23, 2011. Franklin was selected by

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Suppo ...

in the

2013 MLS Re-Entry Draft The two-stage 2013 MLS Re-Entry Draft took place on December 12, 2013 (Stage 1) and December 18, 2013 (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 ...

and signed with D.C. shortly thereafter. He scored his first goal for D.C. on April 26, 2014, in a 4–1 win against

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise be ...

. On December 19, 2016, D.C. United re-signed Franklin in a multiyear contract. On November 28, 2017 his contract option with United was declined. On February 22, 2018, Franklin signed for MLS side

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on Marc ...

as a free agent. Franklin was released by Vancouver at the end of their 2018 season.

International

Franklin was called up to the U.S. under-20 men's national team during the spring of 2004, and played 90 minutes for the U-23 team in a 0–0 draw with Japan in Japan in 2007. He was called up to the senior men's squad twice in 2008 and 2009. He was unused in the World Cup qualifier against

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

on November 18, 2008, and withdrew from the camp which faced

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

on January 24, 2009 with a

hernia A hernia is the abnormal exit of tissue or an organ (anatomy), organ, such as the bowel, through the wall of the cavity in which it normally resides. Various types of hernias can occur, most commonly involving the abdomen, and specifically the gr ...

injury. He made his senior debut on January 22, 2011 in a friendly match against Chile.

Honors

;Los Angeles Galaxy *

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conference ...

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 ...

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 ...

Supporters' Shield;

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 ...

Individual

: 2008 *

MLS All-Star The Major League Soccer All-Star Game is an annual Association football, soccer game held by Major League Soccer featuring selected players from the league against an international club or selected players from Liga MX. MLS initially adopted a tr ...

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

*
CSUN Bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Franklin, Sean 1985 births Living people American soccer players Men's association football defenders Cal State Northridge Matadors men's soccer players D.C. United players LA Galaxy draft picks LA Galaxy players Major League Soccer All-Stars Major League Soccer players People from Palmdale, California People from Panorama City, Los Angeles San Fernando Valley Quakes players Soccer players from California United States men's international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's under-23 international soccer players USL League Two players Vancouver Whitecaps FC players