Daniel Benjamin Califf (born March 17, 1980 in Orange, California) is an American retired

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.

Career

Youth and College

Califf (pronounced kāl'ĭ-f) started his youth career in soccer for Canyon Hills Soccer Association, playing on the Canyon Classic team coached by his father. He played

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Ki ...

at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of ...

from 1998 to 2000. As a freshman, he started all 24 of the team's games, and was named to the Soccer America All-Freshman team for helping to lead the Terrapins to the Final Four. In his second year of college, he started 20 games, and was named an NSCAA third-team All-American.

Professional

After his sophomore season, Califf signed a Project-40 contract with MLS and entered the

2000 MLS SuperDraft The 2000 Major League Soccer SuperDraft was held on February 6, 2000 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and consisted of six rounds. One of the most successful draft picks was goalkeeper Nick Rimando, a third round pick, who went on to hold the record ...

, where he was selected sixth overall by the Los Angeles Galaxy. Califf was immediately slotted into the Galaxy's starting line up, appearing in 18 games, 16 of them starts, as a rookie. Over the next three years, Califf would establish himself as one of the best central defenders in the league, starting 69 games for the Galaxy while helping the team to win a U.S. Open Cup in 2001 and a

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 Conferen ...

in 2002. Califf struggled with injuries in 2004, and was able to make only 10 starts, playing 855 minutes. Califf was traded to the

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 ...

for an allocation prior to the 2005 season. He then regained his old form and even improved, being named to the MLS Best XI for the first time. Califf has scored seven league goals and four assists in six years in MLS. He left the Quakes after just one season to sign with

Aalborg Aalborg (, , ) is Denmark's List of cities in Denmark by population, fourth largest town (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an Urban area, urban population of 143,598 (1 July ...

in the

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga ( da, Superligaen, ) is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each yea ...

. In his first full season at Aalborg, Califf played 30 of 33 games, and helped the team win

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receiv ...

s in the 2006–07 Superliga season. Califf scored his first Aalborg goal on the last match day of the season, as bronze medal contenders

Odense BK Odense Boldklub (; also known as Odense BK or the more commonly used OB) is a Danish professional football club based in the city Odense. The club has won three Danish championships and five Danish Cup trophies. OB play in the Danish Superliga ...

were defeated 3–1. After the season, during AaB's Intertoto Cup campaign, Califf was named club captain. In the 2007–08 Superliga season he helped Aalborg to a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have be ...

but after the season he could not agree with Aalborg on a new contract. He eventually signed with

rivals Midtjylland. On December 3, 2009, the

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 2010 ...

announced that they had acquired Califf's MLS rights from

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. Establish ...

and that he would join the team for their inaugural 2010 season. Before the Union's first game against

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 ...

he was announced as the team's captain. Califf scored his first goal for the Union in the 2011 MLS season opener win against Houston Dynamo on March 19, 2011. He was named to the MLS Team of the week for this performance that match also. On June 8, Califf was named a nominee for the

MLS All-Star Game The Major League Soccer All-Star Game is an annual 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 traditional all-star ...

. It was announced that he was fifth in defender voting for the All-Star Game. On May 17, 2012, Califf was traded to

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. G ...

for Michael Lahoud and allocation money. At the end of the 2012 season, Chivas USA declined Califf's contract option and he entered the 2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft. On December 14, 2012, Califf was selected by

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...

with the first pick of stage two of the draft and that day signed a contract with Toronto for the 2013 season.

Retirement

Califf announced his retirement from soccer on July 12, 2013. In 2014, Califf became an assistant coach under Charlie Dodds, President of YSC Sports, home of the Philadelphia Union Academy. After one year of coaching at YSC Sports, he returned to Toronto FC as a scout through 2016. Califf has settled back in his hometown of Orange, CA with his family. Currently, he is the Founder and President of his own personal training company, Professional Soccer Resource (PSR) and holds the title of Technical Director for the youth soccer club Boca O.C.

International

Califf has played for the United States national team at every level from the U-17's to the senior team. He has appeared in the 1997

FIFA U-17 World Championship The FIFA U-17 World Cup, founded as the FIFA U-16 World Championship, later changed to U-17 in 1991 and to its current name in 2007, is the world championship of association football for male players under the age of 17 organized by ''Fédératio ...

, the 1999 World Youth Championship in Egypt, and the 2000 Sydney Olympics . Additionally, he has appeared in 26 games for the full national team, getting his first cap against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

on January 19, 2002. Califf played in the 2003 & 2009 Confederations Cup, the

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, 2003, & 2009 Gold Cups and the 2007 Copa America. He served as captain twice for the team on July 5, 2007, when the United States lost 1–0 to

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...

during their final group game in Venezuela (2007 Copa America) and again in 2009 With a win against Sweden in Carson, CA.

International goals

He scored his only international goal against

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and s ...

on March 16, 2004.

Honors

United States

* CONCACAF Gold Cup (2):

, 2003, &

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 discover ...

Los Angeles Galaxy

* CONCACAF Champions Cup (1): 2000 *Defender of the Year: 2000 *

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. Op ...

(1):

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

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 Cana ...

MLS Cup (1):

Supporters' Shield (1):

Western Conference Championship (1):

San Jose Earthquakes

Supporters' Shield (1):

* MLS BEST XI 2005 *MLS ALL-STAR 2005

Aalborg

Champion(1): 2007–08

Individual

* MLS Best XI: 2005 *

MLS ALL-STAR The Major League Soccer All-Star Game is an annual 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 traditional all-star ...

: 2005

Career statistics

Updated July 12, 2013

References

External links

* *
FC Midtjylland profileAaB profile

Official Superliga stats
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Califf, Danny 1980 births Living people People from Montclair, California American soccer players Soccer players from California Sportspeople from San Bernardino County, California United States men's international soccer players Olympic soccer players of the United States Maryland Terrapins men's soccer players LA Galaxy players MLS Pro-40 players San Jose Earthquakes players AaB Fodbold players FC Midtjylland players Philadelphia Union players Chivas USA players Toronto FC players A-League (1995–2004) players Major League Soccer players Danish Superliga players Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2007 Copa América players 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning players American expatriate soccer players Expatriate footballers in Denmark Expatriate soccer players in Canada Association football central defenders Major League Soccer All-Stars United States men's youth international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's under-23 international soccer players LA Galaxy draft picks American expatriate sportspeople in Denmark American expatriate sportspeople in Canada Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States Footballers at the 1999 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games Pan American Games medalists in football