Haji Amir Wright (born March 27, 1998) is an American professional

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 plays for

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

club

Antalyaspor Antalyaspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club located in the city of Antalya. The club's colours are red and white. They play their home matches at the Antalya Stadium. In Turkey, the club won the First League twice in 1982 and 1 ...

and the

United States national team The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

. After making his professional debut with the

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independe ...

in 2015, he spent most of his career in Europe, with

Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine ...

in the German

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

VVV-Venlo VVV-Venlo (, ''VVV'' stands for ''Venlose Voetbal Vereniging'' meaning "Venlo Football Club") is a Dutch football club from Venlo, a city on the border with Germany. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following ...

in the Dutch

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

SønderjyskE SønderjyskE is a Danish sport corporation. They have a football team (SønderjyskE Fodbold, based in Haderslev), two handball teams (SønderjyskE Håndbold, one male based in Sønderborg, one female based in Aabenraa) and an ice hockey team (S ...

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 ...

and

in the Turkish

. Wright made his senior debut for the

in 2022 and played at the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international association football, football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022 ...

Youth soccer

Known for his finishing, ability to win headers, and quickness, Wright had been dubbed by many media outlets as one of the top prospects in the United States youth system. His success with the under-17 national team prompted him to train with Schalke 04's academy.

Professional career

New York Cosmos

In March 2015, Wright officially signed with NASL club

for an undisclosed fee and contract length. He made his professional debut on May 27 in the third round of the

U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...

, as a 79th-minute substitute for

Sebastián Guenzatti Sebastián Ignacio Guenzatti Varela (born July 8, 1991) is a Uruguayan footballer who plays for Indy Eleven in the USL Championship. Youth career Guenzatti was born in Uruguay before moving to the United States at 12, where he grew up in the Col ...

in a 3–0 home win over the

Jersey Express The Jersey Express is a team in the American Basketball Association based in Paterson, New Jersey. The team was formed in 2005 as the Newark Express. Marsha Blount is the owner of the team. Inaugural season (2005–06) The Express ended the re ...

, and then played three league games for a total of 80 minutes, starting with the game versus

Indy Eleven Indy Eleven is an American professional soccer team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 2013, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League in 2014, before moving to the United Soccer League in 2018. The franchise plays it ...

on July 26. Wright's contract expired following the season, and he did not re-sign.

Schalke 04

In April 2016, Wright signed with

. In his debut with the Schalke under-19 team on April 16, Wright scored a brace against

Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e. V. Mönchengladbach, commonly known as Borussia Mönchengladbach (), Mönchengladbach () or Gladbach (; abbreviated as Borussia MG, BMG), is a professional Association football, football club based in ...

U19. Wright was promoted to the Schalke first team in May 2017. He was named on the bench against

FC Ingolstadt 04 Fußball-Club Ingolstadt 2004 e.V., commonly known as FC Ingolstadt 04 or FC Ingolstadt, is a German football club based in Ingolstadt, Bavaria. The club was founded in 2004 out of the merger of the football sides of two other clubs: ESV Ingolst ...

on May 20, 2017. In July 2018, Wright underwent a trial period with 2. Bundesliga club

Union Berlin 1. Fußballclub Union Berlin e. V., commonly known as 1. FC Union Berlin () or Union Berlin, is a professional German football club in Köpenick, Berlin. The club's origins can be traced to 1906, when its predecessor FC Olympia Oberschöneweid ...

. On November 24, 2018, Wright made his debut for Schalke first team when he replaced Steven Skrzybski in the 88th minute of the 5–2 win against 1. FC Nürnberg. He played seven games for the team from

Gelsenkirchen Gelsenkirchen (, , ; wep, Gelsenkiärken) is the 25th most populous city of Germany and the 11th most populous in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 262,528 (2016) inhabitants. On the Emscher River (a tributary of the Rhine), it lies ...

, all in the league, and scored a consolation goal in a 2–1 home loss to

Bayer 04 Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen (), Bayer Leverkusen, or simply Leverkusen, is a professional football club based in Leverkusen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the Bundesliga, t ...

on December 19; the goal was assisted by compatriot

Weston McKennie Weston James Earl McKennie (born August 28, 1998) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for club Juventus and the United States national team. A versatile player, McKennie is capable of playing in a multitude of p ...

VVV-Venlo

In July 2019, Wright joined

on a free transfer. He played 22

games without scoring, but scored in the first round of the

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...

on October 30; coming on in the last minute, he tied the game at 2–2 at fourth-tier

RKSV Groene Ster RKSV Groene Ster is a Dutch football club based in Heerlerheide. The club play its home games at Pronsebroek. The club colours, reflected in their crest, kit and name, are green and white. Formed on 2 November 1926, the club have mostly played ...

, but missed the decisive attempt in a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...

defeat.

SønderjyskE

In August 2020, Wright joined

on a free transfer. He got off to a strong start in the league, with 6 goals in 8 appearances by early November, and his performances led to him being named as the

Player of the Month for October 2020. In July 2021, Wright wanted to move on from SønderjyskE and failed to report back for pre-season training. On July 21, Turkish club

confirmed that they had signed Wright on loan from SønderjyskE with an option to buy. However, later on the same day, SønderjyskE went out and denied that the deal had gone through because they had not yet received any payment. However, on July 28, SønderjyskE confirmed that he had been loaned out to Antalyaspor for the 2021–22 season and also signed a new deal with Sønderjyske until June 2024.

Antalyaspor

Wright opened his account for Antalyaspor in his third game on August 28, 2021 in which he scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

in a 3–2 home win over

Çaykur Rizespor Çaykur Rizespor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club based in Rize. The club play in the TFF First League. The club was founded on May 19, 1953, with green-yellow as club colours, but later changed to blue-green. Since 1990, the team ...

, concluding with a penalty kick in the tenth minute of added time. He scored 14 goals in 31 games in the

2021–22 Süper Lig The 2021–22 Süper Lig, officially called the Spor Toto Süper Lig Ahmet Çalık season, is the 64th season of the Süper Lig, the highest tier football league of Turkey. Teams A total of 20 teams contest the league, including 17 sides from the ...

, including eight over seven consecutive games, and nine in the last ten games. He was then tracked by

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...

club

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...

and their manager

Shota Arveladze Shota Arveladze ( ka, შოთა არველაძე; born 22 February 1973) is a Georgian professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of EFL Championship club Hull City. Arveladze played at Dinamo Tb ...

. On July 19, 2022, Wright signed a three-year deal.

International career

Wright is of Liberian and Ghanaian descent. He has represented the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

at all youth levels. In May 2022, Wright was called into the United States senior camp by

Gregg Berhalter Gregg Matthew Berhalter (, ; born August 1, 1973) is an American soccer coach and former player. He is also the current head coach of the United States men's national soccer team. Berhalter previously coached Columbus Crew SC in Major League Soc ...

for a CONCACAF Nation's League window. Wright scored his first international goal on his senior debut for the United States on June 1, 2022, in a 3–0 friendly victory against

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

. In November 2022, Wright was named to the squad for the

. In the 3–1 last-16 elimination by the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, he scored the American goal.

Personal life

Haji's brother Hanif played on the under-19 team of

Bonner SC Bonner SC is a German association football club based in Bonn. The club was formed in 1965 through the merger of ''Bonner FV'' and ''Tura Bonn''. Its former women's football department won the German national championship in 1975. History ''B ...

in 2017. Haji's cousins are also active in athletics: Joseph Putu played

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

for the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as t ...

, his second cousin, Isaac Nana Addai, played for the Liberia national under-23 team as well as

Boston City FC Boston City FC is a men's soccer club based in Boston, Massachusetts that competes in the Northeast Division of USL League Two. The club was founded in 2015; their inaugural season was 2016. The club's colors are red, navy, and white, and plays ...

, and his third cousin,

Joseph Addai Joseph Kwaku Duah Addai Jr. ( ) (born May 3, 1983) is a former American football running back in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected in the first round (30th overall pick) of the 2006 NFL Draft out of Louisiana State University b ...

, won

Super Bowl XLI Super Bowl XLI was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Chicago Bears to decide the National Football League (NFL) champio ...

in 2007 with the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list the United States' goal tally first.''

Honors

New York Cosmos *

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Individual * Superliga Player of the Month: October 2020

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Haji 1998 births Living people American soccer players United States men's under-23 international soccer players United States men's youth international soccer players United States men's international soccer players American people of Liberian descent American people of Ghanaian descent American expatriate soccer players Association football forwards New York Cosmos (2010) players Soccer players from Los Angeles North American Soccer League players FC Schalke 04 players FC Schalke 04 II players SV Sandhausen players VVV-Venlo players SønderjyskE Fodbold players Antalyaspor footballers Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Eredivisie players Süper Lig players 2022 FIFA World Cup players American expatriate soccer players in Germany American expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands American expatriate sportspeople in Denmark American expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate footballers in Germany Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Expatriate footballers in Turkey