Jonathan Patrick O'Brien (born August 29, 1977) is an American former soccer player. After retiring, he pursued a career in psychology. O'Brien was one of the first Americans to earn a starting spot with a major European team, with Ajax Amsterdam in the late 1990s.O'Brien was the second American ever to play for the 1st team of Ajax, the first being

Eddy Hamel Eddy Hamel (October 21, 1902 – April 30, 1943) was an American soccer player for Dutch club AFC Ajax. Hamel was the first Jewish player for Ajax. He was killed by the Nazis in 1943 in Auschwitz concentration camp. Background Hamel was born in ...

who played for the club from 1922 to 1930. At the peak of his career,

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 territori ...

national teammate Landon Donovan called O'Brien the "best soccer player in the USA."

Professional career

O'Brien grew up in

Playa del Rey, California Playa del Rey (Spanish language, Spanish for "Beach of the King") is a seaside community in the Santa Monica Bay and the Westside (Los Angeles County), Westside region of Los Angeles, California. It has a ZIP code of 90293 and area codes 310 and 4 ...

and attended Brentwood School. After being brought to attention of youth director

Co Adriaanse Co Adriaanse (born 21 July 1947) is a Dutch football manager and former player who played as a centre-back. Playing career As a professional player, Adriaanse played for six seasons with (now dissolved) De Volewijckers (from 1964 until 1970) and ...

, he had his first trial with

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...

at the age of 14 and signed an amateur contract with the Dutch giants in 1994 as a 17-year-old. After two years on their youth teams, Ajax offered O'Brien a professional contract in 1998. He spent the 1998–99 season on loan to FC Utrecht and made his Ajax debut in 1999. He became a regular for the team, usually playing at left back, winning the

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 ...

in 2002 and 2004. Unfortunately, chronic injuries limited O'Brien's playing time. He left Ajax for ADO Den Haag in February 2005. After one injury-riddled season, in which he only played three games for the club, O'Brien came to MLS for the first time, to sign with hometown club

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 ...

. O'Brien played only one game with Chivas before suffering an injury with the U.S. national team during the 2006 World Cup, and was released by the club following the 2006 season. O'Brien stated that he was done playing in an interview on June 11, 2008.

International career

With the United States, O'Brien earned his first cap against

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

on April 22, 1998 but was an alternate for the U.S. squad for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. He played in the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

, helping to lead the U.S. to a fourth-place finish. O'Brien became a regular with the senior team under

Bruce Arena Bruce Arena (born September 21, 1951) is an American soccer coach who is the head coach and sporting director of the New England Revolution. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame and the NJCAA Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Arena has had ...

, and came into his own at the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea an ...

. Playing in defensive midfield, he scored the opener in the 3–2 win over

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, assisted on

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, wh ...

' goal against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

, and played every minute of every game for the United States. Four years later, O'Brien was named to the U.S. roster for the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...

in Germany. On June 12, 2006, he played the second half of the U.S.'s opening game against the Czech Republic, albeit with a nagging injury, which kept him out for the duration of the tournament.

Personal life

O’ Brien lives with his wife and son near Boulder, Colorado. After retiring from football O’Brien returned to college and completed a doctorate in clinical psychology from Alliant International University. Dr. O’Brien has two separate practices, one providing mental health counseling to the general public and one working as a sports psychologist.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list the United States' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each O'Brien goal.''

Honors

Ajax * Dutch Eredivisie: 2001–02, 2003–04 * KNVB Cup: 2002 *

Johan Cruijff Shield The Johan Cruyff Shield (, ) is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national footbal ...

: 2002 United States *

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 ...

: 2005 Individual *

Best XI (Honorable Mention): 2005

Notes

References

External links

* *
"What Ever Happened To: John O'Brien"
MLSsoccer. February 22, 2011. {{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, John 1977 births Living people American soccer players Association football defenders Association football midfielders AFC Ajax players FC Utrecht players ADO Den Haag players Chivas USA players Eredivisie players Major League Soccer players United States men's international soccer players Olympic soccer players of the United States CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning players Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players American expatriate soccer players Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands American expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Soccer players from Los Angeles 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