Justin Mapp (born October 18, 1984) is an American former soccer player who played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. Mapp has been described as being versatile and known for possessing "speed and creative abilities from out wide, but also his ability to drift inside and generate offense."

Career

Professional

Mapp graduated from the Bradenton Academy in 2001 and signed with MLS as a Project-40 player. He was drafted 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 Supp ...

with the fourth overall pick in the

2002 MLS SuperDraft The 2002 Major League Soccer SuperDraft was held on February 10, 2002 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. One month earlier, MLS had contracted two clubs: Tampa Bay Mutiny and Miami Fusion. In conjunction with the contraction, the league conducted bo ...

, but played only 28 minutes for DC in his first year as a pro. The Chicago Fire acquired Mapp for

Dema Kovalenko Dmytro "Dema" Kovalenko ( uk, Дмитро (Діма) Коваленко; born 28 August 1977) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He spent the majority of his playing career in the United States after moving there i ...

before the 2003 season, and he has been an important player in the squad since, helping them to the 2003

US 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 ...

. In two seasons with the Fire, Mapp scored six goals and added seven assists. After eight years with Chicago, Mapp was traded to Philadelphia Union on July 26, 2010 in exchange for allocation money. Mapp won "MLS Player of the Week" honors in Week 11 of the 2011 season for his 2-goal performance in the club's 6–2 win against

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 ...

. This performance earned the recognition of the North American Soccer Reporters society. One of his goals was even nominated for the MLS Goal of the Week award. On June 8, Mapp 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 ...

. On June 28, he was said to be leading in text voting for the All-Star Game. After a season and a half with Philadelphia, Mapp was selected by expansion franchise Montreal Impact in the 2011 MLS Expansion Draft on November 23, 2011. He said he was surprised to be unprotected by the Union. On May 29, 2013 Mapp was awarded the

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

George Gross Memorial Trophy for his play in the Canadian Championship, leading Montreal to victory over

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 March ...

in the final. A year later, he claimed the award again after Montreal defeated

in the

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 ...

final making him one of only two players, the other being

Dwayne De Rosario Dwayne Anthony De Rosario OOnt (born May 15, 1978) is a Canadian former professional soccer player, who played as a forward or as an attacking midfielder. De Rosario last played for the Mississauga MetroStars of the Major Arena Soccer League. ...

, to win the award twice. After his contract expired following the 2015 season, Mapp signed with Sporting Kansas City, becoming the first free agent signing in MLS history. He played six times for Kansas before retiring at the end of 2017.

International

Mapp has played for various youth United States national teams, including the 2001 Under-17 World Championship in

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

. He started all five matches for the U.S. in the 2003 World Youth Championship in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...

. Mapp made his debut for the senior team on October 12, 2005 against

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

. Mapp also came on as a sub January 20, 2007 against

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, running 70 yards with the ball before setting up

Jonathan Bornstein Jonathan Rey Bornstein (born November 7, 1984) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a left-back. He has captained and made 38 appearances for the United States national team. In addition to also playing for Chivas USA in Majo ...

's game-winning goal. He also played for USA in

Copa América 2007 Copa or COPA may refer to: COPA COPA may refer to: * Computer Operator Programming Assistant. trade of ITI * Child Online Protection Act, a former U.S. law to protect minors from certain material on the internet * Canadian Owners and Pilots Asso ...

Career statistics

Club

International

Honors

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 ...

: 2007

Chicago Fire

* Major League Soccer Supporters Shield: 2003 *

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. O ...

(2): 2003, 2006

Montreal Impact

* Canadian Championship (2):

Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic The Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic is an annual preseason soccer tournament for clubs in North America. Hosted by Disney, it is contested at Hess Sports Fields' Field 17, part of the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fl ...

Individual

MLS Best XI The MLS Best XI is an annual acknowledgment of the best eleven players in Major League Soccer. Winners *Players in bold were awarded the Landon Donovan MVP Award for that season. Most appearances by a player The following players have appeared ...

: 2006 * George Gross Memorial Trophy (2): 2013, 2014

Personal life

Mapp and girlfriend Kathleen Hilario had a child they named Jackson Sanders Mapp on March 24, 2016.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mapp, Justin 1984 births Living people People from Brandon, Mississippi American soccer players American expatriate soccer players D.C. United players Chicago Fire FC players Philadelphia Union players CF Montréal players Sporting Kansas City players CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning players United States men's youth international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's international soccer players 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2007 Copa América players Expatriate soccer players in Canada Major League Soccer players Major League Soccer All-Stars D.C. United draft picks Soccer players from Mississippi Association football midfielders