Jovan Kirovski

Jovan Kirovski (Macedonian: Јован Кировски; born March 18, 1976) is an American former soccer player who is the Technical Director for the Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer. Kirovski is the first American to win the UEFA Champions League and the first to score in a Champions League match. He has won an MLS Cup championship as a player, assistant coach, and Technical Director. He was instrumental in the Galaxy's signing of Zlatan Ibrahimović.

Jovan Kirovski
Jovan Kirovski (left) and Kyle Beckerman in 2007
Personal information
Full name Jovan Kirovski[1]
Date of birth (1976-03-18) March 18, 1976[1]
Place of birth Escondido, California, United States
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[2]
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1992 Manchester United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1993–1996 Manchester United 0 (0)
1996–2000 Borussia Dortmund 20 (1)
1998–1999 → Fortuna Köln (loan) 23 (2)
2000–2001 Sporting CP 5 (0)
2001–2002 Crystal Palace 36 (5)
2002–2004 Birmingham City 23 (2)
2004–2005 Los Angeles Galaxy 48 (12)
2005–2008 Colorado Rapids 61 (12)
2008 San Jose Earthquakes 9 (0)
2009–2011 Los Angeles Galaxy 56 (6)
Total 281 (40)
National team
1996 United States U23 3 (1)
1994–2004 United States 62 (9)
Teams managed
2012 Los Angeles Galaxy (assistant)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Born in Escondido, California, Kirovski, is the son of Macedonian immigrants,[3][4] He joined Manchester United's youth team in 1992, becoming the first American to sign with the club. He led the reserve team in scoring in 1996, but was not able to break into the first team because of work permit regulations. After that season, he signed with Borussia Dortmund in the German Bundesliga. Kirovski spent the next four seasons in Germany. He played in Dortmund's 1996–97 UEFA Champions League campaign, becoming the first (and currently only male) American to win the competition.[5] He earned significant playing time during the 1998–99 season, when Borussia loaned him out to second division club Fortuna Köln.

In 2000, Kirovski signed with Portuguese club Sporting CP After a season there, he went back to England, signing with Football League First Division club Crystal Palace. In 2002, Kirovski signed with Birmingham City, but after one and a half seasons, he signed with the Los Angeles Galaxy.

In his first season in MLS, Kirovski scored eight goals. In 2005, the Galaxy traded him to the Colorado Rapids for a first round pick in the 2007 MLS SuperDraft. After spending the 2008 season with the San Jose Earthquakes, he rejoined the Galaxy in a November 2008 trade. Kirovski enjoyed a successful stint with the Galaxy, winning an MLS Cup in 2011 with the club. On January 23, 2012, Kirovski retired from soccer but remained on the coaching staff for the LA Galaxy as an assistant coach. A member of Bruce Arena's coaching staff, Kirovski helped the team repeat as MLS Cup champions in 2012.

Kirovski was appointed by the LA Galaxy as the club's Technical Director on January 10, 2013.[6] As Technical Director, Kirovski was instrumental in the creation of the club's USL affiliate LA Galaxy II,[7] which was established in January 2014. Kirovski served as the point man in the Galaxy's pursuit and eventual signing of Mexican forward Giovani dos Santos in August 2015.[8] He also aided the Galaxy in their signing of Jelle Van Damme a year later.[9] Kirovski served as the lead in the Galaxy's signing of 2017 team Most Valuable Player Romain Alessandrini,[10] as well as the addition of Mexican international Jonathan dos Santos. The Galaxy's Technical Director led the team's pursuit of Swedish soccer legend Zlatan Ibrahimović, who joined the club officially in March. Kirovski stated that it was his rich global network that helped make the deal complete.[11]

"My job is constant— like the stock market, I have to know value of how much people pay— Sweden, France. I know what he can make in MLS, China, Germany. I know that and I am up-to-date with the market. You have to know the world markets in terms of how much people earn and the values of certain players.

"The key to what I do is my network, built up over my whole career. That’s the key part."

International career

Kirovski made his debut for the United States national team at the age of 18 on October 19, 1994, against Saudi Arabia, and played at the 1996 Olympics and the 1999 and 2003 editions of the FIFA Confederations Cup. Kirovski earned 62 caps in total with the US.

International goals
GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1 November 22, 1994 National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica  Jamaica 0–1 0–3 Friendly
2 December 11, 1994 Titan Stadium, Fullerton, United States  Honduras 1–1 1–1 Friendly
3 January 21, 1996 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States  Guatemala 3–0 3–0 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup
4 June 17, 1997 Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, United States  Israel 2–0 2–1 Friendly
5 February 6, 1999 Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, United States  Germany 1–0 3–0 Friendly
6 July 24, 1999 Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico  New Zealand 0–2 1–2 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup
7 February 12, 2000 Orange Bowl, Miami, United States  Haiti 1–0 3–0 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup
8 March 29, 2003 Seattle Seahawks Stadium, Seattle, United States  Venezuela 1–0 2–0 Friendly
9 June 8, 2003 University of Richmond Stadium, Richmond, United States  New Zealand 2–1 2–1 Friendly

Coaching career

Kirovski joined Los Angeles Galaxy as assistant coach immediately upon his retirement in January 2012.[12] In January 2013, the Galaxy appointed him as the club's technical director.[6]

Honors

Club

Borussia Dortmund

Los Angeles Galaxy

References
  1. "Jovan Kirovski". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  2. Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2003). Playfair Football Annual 2003–2004. Headline. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-7553-1313-6.
  3. Herbst, Dan (November 13, 1995). "A Foot In The Door". SI Vault. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
  4. Almond, Elliott (May 31, 2008). "Kirovski is making up for lost time with Quakes". San Jose Mercury (NewsBank). Retrieved September 30, 2010.
  5. "The United States' biggest European success stories". UEFA.com. July 4, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  6. "Jovan Kirovski named Technical Director". LA Galaxy. 10 January 2013.
  7. "LA Galaxy Insider speaks with Technical Director Jovan Kirovski on LA Galaxy II creation | LA Galaxy".
  8. Baxter, Kevin (3 August 2015). "In Galaxy's pursuit of Giovani dos Santos, persistence paid off". Los Angeles Times.
  9. Baxter, Kevin (2 February 2016). "Galaxy gets creative to acquire three European players". Los Angeles Times.
  10. "Galaxy GM Peter Vagenas delighted with Alessandrini signing: "We absolutely got our number one target"". LA Galaxy. 31 January 2017.
  11. "How the LA Galaxy signed Zlatan Ibrahimović". LA Galaxy. 23 March 2018.
  12. "LA Galaxy name Jovan Kirovski assistant coach". LAGalaxy.com. Major League Soccer. January 23, 2012. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
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