Steve Cherundolo

Born in Rockford, Illinois, Cherundolo grew up in San Diego, California, and attended Mt. Carmel High School in Rancho Peñasquitos.[3] As a youth he played for the La Jolla Nomads club team, which won the California State Championship six times with him on the roster.

Before joining Hannover, Cherundolo enrolled at the University of Portland and played for the Pilots soccer team from 1997 to 1998. In his freshman season, he was named the West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year.[4]

Cherundolo training with Hannover in April 2008

Cherundolo joined Hannover 96, then playing in the 2. Bundesliga, for the end of the 1998–1999 season and quickly received first-team action, playing in four games his first year. Coming into the 1999–2000 season, Cherundolo established himself at the right back position, starting consistently before suffering a knee injury that kept him out until the end of the season and ended his chances of playing for the U.S. Olympic team. He continued to establish his place in the team during the 2000–2001 season, earning playing time in eighteen games, including ten starts. In the 2001–02 season, he started thirty of thirty-four games for the team as he helped the team gain promotion to the Bundesliga. Cherundolo maintained his position in the 2002–03 season, starting thirty-three games for the team, while collecting three assists. In the 2003–04 season, he continued his consistent play, appearing in thirty-three games for the club. Premier League side Bolton Wanderers agreed to a deal with Hannover for Cherundolo in 2005, but he declined, opting to remain in Germany. He signed another contract extension with Hannover in the summer of 2007.

Cherundolo established himself as a leader at Hannover and was appointed team captain shortly before the start of the 2010–11 season. He set the team record for Bundesliga appearances in the second to last game of the 2012–13 season. As of 2013, Cherundolo was the longest serving player in the Bundesliga.[5] On March 19, 2014, Cherundolo announced his retirement from soccer citing failure to recover from a long term knee injury as the main reason he left the game.[6]

Cherundolo parlayed his success in the Bundesliga into a role with the United States national team. Cherundolo made his debut against Jamaica on September 8, 1999. Although he was on the roster for the 2002 FIFA World Cup (a late injury replacement for Chris Armas), Cherundolo himself was injured in training shortly before the event began and was unable to play. In the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Cherundolo sustained a knee injury from a tackle that prematurely ended his participation in the tournament. On March 22, 2006, Cherundolo played in a friendly match with the national team against Germany, whose roster included some teammates from Hannover 96. He scored his first international goal in the 4–1 loss.

On May 2, 2006, Cherundolo was named to the U.S. roster for the FIFA World Cup in Germany.[7] On June 12, 2006, for the first time, aged 26, Cherundolo made his debut in a FIFA World Cup match against the Czech Republic, playing in the first half for the U.S., who started the tournament with a 3–0 loss.[8] Five days later, in the second match against Italy (who later won the tournament), Cherundolo played the full 90 minutes, helping the team to a 1–1 draw at Fritz-Walter-Stadion in Kaiserslautern.[9] After a loss against Ghana in the final match in the group, the U.S. was eliminated from the tournament, finishing the group in last place with just one point.[10]

Cherundolo missed the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup due to an injury. He also missed out on the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup due to another injury, but returned to captain the U.S. during the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup.[11]

Cherundolo was one of seven defenders named to the U.S. squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.[12] He was given the number 6. In the first match of Group C against England, Cherundolo was in the starting lineup and played the full 90 minutes in a 1–1 draw at Royal Bafokeng Stadium.[13] On June 18, he retained his position for the second match, playing in the entire game against Slovenia, which finished in a 2–2 draw, with the U.S. coming back from 2–0 down.[14] In the 48th minute of the match, Cherundolo assisted Landon Donovan who beat Slovenian goalkeeper Samir Handanović with a powerful shot.[15][16] In the final match of the group, Cherundolo again started at right back as the U.S. beat Algeria with a last-minute winner, scored by Donovan, to finish the group in first place with five points.[17] U.S. would lose in the Round of 16 against Ghana, 2–1 after extra time.[18] Cherundolo was an ever-present figure in this competition for the United States, playing the entire 390 minutes.

Following his retirement announcement, Cherundolo remained with Hannover 96 as an assistant coach for Hannover's amateur team.[19] On April 20, 2015, he was officially promoted to assistant coach of Hannover 96's first team.[20] After the end of the 2014–2015 season, Cherundolo became the head coach of Hannover's U–17 academy team.[21]

In January 2018 Cherundolo moved to VfB Stuttgart and became assistant of the new head coach Tayfun Korkut.[22] In November 2018 Cherundolo was named to the coaching staff of the US Men's National Team by interim coach Dave Sarachan.[23]

In an August 2020 interview with the Narrowing the Angle soccer podcast, Cherundolo said he "would love to coach" the United States Men's National Soccer Team. He also expressed interest in coaching in Major League Soccer.[24] On August 20, 2020 it was announced that Cherundolo had joined the Germany national youth football team as an assistant coach for their U-15 team.[25]

Cherundolo speaks English and fluent German, having spent his entire professional career in Germany.[26] A popular figure with Hannover fans, he is known as "Dolo" and affectionately nicknamed "Mayor of Hannover".[27] Cherundolo married Mandy Rosier on New Year's Eve 2009 at the local Catholic parish church St. Joseph.[28][29][30] After his retirement from soccer, he continues to reside with his family in Großburgwedel, near Hannover.

• List of one-club men

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Steven Cherundolo.

• Kinderherz Hannover e.V. – Children's charity organization, co-founded by Cherundolo