Cobi N'Gai Jones (born June 16, 1970) is an American former professional soccer player and commentator. He is an analyst for MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. He has also been seen on Time Warner Cable SportsNet, Fox Sports, BeIN Sports, the Pac-12 Network, and as the host of the Totally Football Show: American Edition. In addition, during the 1990s, he hosted the health show Mega-Dose on MTV.

As a player, Jones was a midfielder from 1994 until 2007, starting his career in England with Premier League club Coventry City, before playing for Brazilian side Vasco da Gama. He is one of a significant group of United States national team stars who returned from overseas to aid the then new Major League Soccer in 1996, beginning an 11-year spell with the LA Galaxy. Jones is the all-time leader in caps for the United States national team and a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Following retirement, Jones served as an assistant coach with the LA Galaxy for two seasons.

Youth Jones grew up in Southern California. He played soccer with AYSO starting at age 5 in Westlake Village, California. After graduating from Westlake High School, Jones emerged as a talented player in college, making the UCLA soccer team as a non-scholarship player, ultimately becoming one of its most successful soccer-playing graduates. While attending UCLA, Jones was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha, an international fraternity.

Club career After playing in the 1994 World Cup held in the United States, Jones signed with English team Coventry City of the Premier League, where he spent one season. Jones trained with a German club 1. FC Köln of the Bundesliga before joining Brazilian club Vasco da Gama after impressive performances with the United States national team in the 1995 Copa America. After only a few months in Brazil, Jones signed with the new Los Angeles Galaxy franchise for Major League Soccer's inaugural season.

Jones's best year with the Galaxy came in 1998, when he was second in MLS with 51 points (19 goals and 13 assists), was named to the MLS Best XI, and was also named U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year. In 2005, he became the last player in MLS to remain with his original team since 1996. Jones announced on March 19, 2007, that he would retire following the season.

International career Jones is currently the all-time leader of the United States in appearances, with 164 caps as of the end of 2004 (scoring 15 goals). He played for the team in the 1994, 1998, and 2002 FIFA World Cups. He was named to the best XI at the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup and won with the national team at the 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup. He also represented his country at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. After playing in the 1995 Copa America, he also became a popular player in Latin America because the nickname used by an Argentine commentator to call him: "Escobillón" ("swab"), due to his bleached dreadlock hairstyle and the similar pronunciation of his name, Is Cobi Jones, and the word "escobillón".

Coaching career On November 9, 2007, Jones was announced as an assistant coach with the Galaxy under Ruud Gullit. After Gullit's resignation on August 11, 2008, Jones served as the interim head coach until the Galaxy hired Jones's former United States national team head coach Bruce Arena.

In January 2011, Jones left the Galaxy to serve as associate director of soccer with the New York Cosmos and was with the club through 2012.

Personal life On September 12, 2009, Jones married Kim Reese. Reese, a music consultant and former music executive at New Line Cinema, met Jones in 2003 and began dating him in 2004. The couple was married at the Four Seasons Resort Aviara in Carlsbad, California.L.A. Galaxy Soccer Star Cobi Jones Weds by Mark Dagostino at people.com, URL accessed October 3, 2009. March 10, 2009. They have two sons, Cayden and Cai.

On March 11, 2011, Jones was selected for induction into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

Jones is a part of the ownership group of Angel City FC of the National Women's Soccer League.

Career statistics

Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsCoventry City1994–95Premier League212103000252Vasco da Gama1995Série A4100000041Los Angeles Galaxy1996Major League Soccer2871997267411998241919992881200025731200122620021932003282420042302005313200627422007254Total30670Career total30670142

International + Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsUnited States199231199330219942321995121199614219971401998150199980200016620011002002140200310200441Total16415

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

+ List of international goals scored by Cobi JonesNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 October 19, 1992 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 2–1 5–1 1992 King Fahd Cup2 March 23, 1993 San Salvador, El Salvador 2–1 2–2 Friendly3 October 13, 1993 Washington, D.C., United States 1–1 1–1 Friendly4 January 15, 1994 Tempe, Arizona, United States 2–1 2–1 Friendly5 February 18, 1994 Miami, Florida, United States 1–1 1–1 Friendly6 June 11, 1995 Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States 3–2 3–2 Friendly7 May 26, 1996 New Britain, Connecticut, United States 2–1 2–1 Friendly8 December 1, 1996 San José, Costa Rica 1–2 1–2 Friendly9 January 29, 2000 Coquimbo, Chile 2–1 2–1 Friendly10 February 12, 2000 Miami, Florida, United States 3–0 3–0 2000 Gold Cup11 February 16, 2000 Miami, Florida, United States 1–0 1–0 2000 Gold Cup12 June 3, 2000 Washington, D.C., United States 1–0 4–0 2000 Nike U.S. Cup13 2–014 November 15, 2000 Waterford, Barbados 4–0 4–0 2002 World Cup qualifying15 September 8, 2004 Panama City, Panama 1–1 1–1 2006 World Cup qualifying

Honours UCLA Bruins NCAA Division I: 1990 NCAA College Cup: 1990

Los Angeles Galaxy MLS Cup: 2002, 2005 Supporters' Shield: 1998, 2002 Western Conference Playoffs: 1996, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2005 Western Conference Regular Season: 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002 U.S. Open Cup: 2001, 2005 CONCACAF Champions' Cup: 2000

United States CONCACAF Gold Cup: 2002

Individual MLS All-Star: 1996,All-Star Game flashback, 1996 at MLSsoccer.com 1997,All-Star Game flashback, 1997 at MLSsoccer.com 1998, 1999, 2000 MLS Best XI: 1998 U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year: 1998 LA Galaxy Player of the Year: 1998 MLS 25 Greatest MLS 50/50 Club

See also List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps

References

External links

Cobi Jones Biography at Los Angeles Galaxy official site (archived) Cobi Jones Interview