View source for Danny Califf

{{short description|American soccer player}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Danny Califf
| image = Danny Califf at Union at Earthquakes 2010-09-15.JPG
| upright = 1.1
| caption = Califf with [[Philadelphia Union]] in 2010
| full_name = Daniel Benjamin Califf
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1980|3|17}}
| birth_place = [[Montclair, California]], United States
| height = {{height|ft=6|in=1}}
| position = [[Defender (association football)|Defender]]
| currentclub = 
| collegeyears1 = 1998–1999
| college1 = [[Maryland Terrapins men's soccer|Maryland Terrapins]]
| years1 = 2000–2004
| clubs1 = [[Los Angeles Galaxy]]
| caps1 = 103
| goals1 = 5
| years2 = 2000
| clubs2 = → [[MLS Pro-40]] (loan)
| caps2 = 2
| goals2 = 0
| years3 = 2005
| clubs3 = [[San Jose Earthquakes]]
| caps3 = 20
| goals3 = 2
| years4 = 2006–2008
| clubs4 = [[AaB Fodbold|AaB]]
| caps4 = 69
| goals4 = 2
| years5 = 2008–2009
| clubs5 = [[FC Midtjylland|Midtjylland]]
| caps5 = 31
| goals5 = 1
| years6 = 2010–2012
| clubs6 = [[Philadelphia Union]]
| caps6 = 65
| goals6 = 1
| years7 = 2012
| clubs7 = [[C.D. Chivas USA|Chivas USA]]
| caps7 = 19
| goals7 = 1
| years8 = 2013
| clubs8 = [[Toronto FC]]
| caps8 = 4
| goals8 = 0
| totalcaps = 313
| totalgoals = 12
| nationalyears1 = 1997
| nationalteam1 = [[United States men's national under-17 soccer team|United States U17]]
| nationalcaps1 = 3
| nationalgoals1 = 0
| nationalyears2 = 1999
| nationalteam2 = [[United States men's national under-20 soccer team|United States U20]]
| nationalcaps2 = 4
| nationalgoals2 = 1
| nationalyears3 = 2000
| nationalteam3 = [[United States men's national under-23 soccer team|United States U23]]
| nationalcaps3 = 6
| nationalgoals3 = 1
| nationalyears4 = 2002–2010
| nationalteam4 = [[United States men's national soccer team|United States]]
| nationalcaps4 = 26
| nationalgoals4 = 1
| medaltemplates = {{Medal|Country|{{USA}}}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[FIFA Confederations Cup]]}}
{{Medal|RU|[[2009 FIFA Confederations Cup|2009 South Africa]]|[[United States men's national soccer team|Team]]}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[CONCACAF Gold Cup]]}}
{{Medal|W|[[CONCACAF Gold Cup]]|[[2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup|2002]]}}
{{Medal|3rd|[[CONCACAF Gold Cup]]|[[2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup|2003]]}}
{{MedalSport|Men's [[Association football|Soccer]]}}
}}

'''Daniel Benjamin Califf''' (born March 17, 1980) is an American retired professional [[soccer]] player who played as a [[defender (association football)|defender]].

==Youth and college career==
Califf (pronounced kāl'ĭ-f) was born in Orange, California. He started his youth career in soccer for Canyon Hills Soccer Association, playing on the Canyon Classic team coached by his father. He played [[College soccer in the United States|college soccer]] at the [[University of Maryland, College Park|University of Maryland]] from 1998 to 2000. As a freshman, he started all 24 of the team's games, and was named to the Soccer America All-Freshman team for helping to lead the Terrapins to the Final Four. In his second year of college, he started 20 games, and was named an NSCAA third-team All-American.

==Club career==
After his sophomore season, Califf signed a [[Project-40]] contract with MLS and entered the [[2000 MLS SuperDraft]], where he was selected sixth overall by the [[Los Angeles Galaxy]]. Califf was immediately slotted into the Galaxy's starting line up, appearing in 18 games, 16 of them starts, as a rookie. Over the next three years, Califf would establish himself as one of the best central defenders in the league, starting 69 games for the Galaxy while helping the team to win a [[U.S. Open Cup]] in 2001 and a [[MLS Cup]] in 2002. Califf struggled with injuries in 2004, and was able to make only 10 starts, playing 855 minutes.

Califf was traded to the [[San Jose Earthquakes]] for an [[allocation (MLS)|allocation]] prior to the 2005 season.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-mar-24-sp-galaxy24-story.html|title=Galaxy Trades Califf to San Jose|first=Grahame L.|last=Jones|date=24 March 2005|via=LA Times}}</ref> He then regained his old form and even improved, being named to the [[MLS Best XI]] for the first time. Califf has scored seven league goals and four assists in six years in MLS.

He left the Quakes after just one season to sign with [[AaB Football|Aalborg]] in the [[Danish Superliga]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.espnfc.com/story/351682/danish-soccer-club-aab-signs-danny-califf|title=Danish soccer club AaB signs Danny Califf|website=ESPNFC.com}}</ref> In his first full season at Aalborg, Califf played 30 of 33 games, and helped the team win [[bronze medal]]s in the [[Danish Superliga 2006-07|2006–07 Superliga]] season. Califf scored his first Aalborg goal on the last match day of the season, as bronze medal contenders [[Odense BK]] were defeated 3–1. After the season, during AaB's Intertoto Cup campaign, Califf was named club captain. In the [[Danish Superliga 2007-08|2007–08 Superliga]] season he helped Aalborg to a [[gold medal]] but after the season he could not agree with Aalborg on a new contract. He eventually signed with [[Danish Superliga]] rivals [[FC Midtjylland|Midtjylland]].

On December 3, 2009, the [[Philadelphia Union]] announced that they had acquired Califf's MLS rights from [[Houston Dynamo]] and that he would join the team for their inaugural 2010 season.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://philadelphiaunion.com/ReadNews.aspx?aid=193 |access-date=December 3, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091208164708/http://www.philadelphiaunion.com/ReadNews.aspx?aid=193 |archive-date=December 8, 2009 |title=Philadelphia Union : Union News & Features }}</ref> Before the Union's first game against [[Seattle Sounders FC]] he was announced as the team's captain. Califf scored his first goal for the Union in the 2011 MLS season opener win against Houston Dynamo on March 19, 2011.<ref>{{cite web |last=Levine |first=Judah |url=http://www.philadelphiaunion.com/news/2011/03/recap-union-take-opener-houston-1-0 |title=Recap: Union Take Opener in Houston 1–0 |publisher=Philadelphia Union |date=March 19, 2011 |access-date=June 6, 2011 |archive-date=March 22, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110322151430/http://www.philadelphiaunion.com/news/2011/03/recap-union-take-opener-houston-1-0 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He was named to the MLS Team of the week for this performance that match also.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/team-week-debuts-mlssoccercom |title=Team of the Week debuts on |publisher=MLSsoccer.com |date=March 22, 2011 |access-date=July 6, 2011 |archive-date=October 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011044142/http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/team-week-debuts-mlssoccercom |url-status=dead }}</ref> On June 8, Califf was named a nominee for the [[MLS All-Star Game]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.philadelphiaunion.com/news/2011/06/fan-ballot-launched-att-mls-all-star-game-0 |title=2011 |publisher=Philadelphia Union |access-date=2011-07-03 |archive-date=2019-04-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402112213/https://www.philadelphiaunion.com/news/2011/06/fan-ballot-launched-att-mls-all-star-game-0 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It was announced that he was fifth in defender voting for the All-Star Game.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mlssoccer.com/all-star/news/article/2011/06/28/week-left-all-star-fan-voting-see-latest-results|title=With a week left in All-Star fan voting, see latest results|date=28 June 2011|access-date=6 July 2011|archive-date=3 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403060803/http://www.mlssoccer.com/all-star/news/article/2011/06/28/week-left-all-star-fan-voting-see-latest-results|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On May 17, 2012, Califf was traded to [[C.D. Chivas USA|Chivas USA]] for [[Michael Lahoud]] and allocation money.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2012/05/17/union-complete-califf-trade-get-lahoud-chivas-usa|title=Union complete Califf trade, get Lahoud from Chivas USA|date=17 May 2012|access-date=14 December 2012|archive-date=13 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513185412/http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2012/05/17/union-complete-califf-trade-get-lahoud-chivas-usa|url-status=dead}}</ref> At the end of the 2012 season, Chivas USA declined Califf's contract option and he entered the [[2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft]]. On December 14, 2012, Califf was selected by [[Toronto FC]] with the first pick of stage two of the draft and that day signed a contract with Toronto for the 2013 season.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.torontofc.ca/news/toronto-claims-califf|title=Toronto Claims Califf|date=14 December 2012|access-date=14 December 2012|archive-date=29 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130129051247/http://www.torontofc.ca/news/2012/12/toronto-claims-califf|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Retirement===
Califf announced his retirement from soccer on July 12, 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.torontofc.ca/news/califf-announces-retirement|title=Califf Announces Retirement|date=12 July 2013|access-date=12 July 2013|archive-date=5 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705043718/http://www.torontofc.ca/news/2013/07/califf-announces-retirement|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2014, Califf became an assistant coach under Charlie Dodds, President of YSC Sports, home of the Philadelphia Union Academy. After one year of coaching at YSC Sports, he returned to Toronto FC as a scout through 2016.

Califf has settled back in his hometown of Orange, CA with his family. Currently, he is the Founder and President of his own personal training company, Professional Soccer Resource (PSR) and holds the title of Technical Director for the youth soccer club Boca O.C.

==International career==
Califf has played for the [[United States men's national soccer team|United States national team]] at every level from the U-17's to the senior team. He has appeared in the 1997 [[Football U-17 World Championship|FIFA U-17 World Championship]], the 1999 [[Football World Youth Championship|World Youth Championship]] in Egypt, and the [[2000 Summer Olympics|2000 Sydney Olympics]] . Additionally, he has appeared in 26 games for the full national team, getting his first cap against [[South Korea national football team|South Korea]] on January 19, 2002.

Califf played in the  [[Confederations Cup 2003|2003 & 2009 Confederations Cup]], the [[2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup|2002]], [[2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup|2003, & 2009 Gold Cup]]s and the [[2007 Copa America]].

He served as captain twice for the team on July 5, 2007, when the United States lost 1–0 to [[Colombia national football team|Colombia]] during their final group game in [[2007 Copa America|Venezuela (2007 Copa America)]] and again in 2009 With a win against Sweden in Carson, CA.

==Career statistics==

===Club===
{{Updated|July 12, 2013}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
|-
!rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season
!colspan="3"|League
!colspan="2"|National cup{{efn|Includes [[Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup|U.S. Open Cup]], [[Danish Cup]], [[Canadian Championship]].}}
!colspan="2"|League cup{{efn|Includes [[MLS Cup Playoffs]], [[Royal League]], [[Viasat Cup]].}}
!colspan="2"|Continental
!colspan="2"|Total
|-
!Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan="6"|[[Los Angeles Galaxy]]
|[[2000 Major League Soccer season|2000]]
|[[Major League Soccer|MLS]]
|18||1||4||0||2||1||0||0||24||2
|-
|[[2001 Major League Soccer season|2001]]
|MLS
|24||3||5||0||6||1||colspan="2"|–||35||4
|-
|[[2002 Major League Soccer season|2002]]
|MLS
|25||1||3||0||6||1||colspan="2"|–||34||2
|-
|[[2003 Major League Soccer season|2003]]
|MLS
|23||0||3||0||2||0||||||28||0
|-
|[[2004 Major League Soccer season|2004]]
|MLS
|13||0||0||0||3||0||colspan="2"|–||16||2
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!103!!5!!15!!0!!19!!3!!0!!0!!137!!8
|-
|[[San Jose Earthquakes]]<br/>
|[[2005 Major League Soccer season|2005]]
|MLS
|20||2||2||0||1||0||colspan="2"|–||23||2
|-
|rowspan="4"|[[AaB Fodbold|Aalborg BK]]
|[[2005–06 Danish Superliga|2005–06]]<ref name="wf">{{cite web |title=Danny Califf » Club matches |url=https://www.worldfootball.net/player_summary/danny-califf/2/ |website=worldfootball.net |date=2 March 2014 |access-date=21 January 2025}}</ref>
|[[Danish Superliga]]
|9||0||||||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||||
|-
|[[2006–07 Danish Superliga|2006–07]]<ref name="wf"/>
|Danish Superliga
|30||1||||||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||||
|-
|[[2007–08 Danish Superliga|2007–08]]<ref name="wf"/>
|Danish Superliga
|30||1||||||colspan="2"|–||11||1||41||2
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!69!!2!!5!!0!!10!!0!!11!!1!!95!!3
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[FC Midtjylland]]
|[[2008–09 Danish Superliga|2008–09]]<ref name="wf"/>
|Danish Superliga
|26||1||0||0||colspan="2"|–||3||0||29||1
|-
|[[2009–10 Danish Superliga|2009–10]]<ref name="wf"/>
|Danish Superliga
|5||0||0||0||colspan="2"|–||0||0||5||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!31!!1!!0!!0!!0!!0!!3!!0!!34!!1
|-
|rowspan="4"|[[Philadelphia Union]]
|[[2010 Major League Soccer season|2010]]
|MLS
|28||0||1||0||0||0||0||0||29||0
|-
|[[2011 Major League Soccer season|2011]]
|MLS
|33||1||1||0||2||0||0||0||36||1
|-
|[[2012 Major League Soccer season|2012]]
|MLS
|4||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||4||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!65!!1!!2!!0!!2!!0!!0!!0!!69!!1
|-
|[[C.D. Chivas USA|Chivas USA]]
|[[2012 Major League Soccer season|2012]]
|MLS
|19||1||3||0||0||0||colspan="2"|–||22||1
|-
|[[Toronto FC]]<br/>
|[[2013 Major League Soccer season|2013]]
|MLS
|4||0||2||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||6||0
|-
!colspan="3"|Career otal
!311!!12!!29!!0!!32!!3!!14!!1!!386!!16
|}

{{notelist}}

===International===
He scored his only international goal against [[Haiti national football team|Haiti]] on March 16, 2004.<!---DO NOT DELETE REPEAT ENTRIES!!! REPEAT ENTRIES REPRESENT SCORING MULTIPLE GOALS IN A GAME!!!---> 
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! #!!Date!!Venue!!Opponent!!Score!!Result!!Competition
|-
| 1. || March 16, 2004 || [[Miami]], [[Florida]] || {{fb|Haiti}} || 0–1 || 1–1 || [[Friendly match]]
|}

==Honors==
'''Los Angeles Galaxy'''
* [[CONCACAF Champions League|CONCACAF Champions Cup]]: [[2000 CONCACAF Champions' Cup|2000]]
*Defender of the Year: 2000
* [[Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup]]: [[2001 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup|2001]]
* [[Major League Soccer]] MLS Cup: [[2002 Major League Soccer season|2002]]
* Major League Soccer Supporters' Shield: [[2002 Major League Soccer season|2002]]
* Major League Soccer Western Conference Championship: [[2002 Major League Soccer season|2002]]

'''San Jose Earthquakes'''
* Major League Soccer Supporters' Shield: [[2005 Major League Soccer season|2005]]
* MLS BEST XI: 2005
* MLS ALL-STAR: 2005

'''Aalborg'''
* [[Danish Superliga]]: [[Danish Superliga 2007-08|2007–08]]

'''United States'''
* [[CONCACAF Gold Cup]]: [[2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup|2002]], 2003, [[2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup|2005]]

'''Individual'''
* [[MLS Best XI]]: 2005
* [[MLS All-Star Game|MLS All-Star]]: 2005

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{MLS player|danny-califf}}
*{{official website|http://dannycaliff.com}}
*[http://www.fcm.dk/index.php?ID=6&holdID=3&spillerID=81&mode=spillerinfo&topID=5 FC Midtjylland profile]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160303175927/http://www.aabsport.dk/D9F0E860-B9F4-4ADF-B984-D671D77AA564.W5Doc?id=aa4cc76d-9176-4af9-866d-461098bb90d8 AaB profile] {{in lang|da}}
*[http://www.danskfodbold.com/spiller.php?ligaid=2001&spillerid=10828 Official Danish Superliga player statistics] at danskfodbold.com {{in lang|da}}
*{{NFT player|7110}}

{{Navboxes
|title= United States squads
|bg= white
|fg= #002868
|bordercolor= #BF0A30
|list1=
{{United States men's football squad 2000 Summer Olympics}}
{{United States squad 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup}}
{{United States squad 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup}}
{{United States squad 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup}}
{{United States squad 2007 Copa América}}
{{United States squad 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup}}
}}
{{GalaxyFirstPick}}
{{2000 MLS SuperDraft}}
{{2005 MLS Best XI}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Califf, Danny}}
[[Category:1980 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Montclair, California]]
[[Category:American men's soccer players]]
[[Category:Soccer players from San Bernardino County, California]]
[[Category:United States men's international soccer players]]
[[Category:Olympic soccer players for the United States]]
[[Category:Maryland Terrapins men's soccer players]]
[[Category:LA Galaxy players]]
[[Category:MLS Pro-40 players]]
[[Category:San Jose Earthquakes players]]
[[Category:AaB Fodbold players]]
[[Category:FC Midtjylland players]]
[[Category:Philadelphia Union players]]
[[Category:Chivas USA players]]
[[Category:Toronto FC players]]
[[Category:A-League (1995–2004) players]]
[[Category:Major League Soccer players]]
[[Category:Danish Superliga players]]
[[Category:Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup players]]
[[Category:2003 FIFA Confederations Cup players]]
[[Category:2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup players]]
[[Category:2007 Copa América players]]
[[Category:2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players]]
[[Category:CONCACAF Gold Cup–winning players]]
[[Category:American expatriate men's soccer players]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada]]
[[Category:Men's association football central defenders]]
[[Category:Major League Soccer All-Stars]]
[[Category:United States men's youth international soccer players]]
[[Category:United States men's under-20 international soccer players]]
[[Category:United States men's under-23 international soccer players]]
[[Category:LA Galaxy draft picks]]
[[Category:American expatriate sportspeople in Denmark]]
[[Category:American expatriate sportspeople in Canada]]
[[Category:Footballers at the 1999 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in football]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]