View source for Paul Caligiuri

{{short description|American soccer player}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2019}}
{{Use American English|date=April 2017}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Paul Caligiuri
| image = 
| fullname = Paul David Caligiuri
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1964|3|9}}
| birth_place = [[Westminster, California]], United States
| height = {{height|ft=5|in=11}}
| position = [[Defensive midfielder]]
| currentclub = 
| collegeyears1 = 1982–1985
| college1 = [[UCLA Bruins]]
| years1 = 1986
| clubs1 = [[San Diego Nomads]]
| caps1 = 10
| goals1 = 2
| years2 = 1987–1988
| clubs2 = [[Hamburger SV]]
| caps2 = 0
| goals2 = 0
| years3 = 1988–1990
| clubs3 = [[SV Meppen]]
| caps3 = 45
| goals3 = 1
| years4 = 1991
| clubs4 = [[F.C. Hansa Rostock|Hansa Rostock]]
| caps4 = 22
| goals4 = 0
| years5 = 1991–1992
| clubs5 = [[SC Freiburg]]
| caps5 = 18
| goals5 = 0
| years6 = 1995
| clubs6 = [[Los Angeles Salsa]]
| caps6 = 
| goals6 = 
| years7 = 1995–1996
| clubs7 = → [[FC St. Pauli]] (loan)
| caps7 = 15
| goals7 = 0
| years8 = 1996
| clubs8 = [[Columbus Crew]]
| caps8 = 25
| goals8 = 3
| years9 = 1997–2001
| clubs9 = [[Los Angeles Galaxy]]
| caps9 = 136
| goals9 = 8
| totalcaps = 271
| totalgoals = 14
| nationalyears1 = 1984–1997
| nationalteam1 = [[United States men's national soccer team|United States]]
| nationalcaps1 = 110
| nationalgoals1 = 5
| manageryears1 = 2002–2005
| managerclubs1 = [[California State Polytechnic University, Pomona|Cal Poly Pomona]] (women)
| manageryears2 = 2002–2008
| managerclubs2 = [[California State Polytechnic University, Pomona|Cal Poly Pomona]] (men)
| manageryears3 = 2017–
| managerclubs3 = [[Orange County FC]]
| medaltemplates = {{Medal|Country|{{USA}}}}
{{Medal|W|[[CONCACAF Gold Cup]]|[[1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup|1991]]}}
{{Medal|RU|[[CONCACAF Championship]]|[[1989 CONCACAF Championship|1989]]}}
{{Medal|3rd|[[CONCACAF Gold Cup]]|[[1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup|1996]]}}
{{MedalSport|Men's [[Association football|Soccer]]}}
}}

'''Paul David Caligiuri''' (born March 9, 1964) is an American former professional [[Association football|soccer]] player who played as a [[defensive midfielder]].

Caligiuri's professional career spanned 16 years, during which he played for numerous teams in the United States and Germany, and for the [[United States men's national soccer team|U.S. national team]]. During his 14 years as a defender and defensive midfielder with the national team, he earned 110 [[cap (sports)|caps]] and scored five goals.

Caligiuri is best remembered for his game-winning goal widely dubbed the "[[Shot heard round the world (soccer)|Shot heard round the world]],"<ref>{{cite news | last=Robledo | first=Fred J. | title=Kick Start; Ten years later, one goal still means a lot | publisher=[[Los Angeles Daily News|The Daily News of Los Angeles]] | date=November 19, 1999 | url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/KICK+START%3B+TEN+YEARS+LATER,+ONE+GOAL+STILL+MEANS+A+LOT.(Sports)-a083629709 | access-date=December 1, 2007 | archive-date=August 18, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818172544/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/KICK+START%3B+TEN+YEARS+LATER,+ONE+GOAL+STILL+MEANS+A+LOT.(Sports)-a083629709 | url-status=dead }}</ref> which he scored in a 1–0 [[FIFA World Cup|World Cup]] qualifier victory over [[Trinidad and Tobago national football team|Trinidad and Tobago]] on November 19, 1989. The victory qualified the [[United States men's national soccer team|United States]] for the [[1990 FIFA World Cup]] in [[Italy]], its first World Cup berth since [[1950 FIFA World Cup|1950]]. There Caligiuri notched the first World Cup goal for the U.S. national team in 40 years, scoring in a 5–1 defeat against [[Czechoslovakia national football team|Czechoslovakia]]. He is a member of the [[National Soccer Hall of Fame]].

==High school and college==
Caligiuri was born in [[Westminster, California]]. After graduating from [[Walnut High School]], he attended [[University of California, Los Angeles|UCLA]] from 1982 to 1985.  During his four seasons with the Bruins, he was twice named an [[Division I First-Team All-American (soccer)|NCAA All-American]]. He also captained the Bruins to an [[NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament|NCAA Championship]] his junior year.

==Club career==
===San Diego Nomads===
After graduating from UCLA, Caligiuri played the 1986 season with the [[San Diego Nomads]] of the [[Western Soccer League|Western Soccer Alliance]], earning the league's Most Valuable Player award. He was also named the 1986 [[U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year]].

===Germany===
Caligiuri's rookie professional accomplishments attracted the attention of German [[Bundesliga]] club [[Hamburger SV]], who signed him after his appearance in the 1986 FIFA/UNICEF All Star Game.

In 1988, Hamburg transferred Caligiuri to [[SV Meppen]] of the German [[2. Bundesliga]], where he played for two seasons. From Meppen, he moved to [[FC Hansa Rostock]] in [[East Germany]], with whom he would win the East German professional championship. From 1991 to 1992 he played for Second Bundesliga club [[SC Freiburg]].

===Los Angeles Salsa===
On May 4, 1995, Caliguiri returned to the United States from Germany to sign with the [[Los Angeles Salsa]] of the [[A-League (American)|American Professional Soccer League]] to gain match fitness before the U.S. national team's games that summer. (The Salsa played the season however in the [[USISL Pro League]].)  Caligiuri donated his entire salary from the Salsa to the victims of the [[Oklahoma City bombing]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.socceramerica.com/article.asp?Art_ID=948 |title=Archived copy |access-date=February 11, 2007 |archive-date=June 22, 2007 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070622134502/http://www.socceramerica.com/article.asp?Art_ID=948 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref>

====Loan to St. Pauli====
In August, the Salsa loaned Caligiuri to [[Bundesliga]] club [[FC St. Pauli]], where he appeared in 14 games. In January 1996, the team elected not to exercise an option in Caligiuri's contract.

===Major League Soccer===
Caligiuri returned to the United States, where he signed with the emergent [[Major League Soccer]]. Despite Caligiuri's stated position that a contract clause that dictated he play for his hometown [[LA Galaxy|Los Angeles Galaxy]], MLS allocated Caligiuri to the [[Columbus Crew]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-02-09-sp-27088-story.html|title=Plethora of Moves Kept Off-Season Interesting|website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=February 9, 1997}}</ref> During his lone season with the Crew, he scored three goals.  
Caligiuri sued Major League Soccer to play for the LA Galaxy, and in March 1997 was placed with Los Angeles for the 1997 season, despite his high salary and the fact that the Galaxy were close to the salary cap.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-02-09-sp-27088-story.html|title = Plethora of Moves Kept Off-Season Interesting| website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date = February 9, 1997}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/24/sports/caligiuri-will-play-for-galaxy.html|title = Caligiuri Will Play for Galaxy|newspaper = The New York Times|date = March 24, 1997}}</ref> He played there until his 2001 retirement, finishing his MLS career with nine goals and 14 assists accumulated during 135 games, including 123 starts.

Caligiuri's final professional appearance was in the [[2001 U.S. Open Cup final]] on October 27, 2001, where the LA Galaxy defeated New England Revolution 2–1 in extra time.<ref>{{cite news |last=Jones |first=Grahame L. |date=October 27, 2001 |title=Caligiuri to Close Chapter Today |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-oct-27-sp-62316-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |accessdate=December 26, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=October 28, 2001 |title=Revs drop U.S. Open Cup in OT |url=https://www.southcoasttoday.com/story/sports/2001/10/28/revs-drop-u-s-open/50296638007/ |work=[[The Standard-Times (New Bedford)|The Standard-Times]] |agency=Associated Press |accessdate=December 26, 2025}}</ref>

==International career==
Caligiuri represented the U.S. at the [[Football at the 1983 Pan American Games|1983 Pan American Games]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesp/panam83det.html|title=Panamerican Games 1983 - Match Details
|website=[[RSSSF]]|access-date=2020-04-21}}</ref> While at UCLA Caligiuri had earned his first [[cap (sports)|cap]] for the national team, playing October 9, 1984 against [[El Salvador national football team|El Salvador]]. Caligiuri eventually tallied 110 appearances for the United States, and scored five goals from his position in the midfield. Perhaps his biggest goal was in a 1989 World Cup qualifier in Trinidad and Tobago that gave the U.S. a [[Shot heard round the world (soccer)|1–0 victory]] and sent the Americans to the World Cup finals for the first time in 40 years.

On March 14, 1990, Caligiuri signed a contract with [[United States Soccer Federation|USSF]] making him a full-time national team member.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE5DF1F31F936A25750C0A966958260 | title = SPORTS PEOPLE: SOCCER; U.S. Federation Signs 2 | date = March 15, 1990 | access-date = February 20, 2011 | work = The New York Times}}</ref>  He remained on contract with USSF for several years. In 1993, he briefly considered moving to a British or German club after being omitted from the U.S. team's Gold Cup roster, but ultimately chose to dedicate himself to the national team as it prepared for the 1994 World Cup.

Caligiuri was a central figure in the national team from the 1980s through the mid-1990s, and started every U.S. match in both the [[1990 FIFA World Cup|1990]] and [[1994 FIFA World Cup|1994]] World Cups. In 1997, he played his final game for the national team.

Caligiuri played with the U.S. [[Futsal]] team in 1996, earning four [[cap (sports)|caps]] and scoring one goal.

===International goals===
:''Scores and results list the United States' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Caligiuri goal.''

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of international goals scored by Paul Caligiuri
|-
!scope="col"|No.
!scope="col"|Date
!scope="col"|Venue
!scope="col"|Opponent
!scope="col"|Score
!scope="col"|Result
!scope="col"|Competition
|-
| align="center"|1 || May 19, 1985 || [[Torrance, California]] || {{fb|TRI}} || align="center"|1–0 || align="center"|1–0 || [[1985 CONCACAF Championship|1986 World Cup qualifying]]
|-
| align="center"|2 || November 19, 1989 || [[Port of Spain]], Trinidad and Tobago || {{fb|TRI}} || align="center"|1–0 || align="center"|[[Shot heard round the world (soccer)|1–0]] || [[1989 CONCACAF Championship|1990 World Cup qualifying]]
|-
| align="center"|3 || March 10, 1990 || [[Tampa, Florida]] || {{fb|FIN}} || align="center"|1–0 || align="center"|2–1 || Friendly
|-
| align="center"|4 || June 10, 1990 || [[Florence]], Italy || {{fb|Czechoslovakia}} || align="center"|1–3 || align="center"|1–5 || [[1990 FIFA World Cup Group A|1990 World Cup]]
|-
| align="center"|5 || May 28, 1995 || Tampa, Florida || {{fb|CRC}} || align="center"|1–1 || align="center"|1–2 || Friendly
|}

==Post-soccer career==
Caligiuri was appointed head coach of both the men and women's soccer teams at [[California State Polytechnic University, Pomona|Cal Poly Pomona]] before the beginning of their 2001 fall seasons, although he did not take over until 2002. He held the women's team's coaching position through the 2005 season and the men's team's coaching position through the end of the 2008 season. Later Caligiuri coached youth soccer for socal reds{{Clarify|reason=Is "socal reds" a proper name to be capitalized?|date=January 2025}} in Irvine, California as well as their UPSL team from 2023 to 2024.<ref>{{cite magazine | last=Kennedy | first=Paul | url= https://www.si.com/soccer/2008/11/05/caligiuri-calpoly | title=Caligiuri quits as Cal Poly Pomona coach | date=November 5, 2008 | magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]] | publisher=Soccer America | access-date=November 5, 2008}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=January 2025}}

==Personal life==
In 2004, Caligiuri was inducted into the U.S. [[National Soccer Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Paul Caligiuri - 2004 Inductee {{!}} National Soccer Hall of Fame |url=http://www.nationalsoccerhof.com/players/paul-caligiuri.html |access-date=2023-12-18 |website=Paul Caligiuri - 2004 Inductee {{!}} National Soccer Hall of Fame |language=en}}</ref> He serves as an athlete representative on the board of directors of the [[United States Soccer Federation]]. Caligiuri coached a BU-19 and GU-14 team for California Football Academy in Mission Viejo, California. He is currently an Area Director for the Pateadores Soccer Club. He is also the Head Coach for the Orange County Football Club, Men's Semi-Pro soccer team in the NPSL (National Premier Soccer League). This was OCFC's first season in the league where they ended the season in a 1–0 loss in the Western Conference Final of the NPSL.

==See also==
* [[List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.slate.com/id/2168476/slideshow/2168583/fs/0//entry/2168578/ Video of goal versus Trinidad and Tobago] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100718064900/http://www.slate.com/id/2168476/slideshow/2168583/fs/0/entry/2168578 |date=July 18, 2010 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090912103847/http://national.soccerhall.org/famers/Paul_Caligiuri.htm National Soccer Hall of Fame bio]

{{Navboxes
|title= United States squads
|bg= white
|fg= #002868
|bordercolor= #BF0A30
|list1=
{{United States football squad 1988 Summer Olympics}}
{{United States squad 1990 FIFA World Cup}}
{{United States squad 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup}}
{{United States squad 1992 King Fahd Cup}}
{{United States squad 1993 Copa América}}
{{United States squad 1994 FIFA World Cup}}
{{United States squad 1995 Copa América}}
{{United States squad 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup}}
}}
{{Navboxes
|title= Awards
|bg=gold
|fg=navy
|list1=
{{US Soccer Athlete}}
{{SACTCM}}
{{Soccer America Men's Player of the Year navbox}}
{{NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament MOP}}
{{National Soccer Hall of Fame members}}
}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caligiuri, Paul}}
[[Category:1964 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Westminster, California]]
[[Category:Soccer players from Orange County, California]]
[[Category:All-American college men's soccer players]]
[[Category:1990 FIFA World Cup players]]
[[Category:1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup players]]
[[Category:1992 King Fahd Cup players]]
[[Category:1993 Copa América players]]
[[Category:1994 FIFA World Cup players]]
[[Category:1995 Copa América players]]
[[Category:1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup players]]
[[Category:CONCACAF Gold Cup–winning players]]
[[Category:American men's soccer players]]
[[Category:American men's futsal players]]
[[Category:American soccer coaches]]
[[Category:American expatriate men's soccer players in Germany]]
[[Category:American people of Italian descent]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in East Germany]]
[[Category:UCLA Bruins men's soccer players]]
[[Category:Nomads Soccer Club players]]
[[Category:Hamburger SV players]]
[[Category:SV Meppen players]]
[[Category:FC Hansa Rostock players]]
[[Category:SC Freiburg players]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Salsa U-23 players]] <!--all references to it on-line say Caligiuri played in '95 in the USISL, which means he would have played for the Salsa U-23, despite his age, and not the Salsa (of the APSL). -->
[[Category:FC St. Pauli players]]
[[Category:Columbus Crew players]]
[[Category:LA Galaxy players]]
[[Category:FIFA Men's Century Club]]
[[Category:Men's association football defenders]]
[[Category:Men's association football midfielders]]
[[Category:Men's association football utility players]]
[[Category:Footballers at the 1988 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:National Soccer Hall of Fame members]]
[[Category:Olympic soccer players for the United States]]
[[Category:United States men's international soccer players]]
[[Category:USL Second Division players]]
[[Category:Western Soccer Alliance players]]
[[Category:Bundesliga players]]
[[Category:2. Bundesliga players]]
[[Category:Major League Soccer players]]
[[Category:Pan American Games footballers for the United States]]
[[Category:Footballers at the 1983 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:United States men's under-20 international soccer players]]
[[Category:Columbus Crew draft picks]]
[[Category:California State Polytechnic University, Pomona alumni]]
[[Category:California State Polytechnic University, Pomona faculty]]
[[Category:DDR-Oberliga players]]
[[Category:People from Walnut, California]]
[[Category:College men's soccer coaches in California]]
[[Category:College women's soccer coaches in California]]
[[Category:United Premier Soccer League coaches]]
[[Category:American expatriate sportspeople in West Germany]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in West Germany]]
[[Category:CONCACAF Champions Cup–winning players]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]