Cory Gibbs (born January 14, 1980 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida) is an American soccer player, who currently plays central defender for Charlton Athletic in the FA Premier League.
| File:Gibbs US.jpg | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Cory Gibbs | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185cm) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team |
Charlton Athletic FC pending work permit | ||
| Number | N/A | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals as of 24 May 2006 | |||
Gibbs played college soccer at Brown University, joining the team in 1997. Brown won three Ivy League championships and participated in the NCAA tournaments all four years. In 2000, Gibbs led Brown to an Ivy League championship and the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. He was named Ivy League Player of the Year, and a First-Team All-American. He was one of three Brown soccer players to be drafted in the 2001 MLS superdraft.
After graduating from Brown in 2001, Gibbs decided not to play in the MLS and joined FC St. Pauli of the Bundesliga. He played 25 games for St. Pauli that season, becoming the youngest American to score a goal in the Bundesliga with a goal against FC Cologne. St. Pauli was relegated to the 2. Bundesliga after the 2001-02 season, and Gibbs played an equally important role with the team in his second season as in his first. St. Pauli, however, was relegated again after the 2002-03 season, this time to the Regionalliga Nord, the German third division. Gibbs remained with the team, being moved from central defense to defensive midfielder.
Gibbs decided to leave St. Pauli during 2003 due to the low level of play and lack of exposure needed to secure a spot on the United States national team. After a move to Jahn Regensburg of the 2. Bundesliga fell through, Gibbs decided to return to the United States and play in Major League Soccer, where he would be easily visible and available for international matches. Although the Columbus Crew initially tried to acquire Gibbs, he eventually ended up with the Dallas Burn, a team coming off one of the worst seasons in league history. In his stint with Dallas, Gibbs was a starter in every game that he was available for.
Gibbs's return to the U.S. helped his national team career, as he has received frequent callups for World Cup Qualifiers. Gibbs solidified his position as one of USA's top central defenders. Since making his first full international appearance June 8, 2003, in the 2003 Confederations Cup against New Zealand, Gibbs has received 19 caps.
On January 20, 2005, Dutch giants Feyenoord agreed on a transfer with MLS, and Gibbs signed a 4½-year contract with the club. In his first season, he made 15 appearances and scored one goal.
After injuring his knee in a U.S. national team friendly against England on May 28, 2005, Gibbs rehabbed (under the direction of Dr. Daniel Kalbac in Miami, Florida) and came back from his injury on January 19, 2006. On January 24, 2006, Feyenoord loaned Gibbs to ADO Den Haag for the remainder of the season.
Gibbs signed a pre contract agreement with English Premiership side Charlton Athletic in May 2006 despite the fact that the club were without a manager at the time. The signing will be confirmed upon the obtaining of a work permit.
Gibbs was initially a part of the 2006 United States World Cup Team, but re-injured his right knee in a friendly with Morocco on 23 May, 2006 and was replaced by Gregg Berhalter. Following surgery to repair cartiledge in his knee, Gibbs is expected to be out until November.
References
- Cory Gibbs '01 Signs Deal With Feyenoord Rotterdam Of Dutch Premier League. Retrieved July 6, 2005.
- Gregg Berhalter Added to USA's 2006 FIFA World Cup Roster to Replace Injured Cory Gibbs. Retrieved May 25, 2006.