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Paul Caligiuri

Paul Caligiuri (born May 9, 1964 in Westminster, California) is an American soccer player and coach, currently the head coach of the Cal Poly Pomona college soccer team.

Caligiuri is probably best remembered for the "Goal Heard Round the World," which he scored in a World Cup Qualifier November 19, 1989 against Trinidad & Tobago, which qualified the United States for the 1990 World Cup in Italy, the first World Cup the United States had played in since 1950. Caligiuri was, however, far more than that single goal - he had a distinguished career, both for club teams and for the United States national team. On top of that, Caligiuri would go on to score the first World Cup goal for the national team in 40 years, scoring in a 5-2 defeat against Czechoslovakia.

Caligiuri attended UCLA from 1982 to 1985, was named an NCAA All-American twice, was named 1986 U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year, and captained the Bruins to an NCAA Championship his junior year. While at UCLA Caligiuri also earned his first cap for the national team, playing October 9, 1984 against El Salvador. Caligiuri would eventually tally 110 appearances for the United States, and would add five goals from his position in the midfield. Caligiuri was a central figure to the national team throughout the 80's up to the mid-90's, and would start every match in both the 1990 and 1994 World Cups, playing his final game in 1997, thirteen years after his debut.

From 1987-89, Caligiuri played for Meppen of the German 2. Bundesliga. After leaving Meppen, he moved to FC Hansa Rostock in East Germany, with whom he would win the East German championship in 1990. He would move on to Hamburger SV and SC Freiburg before 1995-6, when he played for FC St. Pauli, also in the Bundesliga, appearing in 14 games. In 1996, he returned to America to play in the emerging Major League Soccer. Caligiuri negotiated a promise from the league to let him play for his hometown Los Angeles Galaxy, but MLS allocated him to the Columbus Crew. After an extended lawsuit in the first season, Caligiuri was placed with Los Angeles for the 1997 season, and would play with them until his retirement in 2001. Caligiuri finished his MLS career with 9 goals and 14 assists, accumulated over 135 games, 123 of which were starts.

Caligiuri had no trouble finding a job after his retirement, and was appointed head coach of both the men and women's soccer teams at Cal Poly-Pomona before the beginning of their 2001 fall season, although he did not take over until 2002.

In 2004, Caligiuri was elected into the United States National Soccer Hall of Fame, along with Michelle Akers and Eric Wynalda.

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