US Defender Oguchi Onyewu Joins AC Milan
Gooch Signs on Free Transfer from Standard Liege
Jul 12, 2009
After five seasons with Standard Liege, one of the top teams in Belgium's Jupiler Pro League, Oguchi Onyewu has signed with Italian giants AC Milan on a free transfer. In Belgium, Onyewu won two league titles (2007-2008 and 2008-2009) and was twice named in the Jupiler League Best XI.
The first championship that Onyewu, nicknamed "Gooch," won with Liege saw his club finish with 77 points, seven more than 2nd-place finishers Anderlecht. In the next season, 2009-20009, both Standard Liege and Anderlecht finished with 77 points, necessitating a home-and-away aggregate playoff to decide who would be crowned Champion. After a 1-1 draw away to Anderlecht, Standard Liege claimed the title with a 1-0 home win thanks to a 40th minute penalty by Belgian midfielder Axel Witsel. Onyewu played all 180 minutes of the two-legged tie.
Kaka Leaves AC Milan, Onyewu Joins
After the $94 million sale of Kaka to Real Madrid, the AC Milan brass has been under considerable pressure to bring in new players. The signing of Oguchi Onyewu, Milan's first of 2009/2010 season, helps to appease fans of the Rossoneri. At Milan, where he has penned a three-year contract, Gooch will add depth, strength, and youth to a group of central defenders that includes Italians Alessandro Nesta and Daniel Bonera, Georgian Kakha Kaladze, and the Brazilian Tiago Silva.
Onyewu Played Two Years of NCAA Soccer at Clemson
The 6'4", 210-pound Onyewu grew up in the Washington D.C. area and played two years of high school ball at Sherwood High School before moving to Bradenton, FL to join the U.S. Residency program there. Upon graduation from Bradenton, Gooch moved back home to play his college soccer at Clemson. After only two years with the Tigers, Gooch signed a professional contract with FC Metz of France's first division, where he struggled to get playing time. A successful loan to La Louviere in Belgium saw Gooch catch the eye of Standard Liege, which purchased Onyewu from Metz before the 2004-2005 season.
Onyewu Shines for United States at 2009 Confederations Cup
Onyewu has earned 45 caps for the United States National Team, his first coming in a 2004 friendly against Panama. Gooch started all three U.S. group-stage matches at the 2006 World Cup; in the third and final match, against Ghana, Onyewu was whistled for a dubious foul in the box, conceding a penalty kick that Stephen Appiah converted for the game-winning goal. At the 2009 Confederations Cup, Onyewu played every minute in the United States' miraculous march to the final, which the U.S. lost 3-2 to Brazil in a pulsating match. Partnering Jay DeMerit in central defense, Onyewu played brilliantly in the 2-0 shock victory over top-ranked Spain, neutralizing Spain's deadly strikeforce of Fernando Torres and David Villa. Gooch's performances at the Confederations Cup earned him his big money move to AC Milan, where he joins rookie coach Leonardo as the rossoneri seek to improve on their third-place finish from 2008-2009.
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