Ante Razov

Early life

Razov, who was born in a family of Croatian immigrants, spent his childhood in Fontana, California. He attended Fontana High School, and went on to play college soccer at UCLA.

Playing career

Club

Razov was drafted by the Los Angeles Galaxy in the third round of the 1996 MLS College Draft. He played two seasons in LA, but did not get much playing time, scoring just one goal, and signed with the expansion Chicago Fire prior to the 1998 season. During his time with the Galaxy, he went on loan with the Sacramento Scorpions of USISL.

Razov spent the next seven years with Chicago, save a brief period in 2001 that he spent with Spanish second division club Racing de Ferrol. In his seven years with the Fire he led the club in goals and points five times (including club record 18 goals and 42 points in 2000). He is the club's all-time leader with 76 goals and 190 points. Razov was named to the MLS Best XI in 2003. With Chicago, he won the MLS Cup in 1998 and the US Open Cup in 1998, 2000, and 2003. Following a disappointing 2004 season and clashes with head coach Dave Sarachan, Razov was traded to the Columbus Crew in exchange for Tony Sanneh. However, one blemish in Razov's career was being stopped from the penalty spot in the 2003 MLS Cup. The Fire went on to lose the game, 4–2.

But Razov did not last long in Columbus. Even though he scored in the 2005 season opener, his tenure with the club lasted seven games. Disagreement with head coach Greg Andrulis led to Razov's reuniting with his ex-coach with the Fire, Bob Bradley, at the MetroStars. He was acquired in exchange for John Wolyniec and a partial allocation. After the season, Bradley acquired Razov again, for Thiago Martins and another partial allocation.

On April 21, 2007, Razov scored his 100th career regular-season MLS goal. At 33 years old, he became the third player in MLS history to reach 100 goals. At the time, he trailed only Jaime Moreno and Jeff Cunningham, having passed Jason Kreis. All three joined MLS at its inception in 1996.

International

Razov received his first cap with the U.S. national team on March 25, 1995, against Uruguay. Although he never played in the World Cup, he scored a couple of key goals in qualifiers, including one against Guatemala in 2000 and Trinidad and Tobago in 2001. Overall, Razov scored six goals in 25 caps for the US.

International goals

|- |1. |June 6, 2000 |Foxboro Stadium, Foxboro, United States | | | | |- |2. |June 11, 2000 |Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, United States | | | | |- |3. |July 16, 2000 |Estadio Carlos Salazar Hijo, Mazatenango, Guatemala | | | | |- |4. |November 15, 2000 |Barbados National Stadium, Bridgetown, Barbados | | | | |- |5. |June 20, 2001 |Foxboro Stadium, Foxboro, United States | | | | |- |6. |January 27, 2002 |Rose Bowl, Pasadena, United States | | | | |}

Coaching career

In 2012, Razov was hired to serve as the LA Galaxy's U14 head coach. He replaced Craig Harrington, who was their coach for their first year in the Southern California Developmental Soccer League. Razov joined Seattle Sounders FC as an assistant coach under Sigi Schmid, his former college coach, in 2015.

Razov spent one season as an assistant coach for the LA Galaxy's senior squad under Curt Onalfo in 2017. In January 2018, he was announced as an assistant coach for expansion side Los Angeles FC under his former coach Bob Bradley.

Honors

United States

• CONCACAF Gold Cup: 2002

Chicago Fire

• MLS Cup: 1998
• Supporters' Shield: 2003
• U.S. Open Cup: 1998, 2000, 2003

Individual

• MLS 100 goals club
• MLS 50/50 Club
• MLS All-Star: 2000
• MLS Best XI: 2003

References

References

1. [http://home1.gte.net/otruba/scorpion2003.html Outdoor Pro Soccer in Sacramento] {{webarchive. link. (January 8, 2009)
2. mlssoccer. "Metros' veteran lineup adds Razov {{!}} MLSSoccer.com".
3. mlssoccer. "MetroStars acquire Ante Razov from Crew {{!}} MLSSoccer.com".
4. (August 31, 2012). "Razov joins staff as U-14 coach". [[Soccer America]].
5. (January 22, 2015). "Sounders FC Hires Ante Razov as Assistant Coach". [[Seattle Sounders FC]].
6. Baxter, Kevin. (January 10, 2017). "Galaxy fills out its coaching staff". Los Angeles Times.
7. (January 12, 2018). "LAFC Announces Technical Staff For Inaugural Season". Los Angeles Football Club.
8. Rosano, Nick. (11 September 2017). "MLS' 50-50 club set to welcome its 19th member". MLSsoccer.com.
9. (July 29, 2000). "2000 MLS All-Star Game". MLSsoccer.com.