Eric Lichaj
Encyclopedia
Eric Joseph Lichaj is an American soccer player who plays for Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...

. Lichaj also plays for the United States men's national team
United States men's national soccer team
The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF...

. He started his youth career playing for Chicago Magic and participated in the youth residency program at IMG Soccer Academy
IMG Soccer Academy
The IMG Soccer Academy is part of the IMG Academies located in Bradenton, Florida. It is U.S. Soccer's full-time residency program for the United States' U-17 and U-16 mens national teams. Started in 1999, it has become integral in developing the United States' top youth soccer prospects...

. He later played college soccer
College soccer
College soccer is a term used to describe association football played by teams who are operated by colleges and universities as opposed to a professional league operated for exclusively financial purposes...

 for the North Carolina Tar Heels
North Carolina Tar Heels
The North Carolina Tar Heels are the athletic teams for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the Tar Heel State...

. After only one year at the University of North Carolina
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...

, Lichaj left America to sign with Aston Villa. Lichaj is also renowned for having a long throw in.

Club career

Eric Lichaj was born as the third son of Stan and Ann Lichaj, both from Nowy Targ
Nowy Targ
Nowy Targ is a town in southern Poland with 34,000 inhabitants , and the historical capital of the mountain region . The town is situated in the confluence of the rivers Biały and Czarny Dunajec, in a valley beneath the Gorce Mountains. It's in Nowy Targ County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship...

, Poland. He also has two older brothers, Andrew and Mark Lichaj. He joined the soccer residency program in Bradenton, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 at the age of 14. He began his youth career with the Downers Grove Roadrunners, later playing with Chicago Magic, and then spent one year at the University of North Carolina
University of North Carolina
Chartered in 1789, the University of North Carolina was one of the first public universities in the United States and the only one to graduate students in the eighteenth century...

. He also played four games for the Chicago Fire Premier
Chicago Fire Premier
Chicago Fire Premier is an American soccer team based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 2001, the team plays in the USL Premier Development League , the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Great Lakes Division of the Central Conference.The team plays its home games at...

 of the USL Premier Development League
USL Premier Development League
The USL Premier Development League is the amateur league of the United Soccer Leagues in the United States, Canada, and Bermuda, forming part of the American Soccer Pyramid...

. After his freshman season, he signed with Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...

 of England's Premier League. Lichaj holds a Polish passport, making a work permit unnecessary.

Aston Villa

Lichaj featured in all but two of Villa's Reserve matches during the 2008–09 season. During the 2009–10 preseason, he was selected in the squad for the 2009 Peace Cup
2009 Peace Cup
The 2009 Peace Cup Andalucia was an invitational friendly football tournament. It was the 4th edition of Peace Cup and was held in Spain from 24 July to 2 August in the cities of Madrid, Seville, Málaga, Jerez and Huelva. It was the first time that the tournament has been hosted by a nation other...

 and showed glimpses of his potential during the tournament. However, this did not immediately translate into playing time for the first team, and Lichaj was loaned out to League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....

 club Lincoln City
Lincoln City F.C.
Lincoln City Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire. The club are currently members of the Conference National in 2011–12 following relegation from the Football League....

 in order to gain first-team experience. He played two games for City before signing a one-month loan extension. Later in the season, Lichaj again went on a month-long loan, that time to League One side Leyton Orient
Leyton Orient F.C.
Leyton Orient F.C. are an English professional football club in East London. They currently play in Football League One and are known to their fans as the O's.Leyton Orient have spent one season in the top flight of English football, in 1962–63...

. He scored the first professional goal of his career for Leyton Orient against Stockport County
Stockport County F.C.
Stockport County Football Club is an English football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester. The club formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, shortly afterwards merging with Heaton Norris F.C., and adopted the current name on 24 May 1890 on the creation of the County Borough of Stockport...

 on April 17, 2010.

Lichaj scored his first goal for Aston Villa on July 19, 2010, in a pre-season friendly against Peterborough United
Peterborough United F.C.
Peterborough United Football Club are a professional English football club based in Peterborough. Peterborough United formed in 1934 and played in the old Midland League, which they won six times; eventually being admitted to the Football League in 1960, replacing Gateshead. Their home ground is...

. Following a successful pre-season campaign, he signed a new three-year contract with the club on August 11, 2010. He made his competitive debut for Villa on August 19, 2010, in a 1–1 draw in a Europa League qualifying match
2010–11 UEFA Europa League qualifying phase and play-off round
This article details the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League qualifying phase and play-off round.Each tie is played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The team that has the higher aggregate score over the two legs progresses to the next round...

 away to Rapid Vienna
SK Rapid Wien
The Sportklub Rapid Wien is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid is the most popular club in Austria and also record title holder having won the Austrian national football title 32 times...

. He made his Premier League debut for the Villans on 10 November 2010 against Blackpool
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...

. Lichaj made his first start for Aston Villa on December 11, 2010 in a 2–1 win against local rivals West Bromich Albion. He also started for Villa at right back against Tottenham Hostpur where he put in an impressive performance against in-form Spurs winger Gareth Bale
Gareth Bale
Gareth Frank Bale is a Welsh footballer who plays for English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and the Wales national team. Bale began his professional career with Southampton in 2005 and was transferred to Tottenham two years later...

.

Lichaj scored his first competitive goal for the Aston Villa first team in a 2–0 win over Hereford United on August 23, 2011 in the League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

.

Leeds United (loan)

On February 9, 2011, Lichaj joined Leeds United on a one-month loan deal. Lichaj made his Leeds début in a 2–0 victory against Bristol City. On March 14, Leeds extended Lichaj's loan for the rest of the season. He scored an own goal in Leeds' match against Yorkshire rivals Sheffield United, the match ended 2–0 to Sheffield. After playing all his games at right back in place of the injured Paul Connolly
Paul Connolly
Paul Connolly is an English footballer who plays for Football League Championship club Leeds United as a right back, having previously played for Plymouth Argyle, Bideford, Derby County and Sheffield United.-Plymouth Argyle:...

, Lichaj was moved to left back when George McCartney
George McCartney
George McCartney is a Northern Irish footballer who plays for West Ham United on loan from Sunderland. He began his youth career at Sunderland, moving to West Ham before returning to Sunderland at the start of Roy Keane's time at charge...

 was out injured. On 9 May, Lichaj played the last game of his Leeds United loan spell in Leeds' 2–1 over Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers F.C.
Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...

. Leeds announced on their official website that Lichaj would be returning to his parent club Aston Villa at the end of his loan spell. After his loan expired, Lichaj revealed that he would like to rejoin Leeds the following season to help them earn promotion to the Premier League.

After impressing during his loan spell, in July 2011 Leeds manager Simon Grayson
Simon Grayson
Simon Nicholas Grayson is a retired English footballer and current manager of Leeds United. He is the elder brother of cricketer Paul Grayson....

 revealed he was interested in re-signing Lichaj on loan, as long as new Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish
Alex McLeish
Alexander "Alex" McLeish , is a Scottish former professional footballer and manager, who is currently managing English Premier League club Aston Villa...

 didn't see Lichaj in his first team plans. However, Lichaj went on to score his first goal for Aston Villa in their 2–0 win over Hereford in the League Cup on 23 August 2011.

International career

Lichaj has been involved with various U.S. youth teams. He helped his country qualify for the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship
2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship
The 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship was held in the cities of Lima, Trujillo, Chiclayo, Piura and Iquitos in Peru between 16 September and 2 October 2005. Players born after 1 January 1988 could participate in this tournament...

. He was also named in the United States U-20
United States U-20 men's national soccer team
The United States U-20 men's national soccer team is the national under-20 soccer team of the United States of America and is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation. The highest level of competition in which the team competes is the FIFA U-20 World Cup, which is held every two years.The...

 squad for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup
2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup
The 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the sixteenth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup , hosted by Canada from June 30 to July 22, 2007. Argentina defeated Czech Republic in the title game by the score of 2–1, thus managing a back-to-back world title, its fifth in the past seven editions, and sixth...

, although he missed out due to injury. He was called into the senior team as a "guest" for the camp preceding two World Cup qualifiers in June 2009. Lichaj received his first call-up to the senior team
United States men's national soccer team
The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF...

 in October 2010 and was included in the squad for the friendlies against Poland
Poland national football team
The Poland national football team represents Poland in association football and is controlled by the Polish Football Association, the governing body for football in Poland...

 and Colombia
Colombia national football team
The Colombian national football team represents Colombia in international football competitions and is controlled by the Colombian Football Federation. It is a member of the CONMEBOL...

. Lichaj collected his first cap
Cap (sport)
In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...

 on October 12, 2010 in the friendly against Colombia
Colombia national football team
The Colombian national football team represents Colombia in international football competitions and is controlled by the Colombian Football Federation. It is a member of the CONMEBOL...

. On 17 November 2010, Lichaj gained his second cap when he started for USA against South Africa. On 21 March 2011, Lichaj received a call up to the USA national side for the games against Argentina
Argentina national football team
The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association , the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro...

 and Paraguay
Paraguay national football team
The Paraguay national football team is controlled by the Paraguayan Football Association and represents Paraguay in men's international football competitions. The team has reached the second round of the World Cup on four occasions . The 2010 trip also featured their first appearance in the...

. He was named in his nation's 2011 Gold Cup squad. After sitting on the bench for the first two Gold Cup matches, Lichaj played all 90 minutes of the last four, including the 4-2 loss in the finals against Mexico.

External links

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