Full name Mark Chung Years Team Position Midfielder Place of birth Toronto, Canada Name Mark Chung Date joined 2002 | Playing position Role Soccer player 1988-1992 South Florida Bulls Height 1.70 m | |
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Date of birth (1970-06-18) June 18, 1970 (age 45) Education University of South Florida | ||
Nominations Landon Donovan MVP Award | ||
Like Father, Like Daughter for Pro Soccer Family
Mark Chung (born June 18, 1970) is an American former soccer midfielder who played ten seasons in Major League Soccer. He also earned twenty-four caps, scoring two goals, with the U.S. national team. Now a proud member of the Brew Crew, in Boca Raton, FL.
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Youth
Chung was born in Toronto to Hakka Chinese Jamaican parents. His family moved from Toronto to Pembroke Pines, Florida when Chung was twelve. These moves created a choice for Chung when he received invitations to play from three national teams, the United States, Canada and Jamaica. He ultimately elected to play for the U.S.[1] After graduating from Cooper City High School, Chung attended the University of South Florida where he studied finance. He also played on the men's soccer team from 1988 to 1992, finishing his collegiate soccer career with twenty-five assists.
Professional
In 1995, Chung played with the San Diego Sockers of the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL). He scored twenty-nine goals en route to being named the league's Rookie of the Year. Chung was drafted in the first round (sixth overall) by the Kansas City Wizards in the MLS Inaugural Draft, and finished 1996 with eight goals and nine assists. Chung would be a mainstay at Kansas City for the next two years, was named to his first MLS Best XI in 1997, and would lead all of MLS in games played at the end of its first three seasons, with 97. After 1998, Kansas City traded Chung to the MetroStars, with Mike Ammann in exchange for Tony Meola and Alexi Lalas. He would play with the MetroStars for the next three seasons, but was greatly underused by Metro coach Octavio Zambrano. Chung called the role he played with the Metros an "idiot left wing". He was traded again before the 2002 season, this time to the Colorado Rapids in exchange for a draft pick. Chung was very successful with the Rapids, making MLS Best XI's in both 2002 and 2003. However, with a coaching change to Fernando Clavijo in 2005, he became unhappy, and requested a trade. The wish was granted, as Chung was sent to San Jose for an allocation. In ten years of MLS league play, he scored 61 goals and added 76 assists.
Chung retired after the Quakes moved to Houston after the 2006 season. Upon his retirement, he had played in 278 league matches. In 2008, he played one game with the Treasure Coast Galleons of the Florida Elite Soccer League.
National team
Despite a significant amount of success in MLS, Chung never had a significant role in the U.S. national team. Chung made his first appearance April 4, 1992 against his ancestral country, China, but in total made only 24 appearances, and scored only two goals. He was the first of two Chinese-American players to play for the USA, the second being Brian Ching.