Steve Ralston
 Ralston playing for the New England Revolution in 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | June 14, 1974 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Oakville, Missouri, United States | |||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | |||||||||||||||||||
| College career | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1995 | FIU Golden Panthers | (40) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||
| 1996–2001 | Tampa Bay Mutiny | 177 | (34) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2009 | New England Revolution | 201 | (42) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2010 | AC St. Louis | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2010 | New England Revolution | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| Total | 380 | (76) | ||||||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–2007 | United States | 36 | (4) | |||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010 | AC St. Louis (assistant) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2014 | Houston Dynamo (assistant) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2018 | San Jose Earthquakes (assistant) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | San Jose Earthquakes (interim) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2022– | San Jose Earthquakes (assistant) | |||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||||||
Steve Ralston (born June 14, 1974) is an American former soccer player and manager who played as a midfielder. He spent most of his playing career in Major League Soccer with the Tampa Bay Mutiny and the New England Revolution, retiring in 2010 as the league's all-time career leader in assists (135), appearances (378), starts (372), and minutes played (33,143). He also held the U.S. record for professional appearances (412) in 2010.[1] In 2020, Major League Soccer selected Ralston as one of the greatest players in league history.[2]
Ralston served as assistant manager at several teams, including the Houston Dynamo and San Jose Earthquakes, including a brief stint as the interim head coach at the Earthquakes in 2018.
Club career
[edit]Ralston was drafted 18th overall in the 1996 MLS College Draft by the Tampa Bay Mutiny out of Florida International University,[3] and quickly established himself as one of the best players in the league, starting 31 matches in the club's inaugural campaign, scoring seven goals and notching two assists,[4] and concluding the year as the first player in MLS history to win the Rookie of the Year Award.[5] He also helped the club lift the first-ever Supporters' Shield.[6] In his second season, Ralston started 29 matches and scored five goals, adding 11 assists.[4] He was named to the 1997 MLS All-Star team.[6] He started 29 matches in 1998, again scoring five goals, and recording eight assists.[4] In 1999, Ralston was voted Mutiny Team MVP, MLS Best XI, and won the MLS Fair Play Award.[6] He started all 32 matches for the club, scoring five goals and recording a league-leading eighteen assists.[7][4] In 2000, Ralston was named an MLS All-Star for the second time, won the MLS Fair Play Award for the second time, and finished second in the league in assists, with 17.[8] In total, Ralston played for the Mutiny for six years, leaving only after the team was contracted in 2002.[9][10] Ralston departed as the Mutiny as the club's all-time leader in games played (177) and points (130).[citation needed]
On January 11, 2002, Ralston was selected by the New England Revolution in the 2002 Allocation Draft.[11] In his first year with the Revolution, Ralston led the league in assists with 19.[12] He was named MLS Best XI for the second time, and an MLS All-Star for the third time.[13] He helped the team reach the MLS Cup final for the first time, ultimately losing to the LA Galaxy on a Golden Goal in extra time.[14]
Ralston was named an MLS All-Star in 2004, and won goal of the week twice - in week 15 and 19.[13] He was subsequently a finalist for MLS Goal of the Year, and was named Revolution Team MVP.[13][15] In 2006, Ralston was a finalist for the MLS Fair Play Award.[13] He was again named an MLS All-Star in 2007, and led the league in assists, with 14.[16] On July 14, 2007 against the New York Red Bulls, Ralston surpassed his former teammate Carlos Valderrama to become the MLS all-time leader in assists, with 115.[11][17] In 2007 Ralston also helped the club win its first-ever silverware in the form of the 2007 U.S. Open Cup.[18]
In 2008, Ralston was named MLS Player of the Week twice - in matchweeks four and five.[13] He was named an MLS All-Star for the sixth time. He also won the Revolution team Golden Boot award, scoring eight goals and recording seven assists.[13] That year he helped the club secure its second-ever piece of silverware, the 2008 North American SuperLiga, scoring in the final and converting a penalty during the subsequent shoot-out.[19] In 2009 Ralston won the MLS Fair Play Award, and was named Revolution Humanitarian of the Year.[13][20] He suffered a season-ending knee injury in September of the 2009 season.[21]
Ralston's contract with the Revolution ended at the conclusion of the 2009 season,[22] and he left the club to become the first-ever signing of new USSF Division 2 club AC St. Louis.[23] Ralston was one of the team's starting midfielders, and an assistant coach to head coach Claude Anelka.[23]
After AC St. Louis ran in to financial difficulties, Ralston agreed to leave by mutual consent and immediately joined up with his former club New England Revolution.[24]
In Ralston's first appearance back with the New England Revolution, he suffered a left elbow dislocation. In July 2010, he announced his retirement.[25]
Ralston ended his Major League Soccer career as the league's leader in minutes played (33,143), games started (372), appearances (378), and assists (135).[26] In thirteen years in the league, he scored 76 goals and had 135 assists in 378 regular season matches, and added three goals and seven assists in 30 playoff matches.[4][26] He also served as captain for several seasons with New England, from 2007-2009.[26]
International career
[edit]Ralston appeared for the United States national team 36 times over an 11-year span and scored 4 international goals. His first cap came on January 17, 1997, against Peru. His last was for the squad that won the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup. He was never selected to a World Cup roster.
Ralston had a break out year for the United States national team in 2005 by earning 15 caps. He scored the game-winning goal in a World Cup qualifying match against Mexico on September 3, 2005. The victory for the United States clinched qualification in the 2006 FIFA World Cup.[27] Due to a later injury, he was only listed as an alternate for the United States at the World Cup.
Coaching career
[edit]After his signing with AC St. Louis was named as the new assistant coach of the club.[28] In July 2010, Raltson took an assistant coaching job at the Houston Dynamo with his former teammate Dominic Kinnear from the Tampa Bay Mutiny.[29] On January 6, 2015, the San Jose Earthquakes announced Ralston would join Kinnear in San Jose and once again serve as his assistant coach.[30]
Honors
[edit]United States
New England Revolution
Tampa Bay Mutiny
- Supporters' Shield: 1996[32]
Individual
- MLS 50/50 Club[33]
- MLS Rookie of the Year: 1996[5]
- MLS All-Star: 1997,[34] 2000,[35] 2002[13] 2004,[13] 2007,[13] 2008[36]
- MLS Best XI (3): 1999, 2000, 2002
- MLS Fair Play Award (3): 1999, 2000, 2009
- MLS top assist provider: 1999,[7] 2002,[12] 2007[16]
References
[edit]- ^ "Revs statement on captain Steve Ralston". New England Revolution. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
- ^ Wiebe, Andrew (November 16, 2020). "Picking the 25 Greatest players in MLS history, Andrew Wiebe". Retrieved October 22, 2024.
- ^ "1996 MLS College Draft". March 4, 1996. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "Steve Ralston Career Statistics". Retrieved October 21, 2024.
- ^ a b "MLS Young Player of the Year/Rookie of the Year winners". January 1, 2022. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
- ^ a b c "Ralston, Steve 2018". Retrieved October 21, 2024.
- ^ a b "1999 Stats". Retrieved October 21, 2024.
- ^ "2000 Stats". Retrieved October 21, 2024.
- ^ Dell'Apa, Frank (January 11, 2017). "Jan. 11, 2002 – Revolution transformed by Dispersal Draft". Retrieved October 21, 2024.
- ^ "MLS Dispersing the Contraction Victims". January 9, 2002. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
- ^ a b "Club History Coach and Player Registry" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 12, 2018. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
- ^ a b "2002 Stats". Retrieved October 21, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j 2024 Media Guide. New England Revolution. Archived from the original on March 22, 2024. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
- ^ "MLS Cup History | Fourth time is the charm for L.A. Galaxy in 2002". November 16, 2009. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
- ^ Lemieux, Jeff (October 18, 2016). "History Lesson: Recapping every team MVP through the Revs' first 20 seasons". Retrieved October 21, 2024.
- ^ a b "2007 Stats". Retrieved October 21, 2024.
- ^ Dell'Apa, Frank (July 14, 2017). "July 14, 2007 – Steve Ralston sets MLS record with 115th assist". Retrieved October 21, 2024.
- ^ a b "2007 US Open Cup Final: First time for everything; New England Revolution win first trophy, 3-2 over FC Dallas". October 3, 2007. Archived from the original on November 17, 2023. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
- ^ a b "Revs Capture SuperLiga 2008 Crown". August 6, 2008. Archived from the original on June 15, 2009. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
- ^ "Ralston honored as MLS Fair Play Award winner". November 4, 2009. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
- ^ "Ralston Houston bound after retiring from Revs". July 21, 2010. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
- ^ McCarthy, Kyle (November 18, 2018). "Revs Captain Steve Ralston Decides to Move On". Retrieved October 22, 2024.
- ^ a b "Ralston introduced as first AC St. Louis player". February 1, 2010. Archived from the original on February 3, 2010. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
- ^ "Ralston returns to Revolution". June 8, 2010. Archived from the original on June 11, 2010. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
- ^ "Ralston set to announce retirement | Major League Soccer". Archived from the original on July 22, 2010.
- ^ a b c "Ralston to take his final bow for Revolution". July 20, 2010. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
- ^ Keller blanks Mexico to lead USA to World Cup
- ^ "OOPS! SORRY, SOMETHING WENT WRONG | NASL". www.nasl.com.
- ^ "Steve Ralston Joins The Houston Dynamo As Assistant Coach | Goal.com".
- ^ "Quakes name Ralston, Russell, Hanley assistant coaches".
- ^ "USMNT 2005 GOLD CUP SQUAD". Retrieved October 22, 2024.
- ^ "The Winners". Retrieved October 22, 2024.
- ^ "MLS' 50-50 club set to welcome its 19th member | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer.
- ^ All-Star Game flashback, 1997 at MLSsoccer.com
- ^ "2000 MLS All-Star Game". MLSsoccer.com. July 29, 2000. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
- ^ "2008 All-Star Game". July 24, 2008. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
External links
[edit]United States squads | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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- 1974 births
- Living people
- American men's soccer players
- Soccer players from St. Louis
- FIU Panthers men's soccer players
- United States men's international soccer players
- CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning players
- Major League Soccer players
- Major League Soccer All-Stars
- Tampa Bay Mutiny players
- New England Revolution players
- AC St. Louis players
- USSF Division 2 Professional League players
- 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
- 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
- 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
- Tampa Bay Mutiny draft picks
- Houston Dynamo FC non-playing staff
- San Jose Earthquakes non-playing staff
- Men's association football midfielders
- Player-coaches
- AC St. Louis coaches