Taylor Twellman
Taylor Twellman was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States on February 29th, 1980 and is the Soccer Player. At the age of 44, Taylor Twellman biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 44 years old, Taylor Twellman has this physical status:
Taylor Twellman (born February 29, 1980) is a retired American international soccer player who played professionally from 1999 to 2009.
He now works in the media as a soccer television commentator. Twellman is best known for his play with the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer (MLS) from 2002 to 2009, during which time he scored more goals in MLS than any other player.
He was the youngest player to score 100 goals in MLS in 2009 at the age of 29, and is New England's all-time leading goal scorer.
Twellman was a five-time MLS all-star and in 2005 was the league MVP.
Twellman also earned 30 caps for the United States national team, scoring 6 international goals. Twellman has been active since his retirement in promoting awareness of concussions and working in the media.
He currently works as a television analyst for ESPN.
Personal life
Taylor's father Tim Twellman, and uncles Mike Twellman and Steve Twellman, all played professionally in the North American Soccer League. Taylor's brother James Twellman played with the San Jose Earthquakes reserves in 2002. Taylor's grandfather, Jim Delsing, was a Major League Baseball outfielder in the 1950s for five teams. His uncle is golfer Jay Delsing.
Professional career
Twellman joined 1860 Munich, Germany, in 2000. He spent two years with the team, but he starred for the reserve team in Division III, and never played above the reserve level.
In the 2002 MLS SuperDraft, Twellman returned to the United States as drafted second overall by the New England Revolution. In Twellman's first season in MLS, he established himself as one of the top players in the league, scoring 23 goals. He came in second place in league MVP voting and was named to the 2002 MLS Best XI. Despite being plagued by a string of injuries, Twellman finished tied with Carlos Ruiz of the Los Angeles Galaxy for top goalscorer of the season in 2003. In 2004, his sales dropped, leaving him with just nine goals.
Twellman's best MLS season came in 2005, winning both the Major League Soccer MVP Award and MLS Golden Boot, as well as finishing with 17 goals in the regular season. He was also selected to the 2005 MLS Best XI. When Odd Grenland of Norway made a $1.2 million bid for him, which MLS denied, the Twellman was the object of transfer talk. New England announced in February 2007 that they had signed Twellman to a four-year deal, apparently worth $5 million.
Twellman won his first title with the US Open Cup in 2007, a season in which he ranked third in MLS in goals scored. The Revolution also took the Eastern Conference title, with Twellman scoring a spectacular bicycle kick against the Chicago Fire securing the Revs' spot in the 2007 MLS Cup. Twellman scored the first goal of the 2007 MLS Cup against Houston Dynamo. However, this will be New England's only goal, as the team goes on to lose their third straight MLS Cup by a score of 2–1.
Preston North End, an English Championship team, enticed Major League Soccer and the New England Revolution to sell Twellman in January 2008. Preston initially planned a $1.7 million bid but later withdrew a new bid of $2.5 million, the fourth highest and possibly second highest transfer fee in MLS history to date.
Twellman sustained a neck injury and a serious concussion from a mid-air collision against Los Angeles Galaxy goalkeeper Steve Cronin on August 30, 2008. Twellman dominated the 2008 season, but he missed only two games in 2009 due to lingering injuries from his whiplash and concussion. During the 2010 season, Twellman had intended to return, but was unable to participate in the season and was placed on the season-ending injury list. Twellman announced his retirement from the game at the end of the 2010 MLS season after struggling to find any playing time in MLS due to his head injury.
International career
Twellman began working with the US national program at the youth level for the U-17 and U-20 squads. While still playing for the University of Maryland, he first attracted national attention after scoring four goals for the U-20 national team at the 1999 World Youth Championship. At the 1999 Pan American Games, he also represented the United States.
Twellman made his first appearance in MLS on November 17, 2002 against El Salvador, the first time he had competed for. He struggled to score his first international goal after several apparent goals were offside for offside infractions. In a World Cup qualifier against Panama on October 12, 2005, he finally scored against Panama. In a friendly against Norway on January 29, 2006, he raised his chances of being on the 2006 World Cup team. He scored his ninth hat trick in the game, but Bruce Arena left him off the World Cup roster.
In a group stage victory over El Salvador, Twellman was chosen by new U.S. coach Bob Bradley as a member of the US team for the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, scoring in a group stage victory over El Salvador. In the years after a string of concussions sidelined his club career, Twellman gradually dropped out of the national team pool.