Athletes - Jeff Cunningham

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	Athletes - Jeff Cunningham

Jeff Cunningham (born August 21, 1976 in Montego Bay, Jamaica) is a Jamaican-American soccer striker, who currently plays for Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer.

Cunningham was born in Jamaica, but moved to Florida at the age of 14. He played college soccer at the University of South Florida from 1994 to 1997. As a sophomore and a junior, Cunningham was named first-team All-Conference USA, and as a senior he was named Conference USA Player of the Year. He finished his career at USF with 41 goals and 36 assists.

Upon graduating, Cunningham was selected 9th overall in the 1998 MLS College Draft by the Columbus Crew. As a rookie, he played in 25 games, mostly as a substitute, and tied the rookie record for goals (since broken by Damani Ralph) with 8. Cunningham became a starter in 1999, and has largely held that role to the present day. In 182 games for the team, he has scored 62 goals and 43 assists. He was named to the MLS Best XI in 2002, after scoring 16 goals and 5 assists for the team. Cunningham was traded to the Rapids for a first-round draft pick after a disappointing 2004 season. He left the Crew tied with Brian McBride for the all-time team lead in goals (62, plus he added 43 assists).

After a trade to the Colorado Rapids before the 2005 season, Cunningham finished the year with 12 league goals. He also turned in a stellar performance in the MLS All-Star Game, scoring twice against Fulham F.C. of the FA Premier League. His showing in a game against Real Madrid also earned good reviews, despite MLS' 5-0 loss. However, after the year Colorado shipped him to Salt Lake for Clint Mathis. As of the end of the 2005 season, Cunningham is seventh on the all-time MLS goalscoring list.

Cunningham became a U.S. citizen November 13, 2001, and received his first cap for the United States national team less than a month later, December 9, in a friendly against South Korea. He made his first start in a World Cup qualifier on September 7, 2005, vs. Guatemala.

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