Athletes - Nelson Akwari

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	Athletes - Nelson Akwari

Nelson Akwari (born February 4, 1982 in Houston, Texas) is an American soccer defender, who currently plays for Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer.

In high school, Nelson Akwari went to Strake Jesuit, a private school in Houston known for its prestigious soccer program.

As a teenager, Akwari attended USSF's prestigious Bradenton Academy, where he trained with other Under-17 national teamers like Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, and Bobby Convey.

Although he considered turning pro, Akwari instead went to UCLA to play college soccer. He stayed at UCLA two years, starting every game as a freshman in 2000, and being named second-team All Pac-10 as a sophomore. Akwari left college after his sophomore year to pursue opportunities in Europe, but when nothing came of them, he signed a Project-40 contract with MLS late in the 2002 season. Akwari was put into a lottery, which the MetroStars won; although Akwari appeared in seven games, he was not particularly impressive, and was traded during the offseason to the Columbus Crew. Akwari saw little playing time in 2003, as well, appearing in 11 games but starting only five for a mediocre Crew team, while spending a lot of time on loan to A-League's Cincinnati Riverhawks. However, in his third year in the league, Akwari began to show much of the promise that he had as a youth national teamer - he took possession of the starting right back position midseason, and remained there for the rest of the year, ending the season with 16 starts as the Crew won the MLS Supporters' Shield.

After the 2004 season, Akwari was selected tenth overall by Real Salt Lake in the Expansion Draft, reuniting him with old coach John Ellinger.

Akwari has represented the United States at the U-17, U-20 and U-23 levels, playing at the 2001 World Youth Championship in Argentina, but has not played any games for the teams since 2002.

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