Gordon Kljestan

Gordon Zdravko Kljestan (born November 30, 1983 in Huntington Beach, California) is a retired American soccer player.

Gordon Kljestan
Personal information
Full name Gordon Zdravko Kljestan
Date of birth (1983-11-30) November 30, 1983
Place of birth Huntington Beach, California, United States
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003 Fullerton Titans 19 (1)
2004–2006 Seton Hall Pirates
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2006 Orange County Blue Star 22 (0)
2007 Los Angeles Galaxy 0 (0)
2007–2008 New Jersey Ironmen (indoor) 32 (2)
2008 Newark Ironbound Express 1 (0)
2008 New York Red Bulls 0 (0)
2009 Cleveland City Stars 22 (0)
2010 FC Tampa Bay 12 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of September 22, 2010

Career

College and Amateur

Kljestan played one year of college soccer for Cal State Fullerton, prior to transferring to Seton Hall University where he played from 2004 to 2006. Kljestan was a three year starter for the Pirates and was named as a 2006 All-Big East preseason selection and 2005 All-Big East honorable mention.

During his college years, Kljestan also played three seasons for Orange County Blue Star of the USL Premier Development League.[1]

Professional

Kljestan was drafted by the Los Angeles Galaxy with the 10th overall pick in the first round of the 2007 MLS Supplemental Draft. He started in six games for the Galaxy reserve team, logging 513 minutes, but was waived at the end of the season without making a senior start.

In 2007, Kljestan signed with the New Jersey Ironmen of the Major Indoor Soccer League. He played thirty-two games, scoring two goals.[2] In 2008, he played in one game for his second USL Premier Development League team, Newark Ironbound Express.[3] On June 7, 2008, he started in a 1-1 draw against the Long Island Rough Riders. He started and played for 68 minutes until the game was called off due to weather.

Kljestan signed with the New York Red Bulls on June 25, 2008 after training with the team for weeks.[4] He played in his first match for the New York the following day in a friendly against Chivas Guadalajara,[5] and made his full professional debut for the Red Bulls on 1 July 2008, in a US Open Cup third round game against Crystal Palace Baltimore.[6] He was waived on November 26, 2008.[7]

He signed with Cleveland City Stars in April 2009 and he played in 22 games.[8]

Kljestan signed with FC Tampa Bay of the USSF Division 2 in April 2010. Appeared in 12 matches, scoring 2 goals as a defender.

Retired from professional soccer in January 2011 and currently works in the Los Angeles Galaxy front office.

Personal

Gordon is the brother of former Chivas USA and current LA Galaxy and former United States national soccer team midfielder Sacha Kljestan. Kljestan's father Slavko Klještan, a Bosnian Serb from Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, was a professional player playing for Željezničar Sarajevo.[9][10]

References
  1. United Soccer Leagues (USL) Archived 2011-06-10 at the Wayback Machine
  2. 2007-08 FINAL UNOFFICIAL MAJOR INDOOR SOCCER LEAGUE DAILY REPORT Archived 2016-01-24 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". Archived from the original on 2008-06-23. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
  4. Gordon Kljestan signed, Kevin Mesa cut - MetroStars / Red Bull New York - Major League Soccer
  5. Metro tops uninspired Guadalajara, 1:0 - MetroStars / Red Bull New York - Major League Soccer
  6. Major League Soccer: Match Tracker: Main Archived 2008-08-13 at the Wayback Machine
  7. "Gabriel Cichero, two others cut - MetroStars / Red Bull New York - Major League Soccer".
  8. "Cleveland Adds Gordon Kljestan From MLS New York Red Bulls". Archived from the original on 2009-04-02. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
  9. Jones, Grahame L. (6 August 2008). "Chivas USA's Sacha Kljestan looks beyond Olympics". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 31 January 2009. Retrieved 12 August 2008.
  10. "Sachin otac je igrao za Želju, a on danas igra za SAD".
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