Kamani Hill

Kamani Helekunihi Hill (born December 28, 1985) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a forward or winger.

For other uses, see Kamani (disambiguation).

Kamani Hill
Hill in 2012
Personal information
Full name Kamani Helekunihi Hill
Date of birth (1985-12-28) December 28, 1985
Place of birth Berkeley, California, United States
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Position(s) Forward
Winger
Youth career
Marin United
2004–2006 UCLA Bruins
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005 Orange County Blue Star 7 (1)
2006 San Fernando Valley 10 (1)
2006–2009 VfL Wolfsburg 9 (0)
2007–2008 → VfL Wolfsburg II 6 (1)
2009–2010 Vitória Guimarães 0 (0)
2010 → Aves (loan) 5 (0)
2012–2014 Colorado Rapids 40 (7)
Total 77 (10)
International career
2004–2005 United States U20 12 (2)
2008 United States U23 6 (0)
2007 United States 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Early years

Hill was born in Berkeley, California to a Trinidadian father and an American mother of Hawaiian origin. He grew up playing in various Bay Area youth leagues and attended Berkeley High School, where he was a star forward on their soccer team.[1] He then attended UCLA, where he played in 40 games (32 starts), scored nine goals, and assisted on 13 more in his two seasons with the team.[2] During his college years he also played with Orange County Blue Star and San Fernando Valley Quakes in the USL Premier Development League.

Professional career

Europe

At the beginning of October 2006, Hill went to Germany for a trial with Bundesliga team VfL Wolfsburg, and in November he signed a 2+1⁄2-year contract with the team.[2] He made his first-team debut on January 27, 2007 as a substitute in a 2–1 defeat away at Hertha BSC Berlin.[3] However, after a promising start, the arrival of coach Felix Magath at the club saw Hill relegated to the second team, where he spent most of his time at Wolfsburg. During November 2008, he trained with Norwegian club FK Bodø/Glimt. However, he was not offered a contract. In April 2009, he began a ten-day trial with Vitoria Guimaraes upon the recommendation of his Wolfsburg teammate Alex, and on May 8 the club announced his signing to a three-year contract.[4]

Hill was released by Vitória Guimarães in July 2010.

United States

Hill returned to the United States to train with Major League Soccer club San Jose Earthquakes.[5] Hill signed with Major League Soccer club Colorado Rapids on March 28, 2012.[6]

International career

Hill played for the United States U20 national team in the Suwon Youth Tournament in South Korea in 2005, where he scored a game-winning goal against Argentina.

He later made his debut for the senior United States senior national team on June 2, 2007 as a substitute in a 4–1 friendly match victory over China in San Jose, California. Hill made his second and final appearance coming on as a substitute for Landon Donovan in a 1–0 friendly loss to Sweden in Gothenburg, Sweden on August 22, 2007.

References
  1. Stephens, Mitch (January 31, 2003). "His goal: To score in the big leagues / Berkeley High's Kamani Hill seen as 'the real deal'". San Francisco Chronicle.
  2. Winger, Chad (November 17, 2006). "Wolfsburg announce Hill signing". Yanks Abroad. Archived from the original on May 24, 2011.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. "Hertah Berlin vs VfL Wolfsburg in Bundesliga 2006/2007". Football-Lineups.com. January 27, 2007. Retrieved November 17, 2008.
  4. "Kamani Hill assina por três épocas" (in Portuguese). May 8, 2009. Retrieved May 9, 2009.
  5. Seltzer, Greg (August 2, 2010). "Kamani Hill training with hometown club San Jose". mlssoccer.com. Retrieved September 9, 2011.
  6. "Rapids sign forward Kamani Hill". coloradorapids.com. March 28, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
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