Jovan Kirovski

Acquired by Los Angeles: From the San Jose Earthquakes in exchange for a conditional pick in the 2010 MLS Supplemental Draft on November 24, 2008.

An experienced and intelligent midfielder, Jovan Kirovski is in his second stint with the Galaxy. The 35-year-old Kirovski began his career as a more attacking player but has settled into more deep-lying midfielder role since returning to LA in November 2008. A constant fixture in Bruce Arena’s 18-man squad over the past two seasons, Kirovski finished third on the team with four goals last season. In addition to having played in nearly 100 regular season games for the club, Kirovski has helped lead LA to the Western Conference Championship in each of the three seasons that he ended the year with the club.

MLS Highlights

2010: With four goals and two assists, Kirovski had his best attacking season since 2007, finishing third on the Galaxy in scoring. After missing the first two games of the season through injury, Kirovski was in the squad for each of the final 28, making 21 appearances while also playing in two of the club’s three postseason games. Kirovski scored his first goal of the year, and his first of two game-winning goals, in the 4-0 win at Seattle on 5/8, beating Kasey Keller from better than 20 yards out. Just under a month later, Kirovski tallied his first multi-goal game since 2007, scoring twice in the 4-1 home win over Houston on 6/5. His first goal in that game was scored after just 47 seconds, making it the third fastest goal in club history and the fastest of the year for LA. He added his fourth goal of the year in the second half of the 3-1 home win over Columbus on 9/11, heading home an Alex Cazumba freekick. Kirovski also had an assist in that game, meaning that each of his two assists came in wins over the Crew. He helped set up Michael Stephens’ game-winning goal early in the 2-0 win at Crew Stadium on 5/29 and then set up Dema Kovalenko’s game-winner at home against Columbus on 9/11. Used both up front and in the midfield, Kirovski surpassed 100 career games played for the club in all competitions late in the season. 2009: His first season back with the Galaxy since 2005, Kirovski scored two goals and added an assist in 22 games. He scored in the Galaxy’s win over Oita Trinita in the Pan-Pacific Championship in February, helping the Galaxy to a 2-0 win. He started the regular season opener vs. D.C. United on 3/22. He was one of the club’s top reserves for the first three months of the season before returning to the starting lineup on 6/20 at San Jose. He scored his first goal of the season in that game, beating Joe Cannon from close range. He scored again at New England on 8/8, tallying the game-winning goal in a 2-1 win over the Revolution. Kirovski notched his first assist of the year 11 days later on 8/19, setting up Mike Magee’s game-winning goal in the 2-0 win at Chicago. In the postseason, Kirovski appeared in three games, coming off the bench in Game Two vs. Chivas USA on 11/8 and again in the Western Conference Championship vs. Houston on 11/13. He started and played the full 120 minutes of MLS Cup in central midfield, but saw his penalty saved during the game’s deciding shootout. 2008: Split the 2008 season between Colorado and San Jose but was limited by injury to just nine games and one start, all with the Earthquakes. His 154 minutes played were an MLS-career low for Kirovski, who was traded to LA in November. He accompanied the Galaxy to New Zealand for a friendly against the Oceania All-Stars, scoring the game’s opening goal. 2007: Started all 28 games in which he appeared for the Colorado Rapids, leading the team with six goals including two game-winners. He added an assist in 2,161 minutes on the field. 2006: Tallied five goals and two assists in his first full season with the Rapids. All five of his goals came in the first eight games of the season as he finished third on the team in goals. He added a goal and an assist in the postseason as Colorado reached a second consecutive Western Conference Final. 2005: Began the season with the Galaxy, playing in 24 games for the club, tallying four goals and four assists. His first goal of the year came in the 32nd minute of the inaugural Honda SuperClasico against Chivas USA, giving the Galaxy a 3-0 lead and had two assists in the second SuperClaisco as the Galaxy won 2-0. He added goals against Real Salt Lake, San Jose and the MetroStars before he was traded to Colorado on September 13. He continued his dominance of Chivas USA, tallying a goal and an assist in a 3-1 road win over them in just his third game with the Rapids. 2004: Signed with the Galaxy in February and tallied a career-best eight goals to finish second on the club in goals. He appeared in 24 games, making 23 starts for the club, playing 1,984 minutes in his first season in MLS. He made his MLS debut on 4/3 against New England, scoring the game-winning goal in a 3-2 LA win. He added three multi-goal games, all in wins over Dallas, to account for six of his eight goals. He was named the MLS Player of the Week after each of those games and he was also named the to MLS All-Star Team. He recorded the first assist of his MLS career on a Carlos Ruiz goal at Colorado on 4/17 and added one in the second leg of the Galaxy’s Western Conference Semifinals series win over the Rapids.

Career Highlights

2002-04: Spent a year and a half with Birmingham City of the English Premier League, appearing in more than 20 games for the club and scoring twice before signing with the Galaxy in February 2004. 2001-02: Played one season with Crystal Palace in the English First Division (now Championship), scoring five goals, including three game-winners, in 36 games for the club in all competitions. 2000-01: Spent one season in Portugal with Sporting Lisbon, where he made five appearances and helped the club finish in third place in the Portuguese Liga. 1996-2000: Joined Borussia Dortmund, who had won the last two Bundesliga titles, in the summer of 1996 and appeared in 20 league games for the club in three seasons. He became the first American player to score in the Champions League as he helped Dortmund win the competition in 1997. The goal came in a 3-0 win over Sparta Prague on 12/10/96. He spent the 1998-99 season on loan with second division side SC Fortuna Köln, scoring twice in 20 games before returning to Dortmund. 1992-96: Began his career at Manchester United, coming through the club’s famed youth ranks alongside players like David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville.

National Team

Kirovski made 62 appearances in an 11-year career with the U.S. National Team, scoring nine goals and adding an assist. He made his National Team debut in a 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia on 10/19/94 and scored his first goal for the U.S. a month later in a 3-0 win over Jamaica in Kingston, Jamaica. He tallied two goals for the U.S. in 1994, 2003 and 1999, when he also notched an assist in 11 games with the National Team. He helped the U.S. qualify for the FIFA World Cup in 1998, 2002 and 2006, while also appearing in the 1995 Copa America, the 1996 and 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup and the 1999 and 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup.