Santino Quaranta

<h3>
    MLS Experience</h3>
<p><strong>2010:</strong> The United veteran was a constant presence on the field in 2010, leading all D.C. players with 27 games played, 26 starts and 2,331 minutes. Quaranta also led the squad with 58 shots and 24 shots on goal, scoring twice and also recording two assists during the MLS campaign. A long-tenured member of the Black-and-Red, Quaranta was a leader throughout the season and could be a candidate to take the captain&rsquo;s armband from the recently retired Jaime Moreno in 2011.</p>
<p><strong>2009:</strong> After reviving his career in 2008, Santino Quaranta took additional steps forward in 2009. He played in 22 games (19 starts) and tabbed 1,769 minutes of play in MLS matches. The midfielder scored two goals and a set a career-high assist mark with six helpers in League play. Following his impressive play during the first half of the season, Quaranta earned his first U.S. Men&rsquo;s National Team call-up since 2006. The 25-year-old&rsquo;s season was cut short towards the end of the year after rupturing the plantar plate in his left foot on 10/9. In all competitions with United, the Baltimore native made 28 appearances (22 starts) and recorded two goals and nine assists.</p>
<p><strong>2008:</strong> Following what became a much-publicized fall from grace, Santino Quaranta found himself out of MLS at the end of 2007. He asked D.C. United for an opportunity to revive a career that had all but escaped him. Following a trial that included several sit-down meetings with members of the technical staff and front office, Quaranta was given a second chance with the Black-and-Red. After humbling early season apologies to United&rsquo;s fervent supporters for past indiscretions and an honest mid-season admission of his past drug addiction, the Baltimore native went on to have the best season of his career. He produced career-highs in games played (27), started (23), minutes (1,963), and goals (five). His Week 24 goal &ndash; in a 2-1 loss to San Jose on 9/6 &ndash; was tabbed as the Sierra Mist Goal of the Week. In all competitions, Quaranta played in 35 games (30 starts) and tallied six goals and six assists.</p>
<p><strong>2007:</strong> After playing just six games with the Galaxy, Quaranta was traded to the New York Red Bulls on 6/30. There he saw action as a substitute in three matches &ndash; 47 total minutes &ndash; before being sidelined for the rest of the season with a foot injury.</p>
<p><strong>2006:</strong> After four appearances as a member of United to begin the season, Quaranta was sent to the LA Galaxy in exchange for a partial allocation and a conditional 2008 MLS SuperDraft pick. While in LA, he played in 12 games (ten starts) and scored three goals.</p>
<p><strong>2005:</strong> Despite playing on only 18 games (13 starts) during the season, Quaranta was the third-highest scorer on the team, having notched five goals and five assists. Three of his five goals were game-winners, tied for most on the team. He missed a significant number of games due to U.S. Men&rsquo;s National Team call-ups for the CONCACAF Gold Cup and World Cup qualifiers.</p>
<p><strong>2004:</strong> A string of injuries limited Quaranta to one League appearance for D.C. United during the 2004 campaign. He made an impact in United&#39;s international friendlies, however, striking for two goals and an assist against CD Municipal to accompany his penalty-kick shootout tally in the Black-and-Red&#39;s win over Nottingham Forest.</p>
<p><strong>2003:</strong> Quaranta got off to a good start netting his only goal of the campaign in the season-opener against the Kansas City Wizards on 4/12. He then struggled much of the season to recover from an MCL injury that he picked up while playing with the U.S. U-20 National Team. The forward underwent arthroscopic surgery in September, causing him to miss the end of the season. He totaled three assists during the season, the first of which led to Marco Etcheverry&rsquo;s goal that earned the Black-and-Red their first road point of the season in a 1-1 tie versus the Colorado Rapids on 4/26. Quaranta also tallied the game-winning assist on Ben Olsen&#39;s goal versus the Chicago Fire at Cardinal Stadium on 7/12.</p>
<p><strong>2002:</strong> In only his second year in MLS, Quaranta started in all 11 games he appeared in, contributing three goals and four assists. He got off to a quick start with an assist on Ali Curtis&#39; goal in the season opener against the LA Galaxy on 3/23 and scored his first goal against the Dallas Burn on 4/6. Quaranta recorded two assists in the Black-and-Red&#39;s 4-2 drubbing of the New York/New Jersey MetroStars on 5/18. He then registered both a goal and an assist on Ryan Nelsen&#39;s goal in the 3-2 victory over the New England Revolution on 6/8. Unfortunately the young forward had to miss the last three months of the season due to an abdominal hernia and the subsequent surgery to correct it, which took place on 7/31.</p>
<p><strong>2001:</strong> Quaranta was originally selected by D.C. United in the first round (8th overall) of the 2001 MLS SuperDraft on 2/5/01. At the time of his selection, he was the youngest player ever drafted by Major League Soccer. He paid immediate dividends for United, notching five goals and one assist in 16 games (10 starts). The Baltimore, MD native recorded a pair of two-goal games in addition to being named MLS Player of the Week on 7/16, the only United player to receive the award during the season. At the time, Quaranta was the youngest player in league history to play, start, score and earn Player of the Week and MLS All-Star honors. He was the youngest player to appear in an MLS match when he came on for Mark Lisi in the 74th minute versus New England on 5/9. He was the youngest player to score in MLS history (16 years, 7 months, and 5 days) when he tallied his first MLS goal in the 69th minute versus the Columbus Crew on 5/19. Quaranta started and played the full match versus Bayer Leverkusen on 5/23, tallying an assist. He missed the Miami Fusion (5/30) and Chicago Fire (6/2) games while on tour with U.S. U-17 team. Quaranta made his first career start and played the full 90 minutes versus the MetroStars (6/13), recording his first assist. He scored two goals against New England on 7/14, earning Player of the Week honors (7/16). Quaranta missed the Columbus match (8/25) with a groin injury and the last two games of the campaign, while tending to duty with the U.S. U-17 team at the World Championship in Trinidad &amp; Tobago.</p>
<h3>
    International Experience</h3>
<p><strong>2009: </strong> Following his impressive play during the first half of the MLS season, Quaranta earned his first U.S. Men&#39;s National Team call-up since 2006. Playing in a Gold Cup game on July 8 in front of his home crowd at RFK Stadium, Quaranta scored his first-ever goal in a USA jersey. In total, Quaranta played four games with the USMNT during the summer.</p>
<p><strong>2005:</strong> Quaranta was called up to the U.S. Men&rsquo;s National Team for both Gold Cup and World Cup qualifying competitions. In all, the Baltimore, MD native made eight appearances for the U.S. Men, primarily on the right side of midfield. He saw time in four games during the team&rsquo;s Gold Cup championship run and has seen the field in four World Cup qualifiers, including the last 10 minutes of the World Cup-clinching 2-0 win over Mexico. Quaranta tallied one assist.</p>
<p><strong>2001:</strong> Quaranta appeared in 32 matches (29 starts) for the U.S. U-17&rsquo;s. He started in 11 of the 12 full international matches, registering two goals and seven assists. Overall, Quaranta led the team in assists (11) and was second in goals scored (17). He tallied two goals in the CONCACAF qualifying tournament in April, leading the U.S. to a 3-0 first place finish. He started in two of the three matches at the U-17 World Championship in Trinidad &amp; Tobago.</p>
<p><strong>2000:</strong> Quaranta was one of 20 players to train with the United States Under-17 National Team at the full-time residency program in Bradenton, Florida. He appeared in 51 matches (45 starts) for the U-17&rsquo;s during the year. Quaranta was a member of the team&#39;s starting 11 in each of its 12 full international matches, scoring six times and recording three assists. For the year, he was the team&#39;s assist leader (22) and second leading goal-scorer (23). At the Mundialito of Salerno Tournament in Italy (featuring Argentina, Italy, France, Brazil, and Germany), Quaranta captured the Golden Boot Award as the tournament&#39;s top goal-scorer, as he notched three goals in three games. His performance in Salerno was part of a five-game stretch that saw him register eight goals, including a pair of consecutive two-goal games against the U-18 Irvine Strikers and a hat trick versus the U-18 California South Select.</p>
<h3>
    Honors</h3>
<ul>
    <li>
        MLS All Star: 2001</li>
    <li>
        MLS Cup champion: 2004</li>
    <li>
        U.S. Open Cup champion: 2008</li>
</ul>
<h3>
    Acquired</h3>
<p>Re-signed with D.C. United on 3/6/08.</p>