Danny Califf

Personal information
Full name	Daniel Benjamin Califf
Date of birth	March 17, 1980 (1980-03-17) (age 29)
Place of birth	Montclair, California, United States
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current club	Midtjylland
Number	4
Youth career
1998–2000	Maryland Terrapins
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps (Gls)†
2000–2004	Los Angeles Galaxy	103 (5)
2005	San Jose Earthquakes	020 (2)
2006–2008	Aalborg	059 (1)
2008–	Midtjylland	025 (1)
National team‡
2002–	United States	023 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 April, 2009. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 28 June, 2009

Daniel Benjamin "Danny" Califf (born March 17, 1980 in Montclair, California) is an American football (soccer) player who currently plays for Midtjylland in the Danish Superliga.

[edit] Career

[edit] Youth and College

Califf (pronounced kāl'ĭ-f) started his youth career in soccer for Canyon Hills Soccer Association, playing on the Canyon Classic team coached by his father. He played college soccer at the University of Maryland from 1998 to 2000. As a freshman, he started all 24 of the team's games, and was named to the Soccer America All-Freshman team for helping to lead the Terrapins to the Final Four. As a sophomore, he started 20 games, and was named an NSCAA third-team All-American.

[edit] Professional

After his sophomore season, Califf signed a Project-40 contract with MLS and entered the 2000 MLS SuperDraft, where he was selected sixth overall by the Los Angeles Galaxy. Califf was immediately slotted into the Galaxy's starting line up, appearing in 18 games, 16 of them starts, as a rookie. Over the next three years, Califf would establish himself as one of the best central defenders in the league, starting 69 games for the Galaxy while helping the team to win a U.S. Open Cup in 2001 and a MLS Cup in 2002. Califf struggled with injuries in 2004, and was able to make only 10 starts, playing 855 minutes.

Califf was traded to the San Jose Earthquakes for an allocation prior to the 2005 season. He then regained his old form and even improved, being named to the MLS Best XI for the first time. Califf has scored seven league goals and four assists in six years in MLS. He left the Quakes after just one season to sign with Aalborg in the Danish Superliga. In his first full season at Aalborg, Califf played 30 of 33 games, and helped the team win bronze medals in the 2006-07 Superliga season. Califf scored his first Aalborg goal on the last match day of the season, as bronze medal contenders Odense BK were defeated 3-1. After the season, during AaB's Intertoto Cup campaign, Califf was named club captain. In the 2007-08 Superliga season he helped Aalborg to a gold medal but after the season he couldn't agree with Aalborg on a new contract. He eventually signed with Danish Superliga rivals Midtjylland.

[edit] International

Califf has played for the United States national team at every level from the U-17's to the senior team. He has appeared in the 1997 FIFA U-17 World Championship, the 1999 World Youth Championship, and the 2000 Olympic team. Additionally, he has appeared in 20 games for the full national team, getting his first cap against South Korea on January 19, 2002.

Califf played in the 2003 Confederations Cup, the 2002 and 2003 Gold Cups and the 2007 Copa America. Califf scored his only international goal against Haiti on March 16, 2004. He served as captain for the team on July 5, 2007, when the United States lost 1-0 to Colombia during their final group game in Venezuela (2007 Copa America).

[edit] International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	16 March 2004	Miami, Florida	Haiti	0-1	1-1	Friendly match

[edit] Honors

[edit] United States

• CONCACAF Gold Cup (2): 2002, 2005

[edit] Aalborg

• Danish Superliga (1): 2007-08

[edit] Los Angeles Galaxy

• CONCACAF Champions League (1): 2000
• MLS Cup (1): 2002
• MLS Supporters' Shield (1): 2002
• Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (1): 2001

[edit] Individual

• MLS Best XI: 2005

[edit] External links

• FC Midtjylland profile
• (Danish) AaB profile
• Career stats at Danmarks Radio
• DannyCaliff.com

Danny Califf international tournaments v • d • e United States squad – 2000 Summer Olympics 1 Friedel • 2 Dunseth • 3 McCarty • 4 Agoos • 5 O'Brien • 6 Hejduk • 7 DiGiamarino • 8 Califf • 9 Olsen • 10 Vagenas • 11 Albright • 12 Corrales • 13 Donovan • 14 Victorine • 15 Whitfield • 16 Wolff • 17 Casey • 18 Howard • Coach: Charles v • d • e United States squad – 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup 1 Cannon • 2 Hejduk • 3 Berhalter • 4 Mastroeni • 5 Vanney • 6 Cherundolo • 7 Lewis • 8 Stewart • 9 Kirovski • 10 Donovan • 11 Mathis • 12 Bocanegra • 13 Martino • 14 Armas • 15 Convey • 16 Califf • 17 Beasley • 18 Howard • 19 Hahnemann • 20 Twellman • 21 Cunningham • 22 Klein • 23 Gibbs • Coach: Arena v • d • e United States squad – 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup Third Place 2 Hejduk • 3 Vanney • 4 Bocanegra • 6 Gibbs • 7 Lewis • 8 Stewart • 10 Reyna • 11 Mathis • 12 Califf • 13 Mulrooney • 15 Convey • 17 Beasley • 18 Keller • 19 Ralston • 20 McBride • 21 Donovan • 24 Brown • 25 Mastroeni • Coach: Arena v • d • e United States squad – 2007 Copa América 1 Howard • 2 Wynne • 3 DeMerit • 4 Boswell • 5 Feilhaber • 6 Pearce • 7 Califf • 8 Gomez • 9 Johnson • 10 Davies • 11 Gaven • 12 Conrad • 13 Bornstein • 14 Olsen • 15 Moor • 16 Kljestan • 17 Beckerman • 18 Keller • 19 Clark • 20 Twellman • 21 Mapp • 23 Guzan • 25 Nguyen • Coach: Bradley v • d • e United States squad – 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup Runners-Up 1 Howard • 2 Bornstein • 3 Bocanegra • 4 Casey • 5 Onyewu • 6 Pearce • 7 Beasley • 8 Dempsey • 9 Davies • 10 Donovan • 11 Wynne • 12 M. Bradley • 13 Clark • 14 Califf • 15 DeMerit • 16 Kljestan • 17 Altidore • 18 Guzan • 19 Adu • 20 Torres • 21 Spector • 22 Feilhaber • 23 Robles • Coach: B. Bradley