Jon Busch

Personal information
Full name	Jon Busch
Date of birth	August 18, 1976 (1976-08-18) (age 33)
Place of birth	Queens, New York, United States
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	Chicago Fire
Number	1
Youth career
1994–1996	Charlotte 49ers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1997	Worcester Wildfire
1997	Carolina Dynamo	2	(0)
1998–2000	Hampton Roads Mariners	64	(0)
2001	Hershey Wildcats	27	(0)
2002–2006	Columbus Crew	84	(0)
2007–	Chicago Fire	60	(0)
National team‡
2005–	United States	1	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 26 October, 2009. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 26 March, 2009

Jon Busch (born August 18, 1976 in Queens, New York) is an American soccer player who currently plays for Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer.

[edit] Career

[edit] Youth and College

Busch played at Guilderland High School in Guilderland, New York, near Albany, where he was named a high school All-American. He was ranked within the top 25 best players in the nation as a senior.

In college, Busch was a NSCAA First Team All-American in 1996, when he help lead UNC Charlotte to their first ever appearance in the College Cup and a school-record 19 wins. That season remains the only College Cup (Final Four) appearance in school history. He recorded a career-high 12 shutouts that season, including two in the NCAA Tournament and a career-low 0.89 goals against average (GAA) en route to being named Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year. Overall he was a First Team All-Conference selection three times and was named to Soccer America’s First Team Freshman All-America team in 1994. In total, Busch spent 3 seasons with UNC Charlotte.

[edit] Professional

Busch was undrafted out of college and spent a number of years in the United Soccer Leagues. He was drafted in 1997 by Nashville Metros with the 2nd Overall pick in the A-League draft, but opted to split his first year with Worcester Wildfire and Carolina Dynamo. Busch then moved on to Hampton Roads Mariners, where he spent 3 seasons. He was named the team MVP in his second season. His breakout season came in 2001 with the Hershey Wildcats. He won 14 games and posted 13 shutouts while leading the team to the A-League National Championship match. Busch was named the A-League Goalkeeper of the Year and was selected the Division II circuit's first-team All-League keeper.

Major League Soccer took note of his USL play and it resulted in Busch being drafted by Columbus Crew with the 23rd overall pick of the 2002 MLS SuperDraft. Busch did not become a starter for the Crew immediately, sharing the duties in his first MLS season with incumbent Tom Presthus. He became a starter by 2003, but did not do too well as Columbus floundered in the standings. In contrast, both the Crew and Busch had terrific 2004 regular seasons, as the team, led by Busch's goaltending, embarked on a league-record 18-game undefeated streak. Busch was a finalist for the 2004 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Award for his performance, and his impact on the team's season was cited as the third-highest impact of any MLS player on any MLS team in the history of the league by MLSnet writer Jeff Bradley.^[1] In 2005, he was sidelined by a knee injury for most of the season, leading the Crew to acquire Jonny Walker. The Crew's goalkeeping injury woes intensified in 2006, as Busch was one of several injured keepers on the team roster, managing only 8 games. He was waived prior to the 2007 season and found himself the only player picked in the 2007 MLS Waiver Draft, selected by Toronto FC. On March 21 of the same year, he was waived by Toronto, as the team found itself over the limit for senior international roster spots. He was subsequently picked up by the Fire. Busch was to serve primarily as a backup keeper in 2007 and only made it into three matches all season. However with the departure of starter Matt Pickens to Queens Park Rangers of England's second-tier Football League Championship, Busch ultimately inherited the starter's role with the Fire to start the 2008 season.

To date, Busch has led a revival for the Fire and is considered a strong candidate for both comeback player of the year and MVP.

On October 27, 2008, Busch was named Fire MVP for the 2008 season. Busch was the only Fire player to start and play 90 minutes in every MLS match during the regular season (2700 minutes). Busch posted the best saves percentage in the league (78.2) after making 122 saves on 156 shots faced. Busch tied for most shutouts in the league (10), while also tying a Fire single season shutout record shared with Matt Pickens for his 10 shutouts in 2007.

On November 4, 2008, Busch was named the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, beating competition from the likes of Matt Reis and Joe Cannon.

[edit] International

Busch earned his first, and only, cap for the United States on 9 March 2005. He shut out Colombia in a friendly, but despite the performance was not called back into the squad.

He has also represented the U.S. at the U-17 and U-20 levels, as well as having played in the 1993 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Japan.

[edit] Personal

Busch is the son of Madeline and Robert Busch. Robert Busch is Lutheran pastor. Jon Busch was married to Nicole Blair on 11 December 2004. He has obtained his "B" coaching license in January 2003.

[edit] Honors

[edit] Individual

• MLS Goalkeeper of the Year: 2008
• MLS Best XI: 2008

[edit] See also

• List of current MLS players

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Jon Busch FIFA competition record
• MLS player profile

v • d • e United States squad – 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup Runners-Up 1 Perkins • 2 Pearce • 3 Goodson • 4 Marshall • 5 Beckerman • 6 Cherundolo • 7 Rogers • 8 Pause • 9 Davies • 10 Holden • 11 Ching • 12 Conrad • 13 Clark • 14 Parkhurst • 15 Cronin • 16 Heaps • 17 Cooper • 18 Robles • 19 Adu • 20 Quaranta • 21 Evans • 22 Arnaud • 23 Busch • Coach: Bradley