Eric Lichaj

U.S. National Team: MNT
Position: Defender
Date Of Birth: Nov. 17, 1988
Height: 5-11
Weight: 175
Hometown: Downers Grove, Ill.
Club: Aston Villa (English Premier League)

Sturdy and solid in one-on-one defending, Lichaj is returning to the international scene after representing the United States at the youth levels. A former member of the U-17 Residency Program, he left the University of North Carolina after one season to pursue a professional career at Aston Villa. After loan spells in lower division football, he finally got a crack at the first team in 2010, but a hip injury has kept him from enjoying regular playing time in 2011.

Played 90 minutes in four of the U.S.’s six games in the CONCACAF Gold Cup
Got his first start and went 90 minutes in the 1-0 win on Nov. 17, 2010, against South Africa in the Nelson Mandela Challenge
A former member of the U-17 Residency Program in Bradenton, he helped the U.S. qualify for the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Cup
After one year of collegiate soccer at North Carolina, he signed with Aston Villa in 2006

U.S. Nat’l Team
Professional
Personal

2011: Was a member of the U.S. roster for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, playing the full 90 minutes in the last four games of the competition … 2010: Debuted on Oct. 12 against Colombia, playing the final 45 minutes … Got his first start and went 90 minutes in the 1-0 win on Nov. 17 against South Africa in the Nelson Mandela Challenge, which he described as the best moment of his young career … Under-20s: Named to the roster for 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada but missed out due to injury … Appeared in two international matches in 2006 … Under-17s – 2005: Second on the team in appearances and starts, beginning all 14 of the matches he’s played this year … Started and played all 90 minutes to help the U.S. obtain their first shutout of the year in a 4-0 victory over Haiti on April 3 … Recorded one assist … 2004: Third on the team in appearances with 41 and second on the team with 40 starts … Snagged one assist … Led the team in international appearances with 20, starting 19 … 2003: Joined U.S. Soccer’s Residency Program in September … One of the most consistent players with the U-17s, had more than 70 caps during his time in Residency … Started 13 out of the 16 appearances he made … Played and started both of the team’s international matches on the year against Brazil and Argentina, playing a total of 135 minutes … Notched one assist … First Appearance: Oct. 12, 2010, vs. Colombia … First Goal: None

2011: Returned to Aston Villa and played the full 90 minutes in the Carling Cup win against Hereford on Aug. 24, scoring the game-winning goal … Suffered a hip socket tear shortly afterward and did not feature in any other games in 2011 … 2010-11: Went on loan to Leeds United in February for the rest of the season … Made his EPL debut on Dec. 11 against West Brom … Started the next two league matches, on Dec. 26 against Tottenham and Dec. 28 against Manchester City … Made his competitive debut for Villa on Aug. 19 in a 1–1 draw in a Europa League qualifying match away to Rapid Vienna … Signed a contract extension in the summer through 2013 … 2009-10: Played six matches on loan to League Two side Lincoln City, getting six starts … Finished 2009-10 season on loan to Leyton Orient in the English League One, making nine appearances … Scored on April 17 in 2-0 against Stockport County … 2007-08: Signed with Aston Villa, spending his first two years in the reserves.

High School / Club – Played with U.S. Soccer Development Academy club Chicago Magic from 2000-03 as a forward before moving to a defender with the Illinois State Team and Region II … Was named the 2003 Y-League MVP … Never went to high school in Illinois.

Personal – Parents are Stan and Ann Lichaj, both originally from Nowy Targ, Poland … Favorite sport besides soccer is professional tennis … Has a massive DVD collection of more than 500 movies … Names Walter Payton and Peter Nowak as his childhood idols.