UCLA sophomore midfielder Benny Feilhaber officially ended his
collegiate career Saturday when he signed with the German
professional soccer team Hamburger SV. Feilhaber, originally out of
Irvine, captured the European soccer community’s imagination
during the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championships in Holland in late
June, and at least three soccer clubs expressed interest, including
Ajax and PSV Eindhoven. Feilhaber’s departure from the Bruins
comes as quite a surprise after the midfielder was unsure whether
he would even try out for the Under-20 U.S. team in late November.
“I was just happy leading our team to the third round of the
NCAA college cup,” Feilhaber told Ussoccer.com. “I
hadn’t even really considered trying out for the national
team.” After Feilhaber’s U.S. team reached the final 16
of the championship and surprisingly defeated the
tournament’s “Group of Death,” which included
Argentina, Germany and Egypt, Feilhaber was a hot commodity among
European soccer circles. But Feilhaber’s departure
wasn’t expected to come this soon. Feilhaber was born in
Brazil and moved to the United States when he was 6 years old. He
played for Northwood High School and walked onto the UCLA soccer
team in September 2003. He was expected to replace veteran
midfielder Mike Enfield, who graduated this spring, and moved into
the starting lineup permanently for the first time in his career.
But now, without Feilhaber on the roster, the Bruins are left with
five midfielders, only three of which have extended playing
experience. Feilhaber had 10 shots and two goals last year, both of
which were game winners.
BRUINS NAMED TO U.S. TEAM: Sophomore Greg Folk and freshmen
Jason Leopoldo and Sal Zizzo were selected to the U.S. Under-18
National Team for the 2005 Milk Cup. The tournament will take place
from August 1-5 in Northern Ireland. The U.S. team will take on
Brazil in its opening match. The three underclassmen also played
together at the Under-18 Lisbon International Tournament in
June.