Atlanta United Technical Director Carlos Bocanegra is a nominee for the National Soccer Hall of Fame Class of 2018. The list of nominees was announced Monday.
Bocanegra is in his first year of eligibility. He is a former United States Men’s National Team captain. The defender played in leagues in both the United States and Europe during his career.
According to his bio provided by the Hall of Fame, Bocanegra played 110 full internationals for the United States between 2001 and 2012, including six games at the 2006 and 2010 World Cups. He was the regular captain of the USMNT from 2007-12, including the team that reached the second round of the 2010 World Cup, the team that reached the final of the 2009 Confederations Cup and the team that won the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup. His national team record also included 31 World Cup qualifiers from 2004-12.
Bocanegra played six seasons in MLS between 2000 and 2014, the first four of those with the Chicago Fire and the last two with Chivas. He was the MLS Rookie of the Year and a two-time MLS Defender of the Year.
In between his two MLS stints, he played five seasons in the English Premier League, three seasons in the French first division, one season in the Scottish Premier League and one season in the Spanish second division.
Bocanegra is one of 32 on the players’ ballot, nine as first-time nominees.
Voting will run from March 12-26 with the results to be announced at a later date.
The grand opening of the National Soccer Hall of Fame will be Oct. 20-21 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. The induction ceremony will be Oct. 20 as part of the weekend.
