Jonathan Bornstein

Jonathan Bornstein
Bornstein with Chivas USA in 2010
Personal information
Full name Jonathan Rey Bornstein
Date of birth (1984-11-07) November 7, 1984 (age 39)
Place of birth Torrance, California, United States
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1]
Position(s) Left-back
Team information
Current team
 Vida
Number 3
Youth career
1998–2002 Irvine Strikers
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2003 Cal Poly Pomona Broncos 36 (17)
2004–2005 UCLA Bruins 40 (6)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2010 Chivas USA 123 (9)
2011–2015 Tigres UANL 9 (0)
2014 → Atlante (loan) 3 (0)
2014–2015 → Querétaro (loan) 13 (1)
2015–2018 Querétaro 81 (2)
2018–2019 Maccabi Netanya 25 (1)
2019–2022 Chicago Fire 83 (2)
2023– Vida 20 (0)
International career‡
2007–2011 United States 38 (2)
Medal record
Representing  United States
FIFA Confederations Cup
Runner-up 2009 South Africa Team
CONCACAF Gold Cup
Winner CONCACAF Gold Cup 2007
Runner-up CONCACAF Gold Cup 2011
Men's Soccer
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16 September 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16 September 2023

Jonathan Rey Bornstein (born November 7, 1984) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a left-back for Liga Nacional club Vida. He has captained and made 38 appearances for the United States national team. In addition to also playing for Chivas USA in Major League Soccer (with whom he was the 2006 MLS Rookie of the Year, an MLS Best XI, and a two-time MLS All-Star), he has played in Liga MX and in the Israeli Premier League. He won a silver medal with Team USA at the 2005 Maccabiah Games, in Israel.

Youth and college

Bornstein attended Los Alamitos High School, where he played soccer for all four years.[2] He was MVP of the Sunset League, first-team all-county, and All-California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), and led the soccer team to a CIF Championship.[3] He also played club soccer for Long Beach United, Beach Soccer Club, and the Irvine Strikers club team coached by Don Ebert. He won the Golden Boot Award as he led the Strikers to the US Youth Soccer 2002 Under-17 National Championship.[3][2][4]

He started his college soccer career at Cal Poly Pomona[5] and played there for the Cal Poly Pomona Broncos for two years. In 2002, Bornstein was California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Freshman of the Year, first-team All-CCAA, and second-team All-Far West Region, as he led the team in scoring.[3] In 2003, he was again first-team All-CCAA and second-team All-Far West Region, and was selected to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America College Division District VIII team with a 3.30 GPA in Business Administration, as he led Cal Poly in all scoring categories.[3] He finished his career at Cal Poly Pomona ranked second in career assists (19), third in career points (53), and fifth in career goals (19).[3]

He then transferred to UCLA for the 2004 season as a sociology major.[3] In 2004, Bornstein played in all of the UCLA's 20 games, with nine starts.[3] In 2005, he started all 20 games and was named second-team All-Pac-10.[3]

Bornstein was a teammate of Benny Feilhaber at the youth (with the Irvine Strikers), college (at UCLA, where they were roommates), and national-team level, and at the Maccabiah Games in Israel.[2] Feilhaber said he and Bornstein "definitely had a special connection" because of their religion from the beginning of their friendship.[2]

Club career

Chivas USA

Bornstein was selected by Chivas USA in the fourth round (37th overall) of the 2006 MLS SuperDraft.[6] A forward in college, he was converted to a left back by Chivas coach Bob Bradley, and was his team's surprising starter at the position when the season opened.[7] Injuries and suspensions forced Bornstein back into an attacking role for Chivas USA's June 3 match against FC Dallas, where the rookie scored his first MLS goal. He continued his fine play in the back and also contributed to the attack during the rest of the season, finishing the year with four assists and six goals, leading all rookies. He started every game in the season, and his total of 2,878 minutes played was third-highest in the league.[8] He was rewarded for his fine form by winning the 2006 MLS Rookie of the Year Award.[6]

In 2007, he was an MLS All-Star, and named to the MLS Best XI as one of the best 11 players in Major League Soccer.[6] In 2008, Bornstein suffered a knee injury that affected him throughout the spring. When he came back, Chivas coach Preki began to employ him in an attacking capacity, which Bornstein trained for in his youth.[9] He repeated as an MLS All-Star in 2008.[6]

In summer 2008, Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv was reportedly interested in Bornstein.[10] News stories claimed that the offer involved a transfer fee of $750,000 and would increase the player's salary five-fold to around $500,000 a season. Bornstein was apparently unenthusiastic, fearing that such a move could cost him his place in the U.S. national team.

In 2009, he was the Chivas USA Defender of the Year (2009) and captain.[6][11] In five seasons with Chivas USA (2006–10), Bornstein made 123 regular season appearances (117 starts).[6]

Swiss Second Division

Bornstein Recently Joined AC Bellinzona He Will Play Against FC Vaduz For Debut He Is Swiss-American-Israeli-Mexican He Is Excited To Play In Switzerland

Liga MX

Bornstein spent the next eight seasons in Mexico's first division, Liga MX.[6] He first played for Tigres de la UANL (2010–14).[6] In July 2010, it was announced by Chivas USA that Bornstein would join Tigres de la UANL in January 2011, following the conclusion of the 2010 Major League Soccer season.[12][13]

Bornstein was selected by Portland Timbers in the 2010 MLS Expansion Draft. In doing so, Portland retained his MLS rights should he ever return to the league.[14] On February 13, 2013, Portland traded Bornstein's MLS rights back to Chivas USA with allocation money for midfielder Ben Zemanski.[15]

Bornstein was transfer listed by Tigres on November 19, 2012.[16]

He played for Atlante F.C. (2013–14) and Querétaro F.C. (2014–18).[6] On May 24, 2015, Bornstein scored the goal that sent Querétaro F.C. to their first-ever Liga MX final. Then, on June 10, 2015, it was announced that Bornstain had signed for Querétaro on a permanent basis.[17]

While playing in Mexico, he made 128 appearances and won the 2011–12 Liga MX championship, as well as the 2016–17 Copa MX and 2017 Supercopa MX titles.[6]

Maccabi Netanya

In 2018, Bornstein signed with Maccabi Netanya of the Israeli Premier League ahead of the 2018–19 League campaign.[6] Playing for Maccabi Netanya in Netanya, Israel in 2018–19, he became an Israeli citizen due to his Jewish lineage.[18] During his time with the club, Bornstein made 36 appearances with 35 starts, totaling 3,163 minutes across all competitions.[6]

Chicago Fire

The Chicago Fire of MLS acquired him from Maccabi Netanya on July 22, 2019.[6] The team signed Bornstein to a contract through 2020, with a 2021 club option that the team exercised in July 2020.[19][20] In 2019, he played in 11 starts in his first season with the Fire.[6] Bornstein left Chicago at the end of the 2022 season.[21]

International career

Bornstein has made 38 appearances for the United States national soccer team.[22] He got his first cap, and scored his first goal on an assist from Justin Mapp, for the U.S. national team on January 20, 2007 against Denmark.[6] As 2007 continued, Bornstein became the first choice left back for Bob Bradley. He played for the U.S. in Copa América 2007.[6] He received his first World Cup Qualifying appearance in a start against Guatemala in the semifinal round of World Cup Qualifying. In 2007, he helped the USMNT win the CONCACAF Gold Cup, making five starts during the tournament.[6] He featured in the Concacaf Gold Cup (2007, 2011).[6]

In 2008, Bornstein lost his starting place to Heath Pearce and also struggled with injuries. He started the group stage matches at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, but was relegated back to the bench when Carlos Bocanegra returned from injury.[23]

After the Confederations Cup, Bornstein eventually replaced Pearce as first-choice again and remained so for the rest of the qualifiers. He scored the equalizing goal in the United States' final World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica in the fifth minute of injury time. The goal meant that Honduras, when combined with their win over El Salvador, a game in which Bornstein captained the US side, qualified automatically for the 2010 World Cup.[24][25] That goal resulted in Bornstein having a level of celebrity in Honduras; he was invited to Honduras by the President of the country and he received letters of thanks for years afterwards.[26][27]

After sitting out the first two group-stage games for the United States in the 2010 World Cup, Bornstein started at left back against Algeria in the final group game and against Ghana in the round of 16.

Bornstein was never recalled to the squad by Bradley's successor, Jürgen Klinsmann, by Klinsmann's successor, Bruce Arena, or by Arena's successor, interim manager Dave Sarachan.

Maccabiah Games

Bornstein played in the 2005 Maccabiah Games, in Israel, representing the U.S. along with Benny Feilhaber, Kevin Friedland, Matt Reiswerg, and Leo Krupnik, winning a silver medal.[28][29] He scored two goals in the team's quarterfinal win over South Africa.[3] Because of his Jewish lineage, he had an opportunity to play in Israel and not count as a foreign player.[30]

Personal life

Bornstein was born in Torrance, California, and later lived in Los Alamitos, California.[31] His father is Jeff Bornstein, who is Jewish and was born in Torrance into an Orthodox family, and worked for Hostess until his death in 2014.[3][32][2] His mother is from Mexico, and is not Jewish.[7] Bornstein's parents divorced when he was three years old, and he lived with his father.[27] His step-mother, Rochelle Bornstein, works as a deli supervisor and cashier at a grocery store in Long Beach, California.[2][33][32][34][35][36][29][37] His father's family were Romanian Jews.[24] Bornstein grew up observing Rosh Hashanah and Passover with relatives, and said of his experience representing the U.S. in the 2005 Maccabiah Games reinforcing his Jewish identity: "I was able to explore my Jewish identity in the Old City, at Masada, at the Dead Sea."[7][2] In 2006 he said: "in the past couple years, I’ve felt more Jewish than ever."[7] He found faith in Christianity when he met his wife, and was baptized, while in Mexico.[18] He told ESPN, "Just experiencing both cultures, sometimes I felt like I didn't know where I belonged. It's still a soul-searching kind of thing, trying to figure out exactly where you come from or which heritage you relate to. I still kind of feel lost even to this day, but it's something that I just deal with, and it makes me a stronger person having both of those heritages."[38]

His brother Andrew played soccer at Cal Poly Pomona, and is now a marketing director.[3][32] He has a third brother, Taylor.[32] His wife, Juliana, is from Brazil, and he has two daughters.[39]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played October 1, 2022[40]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Chivas USA 2006 Major League Soccer 32 6 — — 2[a] 0 34 6
2007 23 1 — — 2[a] 0 25 1
2008 21 2 — 2[b] 0 2[a] 0 25 2
2009 26 0 — — 2[a] 0 28 0
2010 21 0 1 0 2[c] 0 — 24 0
Total 123 9 1 0 4 0 8 0 136 9
Tigres UANL 2010–11 Liga MX 7 0 — — — 7 0
2011–12 0 0 — — — 0 0
2012–13 2 0 — 4[d] 0 — 6 0
2013–14 0 0 7 0 — — 7 0
Total 9 0 7 0 4 0 — 20 0
Atlante (loan) 2013–14 Liga MX 3 0 3 0 — — 6 0
Querétaro (loan) 2014–15 13 1 5 0 — — 18 1
Querétaro 2015–16 27 0 — 5[b] 0 — 32 0
2016–17 27 1 7 0 — — 34 1
2017–18 14 0 8 0 — — 22 0
Total 81 2 20 0 5 0 — 106 2
Maccabi Netanya 2018–19 Israeli Premier League 25 1 6 0 — 5[e] 0 36 1
Chicago Fire 2019 Major League Soccer 11 0 — — — 11 0
2020 20 1 — — — 20 1
2021 30 0 — — — 30 0
2022 22 1 — — — 22 1
Total 83 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 83 2
Career total 324 14 37 0 13 0 13 0 387 14
  1. ^ a b c d Appearance(s) in MLS Cup Playoffs
  2. ^ a b Appearance(s) in CONCACAF Champions League
  3. ^ Appearance(s) in North American SuperLiga
  4. ^ Two appearances in CONCACAF Champions League and two appearances in Copa Libertadores
  5. ^ Appearance(s) in Toto Cup

International

As of November 24, 2011
National team Year Apps Goals
United States
2007 12 1
2008 1 0
2009 13 1
2010 10 0
2011 2 0
Total 38 2

International goals

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
01. January 20, 2007 Home Depot Center, Carson, United States  Denmark 2 – 1 3–1 Friendly
02. October 14, 2009 RFK Stadium, Washington, United States  Costa Rica 2 – 2 2–2 2010 World Cup qualifier

Honors

UANL

Querétaro

United States

Individual

See also

References

  1. ^ "Jonathan Bornstein". Chicago Fire FC. Archived from the original on August 22, 2022. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Tribal Members Jonathan Bornstein, Benny Feilhaber, and Jonathan Spector Play for Team USA in World Cup". Israel Jewish News. June 18, 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Player Bio: Jonathan Bornstein". UCLA. April 17, 2013.
  4. ^ "California dominates youth soccer finals". Scout Football. July 28, 2002.
  5. ^ "Jonathan Bornstein". Chivas USA. Archived from the original on September 10, 2008. Retrieved September 11, 2008.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Jonathan Bornstein". Chicago Fire FC. Archived from the original on October 12, 2022. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  7. ^ a b c d Carin Davis (October 12, 2006). "Pro soccer rookie Bornstein gives small goals a big kick". Jewish Journal.
  8. ^ "Chivas USA claims two MLS awards". UPI. November 2, 2006.
  9. ^ Connoly, Matt (June 21, 2008). "Give & Go: Chivas USA's Jonathan Bornstein". Goal.com. Retrieved June 23, 2008.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ לי בוץ (August 8, 2019). "מבוי סתום למכבי בגזרת המגן השמאלי". Ynet. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  11. ^ Zac Lee Rigg (July 20, 2010). "Chivas USA Captain Jonathan Bornstein To Join Tigres After MLS Season". Goal.com.
  12. ^ "Bornstein to join Mexican club Tigres after 2010 season". SBI. July 19, 2010.
  13. ^ "Bornstein to join Tigres UANL after finishing the 2010 season with Chivas USA". CDChivasUSA.com. July 19, 2010. Retrieved July 19, 2010.[permanent dead link]
  14. ^ Jeremiah Oshan (November 24, 2010). "MLS Expansion Draft, Analysis: Whitecaps Showed Greater Willingness To Spend". SBNation.com. Retrieved January 6, 2011.
  15. ^ "Chivas USA trades midfielder Ben Zemanski". cdchivasusa.com. Chivas USA. February 13, 2013. Archived from the original on February 15, 2013. Retrieved February 14, 2013.
  16. ^ Tom Marshall (November 19, 2012). "American Exports: Tigres list Bornstein for transfer again". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. Archived from the original on November 21, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
  17. ^ CLUB TIGRES OFICIAL [@TigresOficial] (June 10, 2015). "#OFICIAL @JonnyBornstein pasa en compra definitiva al @Club_Queretaro" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  18. ^ a b Charles Boehm (June 28, 2020). "Veteran Chicago Fire FC defender Jonathan Bornstein's long and winding road back to MLS". MLS Soccer.
  19. ^ "Chicago Fire acquire 34-year-old defender Jonathan Bornstein". Daily Herald. July 22, 2019.
  20. ^ Tom Bogert (July 28, 2020). "Chicago Fire FC exercise 2021 contract option of former USMNT defender Jonathan Bornstein". MLSsoccer.com.
  21. ^ "Chicago Fire FC Announces 2022 Roster Decisions | Chicago Fire FC". chicagofirefc.
  22. ^ Tom Bogert (July 22, 2019). "Chicago Fire add former US international defender Jonathan Bornstein". MLSsoccer.com.
  23. ^ "U.S. National Team Upsets Top-Ranked Spain, 2–0; Trio of Bruins help U.S. advance to FIFA Confederations Cup final". UCLA Bruins. June 24, 2009. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011.
  24. ^ a b "Interview: USA World Cup star Jonathan Bornstein," The Jewish Chronicle, June 10, 2010.
  25. ^ "Bornstein: Honduras' new hero". Yanks Abroad. October 28, 2009. Archived from the original on November 14, 2009. Retrieved January 6, 2011.{cite web}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  26. ^ Ryan Thies (May 13, 2010). "Soccer: SoCal's Jonathan Bornstein Going International". Long Beach Post Sports.
  27. ^ a b Clemente Lisi (January 30, 2017). "Q&A with Jonathan Bornstein". US Soccer Players. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  28. ^ "Kirshner's U.S. Squad Wins Three Straight at 17th Maccabiah Games". SDSU Athletics. July 18, 2005.
  29. ^ a b Kaplan, Ron (2015). The Jewish Olympics: The History of the Maccabiah Games. Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 9781632208552 – via Google Books.
  30. ^ Brian Sciaretta (June 12, 2018). "ASN: After seven years in Mexico Bornstein heads to Israel with ambitious goals". americansoccernow.com.
  31. ^ Nick Green (October 18, 2010). "Chivas USA's Bornstein gets one final home game". Daily News.
  32. ^ a b c d Alexandra Baird (June 24, 2010). "Los Alamitos family looking forward to seeing son, brother in World Cup". Long Beach Press Telegram.
  33. ^ "Cheering on the home team". Orange County Register. February 8, 2007.
  34. ^ "Who knew? 10 Jews and the World Cup". The Jewish Chronicle. June 12, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  35. ^ "World Cup / Meet America's Jewish players". Haaretz.
  36. ^ Wechsler, Bob (2008). Day by Day in Jewish Sports History. KTAV Publishing House, Inc. ISBN 9780881259698 – via Google Books.
  37. ^ Seth Rogovoy (June 13, 2018). "The Secret Jewish History Of The World Cup". The Forward.
  38. ^ Carlisle, Jeff. "Bornstein fashions a new identity". ESPN Soccernet. Archived from the original on April 5, 2011. Retrieved June 23, 2008.
  39. ^ Sandalow, Brian (July 27, 2019). "Jonathan Bornstein ready for new challenge with Fire". Chicago Sun-Times.
  40. ^ Jonathan Bornstein at Soccerway. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  41. ^ "JONATHAN BORNSTEIN; Soccer – 2008". Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on January 28, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2020.

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by Chivas USA captain
2010
Served alongside: Sacha Kljestan 		Succeeded by