Maurice Edu
- DOB April 18, 1986
- Age 38
- Place of birth Fontana, California
- POSITION Midfielder
- HEIGHT 6'0"
- WEIGHT 170
- U.S. CAPS 46
- CLUB Philadelphia Union
- TWITTER @mauriceedu (584K followers)
- Youth Experience U-23
The top pick in the 2007 MLS draft, Edu jumped to Scottish power Rangers after a strong showing with the U.S. Olympic team in 2008 and by 2009 he was a regular with the U.S. senior team and a starter in central midfield at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
But when Rangers financial struggles saw it relegated to the bowels of Scottish football Edu joined the mass exodus and appeared to have landed in a good spot when he joined Stoke, a mid-table English Premiership team where consistent playing time seemed a realistic goal.
But the playing time never came – a knee injury didn’t help – and after only one appearance for Stoke and a half-season loan in Turkey, he returned to MLS in 2014 when he joined the Philadelphia Union on another loan.
The injury and inactivity stalled his national team career as he went from a regular to only playing three times, with one start, for the U.S. in 2013 and only one sub appearance in 2014 before Jurgen Klinsmann made him one of the final cuts from the squad that went to Brazil.
Edu is playing regularly for the Union, both at defensive midfield and center back and he’ll only be 32 in 2018 so a return to the national team isn’t out of the question… provided he continues to choose a club team he can actually play for. – BROOKE TUNSTALL
Noteworthy Reads
http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/rangers/103095-maurice-edu-international-duty-is-a-welcome-escape-from-rangers-worries/http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/1679/us-national-team/2012/05/26/3129768/maurice-edu-happy-with-showing-of-usa-midfield-trio
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/football/spl/rangers/2011/11/20/rangers-midfielder-maurice-edu-wades-into-sepp-blatter-race-row-86908-23575983/
http://americansoccernow.com/articles/maurice-edu-sees-big-opportunity-in-mls-return