It didn't get any publicity since the rest of the defense was awful for most of the tournament but can you name an American (other than Landon Donovan) who had a better 2010 World Cup than Steve Cherundolo? Tim Howard is the next closest but I'd say he's at best a push.
By design, the position of fullback is probably soccer's least glamorous but in my mind, Cherundolo was solid in all four games. He was strong defensively and he was also fearless in terms of making runs forward and serving crosses into the box.
A 31-year-old San Diego native, Cherundolo has played in the Bundesliga with Hannover since 1999 and he was appointed team captain this week as they train for their upcoming season (kicks off August 21). He's the team's longest tenured player.
The club says on its website that coach Mirko Slomka gave Cherundolo the captain's armband during the Bundesliga team's training camp this week in Bad Radkersburg. Former captain Hanno Ballitsch left the team for Bayer Leverkusen in the offseason.
He recently signed a three-year contract extension and previously served as a deputy captain.
The team barely avoided relegation from the Bundesliga last season after bringing in Slomka as coach in January.
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