Sal Zizzo
Encyclopedia
Salvatore "Sal" Zizzo is an American soccer player who plays for the Portland Timbers
of Major League Soccer
.
, where he played soccer and baseball
. As a baseball center fielder, he was a four-year letterman and voted first-team All-CIF his junior year. He also excelled in soccer, he was voted All-CIF
honors four years straight (2002–05). He played club soccer for Hotspurs USA (El Cajon, CA), and was a member of his region's Olympic Development Program (ODP) team. Zizzo then went on to play two years of college soccer
at UCLA. At UCLA he was an NCSAA/adidas All-America
n as a freshman in 2005. Zizzo was also selected as Pac10 Freshman Player of the Year the same year. In 2006, UCLA reached the College Cup vs. Santa Barbara in St. Louis.
During his college years he also played two seasons with senior amateur team Orange County Blue Star
in the USL Premier Development League
.
and missed the entire 2009–10 season
.
On July 21, 2010, Chivas USA acquired Zizzo through a weighted lottery conducted by MLS. Zizzo played in 10 games (making one start) over the second half of the season, totaling 254 minutes and one assist.
On February 15, 2011, Zizzo was traded (for allocation money) by Chivas to the MLS expansion side Portland Timbers
.
.
Portland Timbers
Portland Timbers may refer to any of four distinct professional soccer teams:*Portland Timbers, a Major League Soccer expansion team that began playing in 2011....
of Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
.
Youth and Amateur
Zizzo attended Patrick Henry High SchoolPatrick Henry High School (San Diego, California)
Patrick Henry High School is a public high school in San Diego, California. It is part of the San Diego Unified School District. It is attended by students in grades 9-12 residing in Del Cerro, San Carlos, Allied Gardens, Mission Valley and the College Area....
, where he played soccer and baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
. As a baseball center fielder, he was a four-year letterman and voted first-team All-CIF his junior year. He also excelled in soccer, he was voted All-CIF
CIF
CIF is an abbreviation that may stand for:* California Interscholastic Federation, the governing body for high school sports in California* Caltech Intermediate Form, geometry language for VLSI design, in which the primitives are coloured rectangles * Canada India Foundation, Canadian lobbying...
honors four years straight (2002–05). He played club soccer for Hotspurs USA (El Cajon, CA), and was a member of his region's Olympic Development Program (ODP) team. Zizzo then went on to play two years of college soccer
College soccer
College soccer is a term used to describe association football played by teams who are operated by colleges and universities as opposed to a professional league operated for exclusively financial purposes...
at UCLA. At UCLA he was an NCSAA/adidas All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n as a freshman in 2005. Zizzo was also selected as Pac10 Freshman Player of the Year the same year. In 2006, UCLA reached the College Cup vs. Santa Barbara in St. Louis.
During his college years he also played two seasons with senior amateur team Orange County Blue Star
Orange County Blue Star
Orange County Blue Star is an American soccer team based in Irvine, California, United States. Founded in 1997, the team plays in the USL Premier Development League , the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference.The team plays its home games at...
in the USL Premier Development League
USL Premier Development League
The USL Premier Development League is the amateur league of the United Soccer Leagues in the United States, Canada, and Bermuda, forming part of the American Soccer Pyramid...
.
Professional
Zizzo left college early and turned professional in July 2007 after a successful U20 World Cup in Canada for the United States. He signed to German Bundesliga club Hannover 96, for a three-year contract. In October 2009, Zizzo suffered an ACL injuryAnterior cruciate ligament injury
An injury to the anterior cruciate ligament can be a debilitating musculoskeletal injury to the knee, seen most often in athletes. Non-contact tears and ruptures are the most common causes of ACL injury....
and missed the entire 2009–10 season
2009–10 Fußball-Bundesliga
The 2009–10 Fußball-Bundesliga was the 47th season of the Fußball-Bundesliga, Germany's premier football league. The season commenced on 7 August 2009 with the traditional season opening match involving the defending champions VfL Wolfsburg and VfB Stuttgart. The last games were played on 8 May 2010...
.
On July 21, 2010, Chivas USA acquired Zizzo through a weighted lottery conducted by MLS. Zizzo played in 10 games (making one start) over the second half of the season, totaling 254 minutes and one assist.
On February 15, 2011, Zizzo was traded (for allocation money) by Chivas to the MLS expansion side Portland Timbers
Portland Timbers
Portland Timbers may refer to any of four distinct professional soccer teams:*Portland Timbers, a Major League Soccer expansion team that began playing in 2011....
.
International
Zizzo represented the U.S. at the U18 and U20 levels. He participated in the Lisbon International Tournament and the Milk Cup in Northern Ireland with the U18s in 2005. Zizzo suited up for the United States. U20 National Team in the 2007 FIFA U20 World Cup, starting all five of the team's matches in the tournament and helping the team reach the quarterfinals. He made his senior national team debut Aug. 22, 2007, in a friendly against Sweden.Personal
Zizzo holds both American and Italian citizenship, as both his parents were born in Palermo, Sicily. This helped with negotiating a contract in Europe with Hannover 96Hannover 96
Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96, Hannover or simply 96, is a German association football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony.-Foundation to WWII:...
.