Zak Ibsen

American retired soccer player (born 1972)

Zak IbsenPersonal information

Date of birth|  (1972-06-02) June 2, 1972 (age 53)
Place of birth|  Santa Clara, California, United States
Height|  5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Position(s)|  Defender
College career
Years|  Team|  Apps|  (Gls)
1990–1992|  UCLA Bruins|  |
Senior career*
Years|  Team|  Apps|  (Gls)
1993|  VfL Bochum II|  5|  (0)
1993|  1\. FC Saarbrücken II|  2|  (0)
1993|  FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt|  2|  (0)
1994|  Los Angeles Salsa|  3|  (0)
1995|  Hawaii Tsunami|  2|  (0)
1995–1996|  Baltimore Spirit (indoor)|  17|  (10)
1996|  Tampa Bay Terror (indoor)|  9|  (2)
1996|  New England Revolution|  6|  (0)
1996|  Dallas Burn|  16|  (1)
1997|  California Jaguars|  15|  (1)
1998|  Chicago Fire|  27|  (0)
1999–2000|  Los Angeles Galaxy|  50|  (3)
2001–2002|  San Jose Earthquakes|  41|  (2)
International career
1992–1996|  United States|  15|  (0)
2006–2010|  United States (beach)|  22|  (9)

Medal record

Men's soccer
MLS Cup
| 1998 | Chicago Fire
| 2001 | San Jose Earthquakes
U.S. Open Cup
| 1998 | Chicago Fire
CONCACAF Champions' Cup
| 2001 | LA Galaxy
Men's Beach soccer
Representing  United States
CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship
| 2006 | 1st
| 2007 | 1st
| 2008 | 3rd
| 2010 | 3rd

*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Zak Ibsen (born June 2, 1972) is a retired American soccer player who played professionally in Major League Soccer and the National Professional Soccer League and internationally for both the U.S. national and beach soccer teams.

## Early life

[edit]

Zak Ibsen was born in Santa Clara, California. He developed a passion for soccer at a young age.[1]

## Career

[edit]

### College

[edit]

Ibsen played college soccer at UCLA. He helped lead the Bruins to an NCAA National Championship in 1990.[2]

### National

[edit]

Ibsen was a member of the 1992 U.S. Olympic team[3] and the U.S. National Team.[2]

### NPSL

[edit]

Ibsen played in Germany and the National Professional Soccer League for the Baltimore Spirit as a midfielder before he was traded to the Tampa Bay Terror on January 17, 1996, in exchange for John Garvey.[4]

### MLS

[edit]

He then joined Major League Soccer in 1996. Selected by New England in the 1996 MLS Supplemental Draft,[5] he also later played for Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Jose.[6] He won MLS titles with the Chicago Fire in 1998[7] and the San Jose Earthquakes in 2001.[8] During his MLS career, Ibsen played 140 games, scored 6 goals, and had 10 assists.[6] His most notable assist came during MLS Cup 2001, in which he assisted Dwayne De Rosario's game-winning goal for the Earthquakes.[8][1]

### Beach

[edit]

Zak Ibsen had a long involvement in beach soccer, beginning with the pre-FIFA era of the sport. He represented the United States in the Beach Soccer World Championships organized by Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW) prior to FIFA’s official adoption of the tournament in 2005. During these early competitions, Ibsen recorded 17 goal contributions, placing him among the top scorers in the tournament's history.[9]

Following FIFA’s takeover, Ibsen continued to play for the United States national beach soccer team from 2006 to 2010, earning 22 caps and scoring 9 goals in official FIFA-sanctioned matches.[10] He competed in the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cups in 2006 and 2007, scoring two goals in the 2007 edition, including the match-winner against Iran.[11][12]

He was part of the U.S. squads that won the CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championships in 2006 and 2007, while finishing third in 2008 and 2010 and fourth in 2009.[13][14]

Ibsen also took part in the Beach Soccer Worldwide Miami Cup in 2011.[15]

## Coaching

[edit]

After earning his U.S. Soccer “A” License, one of the highest levels of coaching certification in the United States, Zak Ibsen became Director of Coaching at Woodside Soccer Club: WSC Crush. He has also coached in MLS Next, a youth soccer league in the U.S.[16]

## Personal life

[edit]

His professional soccer career ended due to a crystal meth addiction which left him homeless living in a minivan for years.[13] He struggled with relapse cycles for over a decade, however he eventually recovered.[1]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Zhang, Sean. "Falling from glory, rising from ashes". Scot Scoop News. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
2. ^ a b "UCLA's National Team Connection" in 2007 UCLA Men's Soccer (accessed 2014-09-12).
3. ^ "Soccer", The Washington Post, July 13, 1992.
4. ^ Cite error: The named reference `Revolution add2` was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
5. ^ "Revolution add Naveda, 5 others", The Boston Globe, March 5, 1996 (subscription required).
6. ^ a b Zak Ibsen, MLSSoccer.com (accessed 2014-09-12).
7. ^ Len Ziehm, "L.A.'s Ibsen gets his ring for Fire title, Chicago Sun-Times, April 18, 1999 (subscription required).
8. ^ a b "Earthquakes cap worst-to-first burst DeRosario's overtime goal topples Galaxy for MLS crown", Chicago Sun-Times, October 22, 2001 (subscription required).
9. ^ "Confederação Brasileira de Beach Soccer". www.beachsoccerbrasil.com.br. Archived from the original on 2003-08-01. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
10. ^ "Zak Ibsen", Chicago Sun-Times, July 21, 1998 (subscription required).
11. ^ "National Soccer Hall of Fame - 2025 Veterans Eligibility List" (PDF). soccerhof. August 5, 2024.
12. ^ "Zak IBSEN". FIFA. Archived from the original on June 20, 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
13. ^ a b Bell, Jack (2009-08-02). "Zak Ibsen Was Saved by the Beach". Goal. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
14. ^ "CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship 2006". Issuu. 2013-12-18. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
15. ^ "The best of Beach Soccer comes to Miami". Beach Soccer Worldwide. 2011-03-16. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
16. ^ Zhang, Sean. "Falling from glory, rising from ashes". Scot Scoop News. Retrieved 2025-06-25.

## External links

[edit]

* Zak Ibsen at Major League Soccer

* v
* t
* e

United States soccer squad – 1992 Summer Olympics

* 1 Friedel
* 2 Rast (c)
* 3 Lalas
* 4 Burns
* 5 Imler
* 6 Brose
* 7 Washington
* 8 Lapper
* 9 Snow
* 10 Reyna
* 11 Allnutt
* 12 Dayak
* 13 Moore
* 14 Jones
* 15 Ibsen
* 16 Lagos
* 17 Huwiler
* 18 Feuer
* 19 Henderson
* 20 Onalfo
* Coach: Osiander

*[Apps]: League appearances
*[Gls]: League goals
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template