Brandi Chastain - Biography

Last Editor: ellan_kumar				Brandi Chastain Biography -   Name : Brandi Chastain Profession : TV Broadcaster Birth Details : born July 21, 1968 Birth name : Brandi Denise Chastain Height : 5' 7" (1.70 m) Nickname : Hollywood Spouse : Jerry Smith (8 June 1996 - present) 1 child

Brandi Chastain Trivia -

Scored the winning penalty kick for the U.S. women's soccer team in the Women's World Cup final in Pasadena, Calif. She took off her shirt to reveal her sports bra as soon as she scored the goal. [1999] Plays for the San Jose CyberRays women's football club. Married Jerry Smith in 1998 and honeymooned in France, going to the World cup. Played her first match against Japan on June 1, 1988. Scored her first goal April 18, 1991 against Mexico (she scored five goals in that match, a team record for one game) Took the 5th penalty kick for the US in the 1999 World cup to win the title. Began her college career at Cal, where she was Soccer America's national freshman of the year, and then transferred to Santa Clara, where she led the Broncos to two NCAA final four appearances and was named all-American and player of the year in 1990. Favorite soccer player: Roy Keane, Manchester United, because "he plays both ways with reckless abandon".

Brandi Chastain Detailed Biography -

Brandi Chastain (born July 21, 1968) is a former soccer player and current broadcaster with ABC/ESPN on their coverage of Major League Soccer who was with the United States women's national soccer team from 1991 to 2004. She attended Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, California, helping take the team to three state championships. Chastain enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley in 1986, where she was awarded the Soccer America Freshmen Player Of The Year award. Soon after this she underwent reconstructive surgery on both her knees which caused her to miss much of the 1987 and 1988 seasons. In 1989, she transferred to Santa Clara University, leading their soccer team to two final four NCAA appearances before graduating in 1990. Chastain first represented her country on April 18, 1991 against Mexico. She came off the bench to score five consecutive goals in a 12-0 United States win, in what was a qualifying game for the first FIFA Women's World Cup. Team USA went on to win the World Cup, staged in China, in the same year. Chastain next participated with the national team in the 1993 CONCACAF championships of New York, another tournament which the Americans won. Later in 1993 she joined the West Team, which won the gold medal at the Texas Olympic Festival. Her first era as a member of the national team came to an end on August 8, 1993, but she made the team once again in 1996 and participated in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, helping the Americans win the gold medal. Chastain became a household name in 1999, when, after helping the United States beat China in the final game of that year's Women's World Cup, she celebrated by taking off her jersey and kneeling down in the middle of the field with only her sports bra and her shorts on. This action was seen by many as a demonstration of female power by Chastain. She was signed to a million dollar contract by Nike afterwards, and other companies, such as Playboy Magazine, sought her presence on their products. Chastain played on the US women's national team until her last game on December 6, 2004. The team's coach, Greg Ryan, recently revealed she was no longer in the team's plans. She participated in the Women's United Soccer Association from its formation in 2001 until its suspension in 2003. Chastain later appeared on The Weakest Link in a sports celebrity edition. In that show, she traded barbs with Anne Robinson. When Chastain described taking her shirt off, saying "I had a bra underneath..." Robinson mantained her expression and said, "Did you get a gold medal for that?" Women's soccer WUSA