Geoff Cameron’s biography, net worth, fact, career, awards and life story

Intro American soccer player
A.K.A. Geoffrey Scott “Geoff” Cameron
Is Athlete 
Football player 
Association football player 
From United States of America 
Type Sports 
Gender male
Birth 11 July 1985, Attleboro
Age: 35 years
Star sign Cancer

Geoffrey Scott “Geoff” Cameron (born July 11, 1985) is an American soccer player who plays for Premier League side Stoke City and the United States national team.
Cameron began playing college soccer with the West Virginia Mountaineers and the Rhode Island Rams, as well as USL Premier Development League side Rhode Island Stingrays, before being drafted by Major League Soccer club Houston Dynamo in 2008. After an impressive second season in professional soccer Cameron was named as MLS Best XI in 2009 and helped Houston reach the final of the MLS Cup in 2011 as they lost 1–0 to the Los Angeles Galaxy. In July 2012 he joined English Premier League side Stoke City. He became a regular starter at Stoke firstly under the management of Tony Pulis and then Mark Hughes.

Club career

Early career

Cameron was born in Attleboro, Massachusetts and played youth soccer for Bayside United. He attended Attleboro High School and Providence Country Day School before choosing West Virginia University for college. After making 28 starts in two seasons at West Virginia Mountaineers, Cameron transferred to the University of Rhode Island for his junior and senior years. Cameron was an immediate starter and helped the Rhode Island Rams beat the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in the 2006 NCAA tournament, scoring in a shootout. As a senior in 2007, Cameron was named midfielder of the Year in the Atlantic 10 Conference and was a first-team all-Mid Atlantic Region selection. During his college years, Cameron also played for Rhode Island Stingrays in the USL Premier Development League where he played 33 times in two seasons scoring eight goals.

Houston Dynamo

Cameron was drafted by the Houston Dynamo in the third round (42nd overall) in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft. He made his professional debut on March 29, 2008, coming on as a substitute in a 3–0 defeat against the New England Revolution. In his first home appearance, on April 6, he scored a last-minute goal to help the Dynamo to a 3–3 draw with FC Dallas. He became a regular substitute and sometimes starter for the Dynamo by mid-season.

Cameron playing for Houston Dynamo

On October 31, 2008 it was announced that Cameron was a finalist for MLS Rookie of the Year along with Sean Franklin and Kheli Dube. Cameron played a key role for Houston in the CONCACAF Champions League and North American SuperLiga in 2008 and ended his debut season with 32 appearances, as the Dynamo reached the 2008 MLS Cup Playoffs but lost to New York Red Bulls in the semi-final. During the season Cameron also played for the reserves, helping them to win the MLS Reserve League.

Cameron became a regular for Houston in the 2009 season playing mostly at centre-back. He missed just one match in the regular season as Houston again made the play-offs. They edged past Seattle Sounders 1–0 before losing 2–0 to Los Angeles Galaxy in the Western Conference final. Cameron was selected for the 2009 MLS All-Star Game in Sandy, Utah, and he played all 90 minutes in the 1–1 draw with English Premier League side Everton. Cameron was also named in the MLS Best XI for the 2009 season.

During the 2010 season, Cameron suffered a knee injury that kept him out for half of the season. He returned in August after undergoing knee surgery, and scored a 70th-minute header from a free kick by Brad Davis against D.C. United in the Dynamo’s 3–1 win on September 25. His was restricted to 17 appearances in the 2010 season. Houston had a poor campaign and finished in 7th position.

In the 2011 season, Cameron returned to the squad as Houston experienced a much better campaign, qualifying for the play-offs after finishing in 2nd position. After beating Philadelphia Union over two legs, they defeated Sporting Kansas City 2–0 to reach the final of the MLS Cup against the Los Angeles Galaxy. Cameron played the full 90 minutes as Houston lost 1–0. Cameron’s performances during the season saw him named in the 2011 MLS All-Star Game against Manchester United where the MLS All-Stars lost 4–0. Cameron played 15 games in the 2012 season before moving to England in the summer of 2012.

Stoke City

Cameron agreed to join English Premier League club Stoke City on July 25, 2012 with the deal subject to a successful work permit appeal, which was granted on August 8. He played in his first match for Stoke in a 1–1 draw with German side SpVgg Greuther Fürth in a pre-season friendly. He missed the opening match of the season away at Reading due to visa issues. He made his Premier League debut in a 0–0 draw against Arsenal on August 26, 2012. He has impressed since his arrival in England and has begun to play at right back, a position which Cameron is enjoying learning about. He also described playing in the Premier League as “pretty special”. Cameron played 38 times for Stoke in 2012–13 as they finished in 13th position in the Premier League. After the season finished Cameron admitted that towards the end of the season he began to struggle with fatigue after playing competitive soccer for 18 straight months.

At the end of the season Tony Pulis left by mutual agreement and was replaced by Mark Hughes. Cameron stated that he wanted to try and impress Hughes at center-back. Cameron remained at right-back and scored his first goal for Stoke on September 22, 2013 in a 3–1 defeat against Arsenal. Cameron continued to be a key player in his attacking full-back role under Hughes and provided an assist for Peter Crouch in a 2–1 win over Aston Villa on December 21, 2013. Cameron scored a rare goal on March 23, 2014 in a 4–1 win at Aston Villa. Cameron played 41 times for Stoke in 2013–14 as they finished in 9th position in the Premier League.

Cameron’s start to the 2014–15 season was disrupted by a hernia injury which required surgery. After recovering from his injury Cameron told manager Mark Hughes that he wants to begin playing in midfield. Despite this Cameron continued to compete with Phil Bardsley for the right back position as the season progressed. He was sent-off for the first time in English soccer after conceding a penalty in a 4–1 FA Cup defeat away at Blackburn Rovers in February 2015. Cameron signed a new three-year contract with Stoke on May 24, 2015. Cameron played 31 times for Stoke in 2014–15 as the Potters finished in 9th position for a second season running and they ended the campaign with a 6–1 victory against Liverpool. Cameron played 34 times in 2015–16 as Stoke again finished in ninth position.

International career

Cameron (left) playing for the United States in 2013

Cameron received his first call up to train with the senior United States national team in January 2009, but he was injured during the first week and was unable to play in the team’s friendly against Sweden. He participated again in training with the team in Carson, California in January 2010, leading up to a friendly match against Honduras. Cameron did not play in that match, but he was again called into camp for the February 24, 2010 game against El Salvador in Tampa, Florida. He appeared as a substitute in the 86th minute for Robbie Rogers, recording his first cap for the national side, nearly scoring on a blazing strike that narrowly went over the bar. In December 2011, Cameron was called up to coach Jürgen Klinsmann’s camp. On January 21, 2012, he went 90 minutes in a friendly against Venezuela. Cameron scored his goal for the national team on May, 29 in a 4–2 defeat against Belgium.

Cameron was a part of the United States national team during the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He started as central defender during the team’s first two group stage games against Ghana and Portugal. He was benched for the third game against Germany. In the Round of 16 defeat against Belgium, Cameron started in central midfield.

Cameron sat out the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup due to a combination of injury and wanting to be with his club for preseason. Cameron started in every game at the Copa América Centenario in central defense alongside Hertha BSC’s John Brooks.

Style of play

Cameron (center) at the announcement of the 20 for 20 campaign in 2011.

A versatile player who is currently featured as center back but can also play as a right back,right winger, defensive midfielder, or attacking midfielder, Cameron has become known for his combination of aerial ability,passing ability, strength,athleticism, man marking and composure on the ball. Former United States international Alexi Lalas believes that Cameron has the ability to succeed in English soccer.

“Geoff has the mentality and all the skill-sets to succeed . . . Stoke and England are getting a quality player that they can be excited to see. He’s good with the ball, he reads the game well and he’s not going to lose possession of the ball while under pressure. If you’re playing with Geoff Cameron, be prepared to play with the ball. He has the physical attributes to bang when he needs to but he also has a real confidence in the way he handles the ball and the way he passes out of the back.”

— Former USA international and ESPN pundit Alexi Lalas speaks highly of Geoff Cameron.

Personal life

During his time at Houston Dynamo, Cameron took part in a series of community service efforts to raise money for local charitable organizations in 2011 and 2012. The 20 for 20 campaign was started in September 2011 when Cameron, who wore the No. 20 jersey in Houston, announced a goal to raise a total of $20,000 for the Fisher House and Ronald McDonald House of Houston. In March 2012, Cameron and the Dynamo announced the return of the 20 for 20 campaign with the same initial goal of $20,000, with proceeds going to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Growing up Cameron supported English side Manchester United and Italian side Juventus. Since living in England Cameron has participated in local community work. Cameron spoke of his horror at the Boston Marathon bombings as some of his family live close to where the attack took place.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played October 22, 2016
Club Season League Cup League Cup Other[A] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Rhode Island Stingrays 2005 USL PDL 13 4 0 0 — — 13 4
2006 USL PDL 16 4 0 0 — — 16 4
2007 USL PDL 4 0 0 0 — — 4 0
Total 33 8 0 0 — — 33 8
Houston Dynamo 2008 Major League Soccer 23 1 1 0 — 8 0 32 1
2009 Major League Soccer 29 2 2 2 — 6 0 37 4
2010 Major League Soccer 16 3 0 0 — 1 0 17 3
2011 Major League Soccer 33 5 0 0 — 4 0 37 5
2012 Major League Soccer 15 0 0 0 — 0 0 15 0
Total 116 11 3 2 — 19 0 138 13
Stoke City 2012–13 Premier League 35 0 2 0 1 0 — 38 0
2013–14 Premier League 37 2 2 0 2 0 — 41 2
2014–15 Premier League 27 0 2 0 2 0 — 31 0
2015–16 Premier League 30 0 0 0 4 0 — 34 0
2016–17 Premier League 8 0 0 0 2 0 — 10 0
Total 137 2 6 0 11 0 — 154 2
Career total 286 21 9 2 11 0 19 0 325 23
A. ^ The “Other” column constitutes appearances and goals in the MLS Cup Playoffs, CONCACAF Champions League and North American SuperLiga.

International

As of July 12, 2016
National team Year Apps Goals
United States
2010 1 0
2011 0 0
2012 10 0
2013 12 1
2014 8 0
2015 6 2
2016 10 1
Total 47 4

International goals

Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1. May 29, 2013 FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio  Belgium 1–1 2–4 Friendly
2. October 10, 2015 Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California  Mexico 1–1 2–3 2015 CONCACAF Cup
3. November 13, 2015 Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 4–1 6–1 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
4. March 29, 2016 Mapfre Stadium, Columbus, Ohio  Guatemala 2–0 4–0

Honors

Club

Houston Dynamo
  • MLS Cup runner-up: 2011
  • Major League Soccer Eastern Conference Champion: 2011

Individual

  • Atlantic 10 Conference Midfielder of the Year: 2007
  • MLS Best XI: 2009
  • Major League Soccer All-Star Game: 2011
You May Also Like

Wayne Gretzky’s net worth, biography, fact, career, awards and life story

Wayne Gretzky Net Worth: Wayne Gretzky is a Canadian-born retired professional hockey player and entrepreneur who has a net worth of $250 million. Widely considered to be one of the greatest hockey players of all time, he played in the NHL for 20 seasons from 1979 to 1999. During that time he earned a total of $46 million in NHL salary. He earned an additional $50 million from endorsements during his playing days. When combined, he earned around the same as $150 million after adjusting for inflation. He has invested his money very wisely, building an empire that today includes sports team ownership, a vineyard, real estate ventures, and more. Early Life and Career Beginnings: Wayne Douglas Gretzky was born in Brantford, Ontario, on January 26, 1961. He has three brothers and a sister. His father Walter taught him, his siblings, and their friends how to play hockey on a homemade rink in the family home’s backyard, and from an early age, Gretzky showed a natural talent. By age 6, he was already playing on a team otherwise composed of 10-year-olds, and he continued to garner attention as he progressed. His excelling on the ice often earned him negative attention from other players and jealous parents, so it was not uncommon for him to get booed during games. In part to help him advance his career, but also in part to help him escape the negative atmosphere of his hometown, his parents helped him move to Toronto to play hockey there. At the time, players were not allowed to play in different areas, but his parents challenged the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association and won, so he was allowed to play Junior B hockey with the Toronto Nationals, eventually earning Rookie of the Year in the Metro Junior B Hockey League for the 1975-76 season. He eventually was drafted in the 1977 Ontario Major Junior Hockey League draft to play for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds when he was 16. Professional Hockey Career: In 1978, at the age of 17, Gretzky signed a $1.75 million USD seven-year personal services contract with the Indianapolis Racers in the World Hockey Association (WHA). He had to join the WHA instead of the NHL initially because the NHL did not allow the signing of players under the age of 20. He only played briefly for the Racers before being traded to the Edmonton Oilers. When his team joined the NHL after the WHA folded in 1979, he was instrumental in leading them to four Stanley Cup victories. With the Oilers, he earned the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s Most Valuable Player in what was only his first NHL season. His star continued to rise, and he became the first player in NHL history to break the two hundred-point mark, scoring over 200 points in a season, among other achievements. He was traded two more times after that, also playing for the Los Angeles Kings (1988 – 1996) and the St. Louis Blues (1996). In 1996, he signed with the New York Rangers as a free agent on a two-year, $8 million USD contract. He retired from his professional career in 1999 while playing for the New York Rangers. During the span of his career, Gretzky achieved nine Hart Trophies for most valuable player, ten Art Ross Trophies for most points in a season, five Lester B. Pearson awards, and two Conn Smythe Trophies as playoff MVP. He was immediately inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame following his retirement. When he retired from the NHL, he held an amazing 61 records. His #99 jersey was also retired league-wide, and he was the only person to receive this honor at the time. Post-Retirement Engagements: After Gretzky’s playing career was over he moved into a management role and became the executive director of the Canadian National Men’s Hockey Team for the 2002 Winter Olympics. He later became a part-owner of the NHL team the Phoenix Coyotes, buying a 10% stake in them in May 2000 in partnership with majority owner Steven Ellman. He went on to become the team’s coach from October 2005 to September 2009. In 2016 he became vice-chairman and partner of Oilers Entertainment Group. Business Ventures And Endorsements: In addition to being a professional athlete, Gretzky has invested heavily in the ownership of sports teams. He bought the Hull Olympiques team of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in 1985 for $175,000 CAD and sold them in 1992 for $550,000 CAD. In 1991, when Bruce McNall purchased the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League, Gretzky was a minority owner along with John Candy; they eventually sold the team in 1994. He once again partnered with McNall to purchase a rare Honus Wagner T206 cigarette card for $451,000 USD, selling it later. Additionally, Gretzky is a partner in sports equipment manufacturer First Team Sports, as well as roller hockey rink operator Worldwide Roller Hockey, Inc. Furthermore, Gretzky enjoyed many lucrative endorsement deals during his professional hockey career. By 1995, he was ranked one of the top five highest-paid athlete endorsers in North America, thanks to his deals with major global brands like Coca-Cola, Domino’s Pizza, Sharp Corporation, and Upper Deck Company. Lastly, Gretzky partnered with Andrew Peller Ltd., in 2017 to open Wayne Gretzky Estates, a winery and distillery in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. He also has restaurants such as No. 99 Gretzky’s Wine & Whiskey in Edmonton International Airport, opened in 2016; and Studio 99 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Canada, opened in 2018. Personal Life: Gretzky met actress Janet Jones while he was serving as a judge on the television show “Dance Fever.” They began dating in 1987, he proposed in January 1988, and the couple got married in July that same year. Their wedding ceremony, which reportedly cost him over $1 million USD, was dubbed “The Royal Wedding” by the Canadian press. Together, the couple has five children: three sons and two daughters. One of their daughters, Paulina Gretzky, a singer and model, has been in a relationship with professional golfer Dustin Johnson since 2013. They have two kids together. Real Estate: In the late 1980s, soon after moving over to the LA Kings, Wayne purchased a large property in the exclusive Beverly Hills gated community of Beverly Park. He sold his house a few years later to a billionaire named Eric Smidt (not the Google billionaire Eric Schmidt). Smidt bought the vacant lot next door for $3 million and in 2014 sold the combined estate for $40 million. In 2007 Wayne and his wife custom-built a mansion located within a gated country club in Thousand Oaks, California. The property is 6.5 acres and has a 13,000 square-foot mansion. The Gretzkys sold the house in 2014 to former baseball player Lenny Dykstra – who at this time was touting himself as a financial guru – for a mind-numbing $18.5 million. A year later the real estate market collapsed, as did Lenny’s guru status. Lenny tried to sell the house for $18.5 million at what might have been the worst time in history to sell a house. He lowered the price over and over, eventually losing it in foreclosure after he declared bankruptcy and was arrested on fraud charges. To bring it all full-circle, Wayne and Janet Gretzky re-acquired the house in 2018 for $13.5 million. In October 2020 Wayne and Janet listed coveted property for sale for $22.9 million.
Read More

Peter Woo’s net worth, biography, fact, career, awards and life story

Peter Woo net worth: Peter Woo is a Hong Kong-based businessman who has a net worth of $13 billion. Peter Woo has accumulated most of his wealth as the Chairman of Wheelock & Company Limited and The Wharf Holdings Limited, which contains his main real estate, investment, logistics and media businesses. As for Wheelock & Co, he manages the company through his 59.8% stake. Among notable prizes in Wharf’s property portfolio are New York City’s Times Square (the top venue for the New Year’s Eve) and Kowloon’s Harbour City. Furthermore, he owns a minority stake in Salvatore Ferragamo and 73% of fashion retailer Joyce Boutique. Thanks to his business commitment, he was named “Leader of the Year” by the Hong Kong Standard in 1995. Apart from being one of the notable Hong Kong’s businessmen, he is currently a married man with three children. Net Worth details: Peter Woo owns 61 percent of property developer Wheelock & Co. He also owns the largest malls in Hong Kong, Times Square and the Harbour City. Woo owns Hong Kong’s cable television operator as well as valuable office complexes. Woo sold 3.4 million shares of Salvatore Ferragama in 2011 and still owns 6 percent of the shoemaker. He also holds stakes in Longfor Properties, Joyce Boutique, and Sun Hung Kai Properties among others.
Read More