Player Profile: Joe-Max Moore
By Sean Donahue
FOXBORO, MA. - Joe-Max Moore is finally healthy and ready for preseason training after an injury-plagued season he called a “disaster” and “the most frustrating year for me as a professional”. At the last New England Revolution practice of the 2003 season Moore said, “I’ll come back, work hard in the off season and make sure that I’m healthy enough to get off to a good start next season.” The California native was at the Revs first practice on February 18th at the Gillette Stadium Field House and participated in every drill and scrimmage showing he was back to full health. The 33 year-old forward must get off to a quick start this year to prove he is worth his $280,000 salary over $150,000 more than what Revolution star Taylor Twellman makes, according to Soccer America who recently had the salaries leaked to them. New fans of the New England Revolution who are not familiar with Moore’s first four seasons in the league may be wondering how he got this large salary in the first place.
Joe-Max Moore joined the Revolution half way through their first season (1996) after playing on German clubs FC Saarbruecken and Nürnberg. He quickly netted 11 goals to go along with an assist in just 14 games that season, earning the Revolution’s MVP award. In 1997, Moore spent much of the season with German Club Nürenberg before returning to the Revs and tallying 4 goals and 2 assists in 13 games. 1997 was his only year in his first four seasons that he did not earn the Revs MVP award and lead the team in scoring. In 1998, Moore spent a lot of time with the U.S. National team, but still managed to tally 7 goals and 15 assists in 21 games to earn his second MVP award. The next year Moore scored 15 goals to go with 8 assists and once again won the team’s MVP award. Other teams started noticing his success and soon Everton of the English Premier League offered him a great contract. Moore accepted and got off to a quick start, but soon suffered a leg injury and even when he recovered was only given playing time as a substitute. Moore stayed with Everton for almost three seasons scoring 10 goals in 37 matches before deciding to return to MLS before the start of the 2003 season. Moore’s experience overseas helped him grow as a player, particularly “the experience of playing with other great players from around the world, playing in the different atmospheres and stadiums, and the level of play week in and week out.”
Moore has also had a very successful career with the U.S. National Team. He became only the 6th player in U.S. history to earn 100 caps (international appearances) when he appeared for the U.S. against Poland in World Cup 2002. Moore is also one of the top three all-time scorers for the U.S. with 24 goals.
Moore attended UCLA for three years, foregoing his final year to sign a professional contract. At UCLA he was a two time All-American and played with current U.S. stars Cobi Jones and Brad Friedal. In his junior year he was UCLA’s leading scorer.
Moore was glad to come back to New England. “I like the people, I like our fans, the organization has always been good to me and I like the city itself. It’s definitely my favorite city in the country.” He is very happy with the current team and says “This is the best overall team I’ve been on in this league. The chemistry is there, everybody gets along real well and talent-wise this is the strongest team I’ve seen.”
Moore likes to spend most of his spare time with his family. “[I like to] play with my boy. I got a great two year-old that loves kicking the ball, golfing and baseball. Between my family and soccer my time is pretty much taken. Also, I spend some time on different business things. I’ve always been somewhat of an entrepreneur and try to put together different business deals.” Moore is good friends with Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra.
Moore has earned a reputation for being injury prone and will need to stay healthy and have a productive season to prove he is worth his large salary. Hopefully Moore can return to his old form and help the Revs to the MLS Cup championship.