Benny Feilhaber

Skillful and a deft passer, Feilhaber brings vision and composure on the ball to the Revolution ... after successive knee injuries dampened his progress, Feilhaber resurrected his career for both club and country in the second half of 2009 ... after alerting the soccer world to his promise with the game-winning goal in the 2007 Gold Cup, he served as a member of Peter Nowak’s squad for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, where he appeared in all three games ... he evolved into one of AGF Aarhus’ more important goal-scorers before coming to MLS in mid-April 2011 ... speaks English, Spanish (conversational), German and (Brazilian) Portuguese ... Twitter account: @b_feilhaber22.

2012: Made 29 appearances, including 23 starts: three at left midfield, 16 at central midfield and four at right midfield. Scored one goal and recorded two assists. Suffered a club-leading 70 fouls in 29 appearances, tied for third in MLS. Started the season opener at San Jose (March 10) on the left wing and moved centrally mid-way through the second half. Lined up as an attacking centeral midfielder at Kansas City (March 17), but came off in the 61st minute with an ankle injury. Missed three matches with a peroneal strain in his left ankle: against Portland (March 24), at LA (March 31) and at Dallas (April 5), and returned as a substitute in the central midfield against D.C. (April 14) before rejoining the starting lineup at left midfield against Colorado (May 2). Scored his first goal and first assist of the season against Chicago (June 2). Recorded his second assist of the season on Jerry Bengtson’s goal at Columbus (Aug. 25). Shown two yellow cards and a subsequent red card at Philadelphia (Oct. 6) and missed the Chicago game (Oct. 20) while serving a mandatory one-game suspension. Scored a 103rd-minute goal in a substitute appearance at central midfield – but saw his penalty attempt saved as the team’s fifth kicker in PKs to lose the match – in the team’s U.S. Open Cup third-round loss to the Harrisburg City Islanders (May 29). Also recorded an assist on Fernando Cardenas’ goal in an MLS Reserve League match against Toronto (Sept. 7).

2011: Made 23 starts, 20 in the central midfield and four along the three-man forward line, in his first season in MLS after joining the Revs at the end of April through the MLS Allocation Process. The Revolution selected Feilhaber in the Allocation Process on April 19 after Chivas USA (No. 1) and Philadelphia (No. 2) passed on his rights, and the team announced his signing on April 20. He flew from Denmark on April 21, and trained with the team for the first time on Friday, April 22, before debuting on Saturday, April 23. Scored four goals and added a team-high seven assists. Finished the season ranked second in MLS in fouls suffered (71), for a league-best 3.08 per game mark. Started the first game for which he was available – vs. Sporting Kansas City (April 23) – playing 90 minutes and recording an assist on Marko Perovic’s goal. Drew the eventual game-winning penalty kick (converted by Shalrie Joseph) against Vancouver (May 14). Suffered a right ankle sprain late in the LA game (May 28) and left the game, missing the next four games (June 4 at FCD through June 18 vs. Chicago), as well as the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup, with the injury. Returned to the lineup at Seattle (June 26), recording an assist on Sainey Nyassi’s goal. Set up Shalrie Joseph’s goal at Real Salt Lake (July 4) after drawing a penalty kick in the fourth minute, which Rajko Lekic converted. Started and recorded an assist on the Revs’ lone goal in the friendly against Manchester United (July 13). Received a second caution and subsequent red-card ejection in the 66th-minute against Philadelphia (July 17) and was unavailable at D.C. United (July 20). Scored his first MLS goal at Colorado (July 23) off a headed ball from Stephen McCarthy. Scored single goals at Columbus (Aug. 13), at Philadelphia (Sept. 7) and vs. San Jose (Oct. 8). Picked up assists vs. Dallas (Sept. 10) and vs. Seattle (Oct. 1), both off of corner kicks. Closed the season with a two-assist effort at Toronto (Oct. 22). Volunteered to play in the Revs reserve match against Toronto (Sept. 2) to help stay sharp during the team’s 17-day break caused by Hurricane Irene, recording the game-winning assist, sending Zack Schilawski through alone for the game-winning goal in the first minute of stoppage time.

BEFORE MLS: Began his professional career in Germany with Hamburg’s reserve team in 2005 following a call-up to the U.S. Under-20 National Team for the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship ... debuted with Hamburg’s first team in 2006, where he went on to make nine appearances before signing with Derby County, which had just won promotion to the English Premier League, in 2007 ... made 10 appearances for Derby before the club was relegated at the end of the season and signed with AGF Aarhus on a free transfer in August 2008 ... at AGF Aarhus, made 54 appearances in two-and-a-half seasons, scoring five goals, before signing with MLS in April 2011.

COLLEGE: A walk-on at UCLA, he went on to play 16 games in his first season with the Bruins in 2003 … in his next year, he played in every match, helping UCLA to a 14-4-2 record … scored five goals and had three assists for 13 points as UCLA advanced to the third round of the NCAA tournament ... turned professional after two seasons.

INTERNATIONAL: As of Dec. 1, 2012, has 39 appearances with the U.S. National Team ... was a member of the U.S.’ 2010 FIFA World Cup squad and the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team ... has scored two goals for the national team, including the game-winning goal in the final of the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup against Mexico in Chicago ... made three appearances in South Africa during the 2010 World Cup, and three appearances at the 2008 Olympics ... also a former member of the U.S. Under-20 squad ... earned his first senior team cap on March 25, 2007, against Ecuador … was called in for the 2011 Gold Cup, but was replaced on the roster after suffering an ankle injury on May 28 with the Revolution ... made his debut under new MNT coach Jurgen Klinsmann on Jan. 21, 2012, with a start against Venezuela in Phoenix.

PERSONAL: Engaged to his fiancé, Michelle … the couple have planned their wedding for the second weekend in December 2012 … born in Brazil to Brazilian parents, he moved to the United States when he was six years old … one of five U.S. players featured in a photo shoot in Interview magazine before the World Cup … lists Brazil’s legendary Garrincha as the player he most admires … has a tattoo that reads Per ardua ad astra, Latin for “through adversity to the stars.”