Ricardo Clark
Ricardo Anthony Clark is an American former soccer player who played as a midfielder. He appeared for MetroStars, San Jose Earthquakes, Houston Dynamo and Columbus Crew SC in the United States, Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany, and Stabæk in Norway. Clark also appeared for the United States national team from 2005 to 2012.
A native of Atlanta, Clark played two years in college at Furman before being drafted second overall in the 2003 MLS SuperDraft by MetroStars. After two seasons and nearly 100 appearances, he was traded to San Jose Earthquakes. The franchise moved from San Jose to Houston for the 2006 season, becoming the Houston Dynamo, and Clark followed along. He spent four seasons with the Dynamo, helping the club win two MLS Cups, before departing for Europe. Clark spent three years in Europe, playing for Eintracht Frankfurt and Stabæk, before returning to the United States and the Dynamo midway through the 2012 Major League Soccer season. He spent the next six years in Houston, departing at the end of 2017 with 304 appearances for the Dynamo across his two spells. Clark signed as a free agent with Columbus Crew SC, spending his final two professional seasons with the Crew before retiring following the 2019 season.
At international level, Clark appeared for the United States at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship. He earned his first senior cap in October 2005 against Panama, and went on to score three goals in 34 caps for his country. Clark represented the United States at two CONCACAF Gold Cups, helped the U.S. to the final of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, and played at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He earned his final senior cap in January 2012. Clark has been an assistant coach for Seattle Sounders FC in Major League Soccer since 2026.
Youth and college
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Clark attended St. Pius X Catholic High School. He is of Trinidadian descent through his father. He was a two-time state champion and state player of the year with the Golden Lions, winning GHSA titles as a sophomore and senior and State Player of the Year nods as a junior and senior. His senior season, St. Pius X went 22–1 while Clark was named as a Parade All-American. At club level, he won two state titles with AFC Lightning and was named as the MVP of the 2000 Adidas ESP Camp. Clark committed to play college soccer at Furman University, part of a recruiting class ranked fourth in the nation.Clark played only two collegiate seasons at Furman, making 37 appearances and notching three goals for the Paladins. In just his second collegiate game, he provided an assist to John Barry Nusum as part of a 3–2 victory over Notre Dame. Clark suffered through a foot injury during the second half of his freshman season, finishing the year with 15 appearances. His first goal for Furman had to wait until his sophomore season, during a 4–3 victory in overtime against UNC Greensboro. That goal came on September 21, 2002; Clark also scored on September 27 against Fairfield and October 27 against South Carolina. He finished the season with three goals in 22 appearances, and was named as an NSCAA first team all-American. Clark was also named to the NSCAA all-South Region first team, the College Soccer News all-America first team, and as a Soccer America MVP to conclude the season.
Club career
MetroStars
Following his sophomore year at Furman, Clark signed a Project-40 contract with Major League Soccer and entered the 2003 MLS SuperDraft, where he was selected second overall by MetroStars. He stepped immediately into the starting lineup for the Metros, making his professional debut on April 12, 2003, against Columbus Crew. Clark would go on to set a club rookie record, starting the first 27 games of the season, and making 28 total appearances in MLS play. In the midst of that stretch, he had a run of three goals in four games: against Chicago Fire on June 28, D.C. United on July 5, and New England Revolution on July 12. Clark also played a large role for the club in their run to the 2003 U.S. Open Cup Final, where they were defeated 1–0 by Chicago. After appearing 35 times in all competitions with three goals, Clark was named a finalist for the MLS Rookie of the Year Award; he lost out to Damani Ralph of Chicago.Clark started his second professional season slowly after suffering a preseason injury; he came off the bench in the season opener against Columbus, but had to wait until the end of April against New England to get his first turn in the starting lineup. He scored his only goal of the season in the regular season finale against D.C. United, a 50th minute rocket as part of a 3–2 defeat. For the second straight season, Clark started both playoff matches for the Metros as they were knocked out in the quarterfinals. He scored once in 28 total appearances on the year, bringing his total with the club to four goals in 63 games.
San Jose/Houston
Clark was traded to San Jose Earthquakes on January 14, 2005, in exchange for allocation money and a youth international roster slot. The trade occurred on the same day as the 2005 MLS SuperDraft, meaning that Clark became one of eight players that joined the Earthquakes on the day.He jumped immediately into the starting lineup in 2005, making his club debut with a start in the season opener against New England Revolution on April 2. Playing out of a defensive midfield role, Clark found the back of the net three times on the season: July 2 away to FC Dallas, August 13 against Colorado Rapids, and September 10 against Chivas USA. He was named as the MLS Player of the Month for July, also earning a nod as the club's player of the month that month. Clark scored his first career playoff goal on October 23, in the first leg of the conference semifinals against LA Galaxy; the Galaxy would win the match, 3–1, and took the series by a 4–2 aggregate scoreline. Clark finished the season with 32 appearances and four goals across all competitions.
Due to San Jose's failure to reach a stadium agreement with AEG, Clark, along with the rest of his Earthquakes teammates, moved to Houston for the 2006 season. He started in the inaugural match for Houston Dynamo, a 5–2 victory over Colorado on April 2. Clark went on to start 31 times during the regular season, scoring twice: the first goal in Texas Derby history on May 6 and the tying goal on June 10 against New York Red Bulls. However, the second half of his season was marred by a couple of bookings. On August 26, Clark received the first red card of his career, coming in a 3–2 defeat against Chivas USA. He then picked up a pair of yellow cards in the playoffs, meaning that he would be suspended for MLS Cup 2006. With Adrian Serioux starting in his place, Houston defeated New England Revolution on penalties to win the first trophy in club history. Clark made 36 appearances on the season, scoring twice, and was named to the MLS Best XI.
Clark began 2007 by making his continental debut in the 2007 CONCACAF Champions' Cup, appearing in three of Houston's four games against Puntarenas and Pachuca. He then missed more than a month of the 2007 season on national team duty, appearing in the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup and 2007 Copa América. His play through the first half of the season, including a goal against FC Dallas on June 3, earned him a spot in the 2007 MLS All-Star Game, the second consecutive season that Clark had been selected as an all-star. Following his return from the United States squad, he scored for the second time on the season on September 16, in a 3–1 victory over LA Galaxy. However, Clark's season ended at the end of September. He missed the final two regular season and all playoff matches due to a suspension resulting from a deliberate kick aimed at a prone Carlos Ruiz in a match with FC Dallas on September 30. Clark was sent off, received a nine-game suspension, and was fined $10,000, the most severe punishment in MLS history. In his absence, Houston went on to win MLS Cup 2007, repeating as MLS Cup champions. Clark finished the season with 23 appearances and two goals across all competitions.
Clark's suspension carried over for the first two games of the 2008 season, but he jumped immediately back into the Houston lineup afterwards. He notched two goals in 25 appearances in MLS play, scoring against Chicago Fire on May 17 and Real Salt Lake on August 16. Clark also played a large role in Houston's continental competitions, playing 16 times and scoring once across the three competitions. He played every minute of the Dynamo's four matches in the CONCACAF Champions' Cup, repeated the feat across five games in the North American SuperLiga, and played in seven games of Houston's 2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League campaign. In the group stage of the SuperLiga, Clark scored his first career goal in a continental competition, coming in a 3–1 victory over D.C. United. He also converted during the penalty shootout in the final of that competition against New England, although the Revolution took the title by a 6–5 mark. Clark made a career-high 43 appearances in all competitions in 2008, scoring three times.
Clark missed time during the summer of 2009, earning a call up to the United States for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. He scored his only goal of the season following his return to from South Africa, a strike on August 9 in a 3–2 victory over Chicago. Thanks in part to his international duties, Clark only made 22 appearances in league play. He also saw his playing time in the CONCACAF Champions League decrease, appearing in two of the Dynamo's six games in the competition. Clark did play every minute in the MLS Cup Playoffs, including going 120 minutes against LA Galaxy in the conference finals on November 13. Houston was defeated 2–0 after extra time, and with Clark's contract expiring at the end of the season it would mark his final match of his first stint with the club. He announced following the season that he would pursue opportunities abroad, departing Houston with eight goals in 129 appearances across four seasons with the Dynamo.
During the summer of 2009, following his performance at the Confederations Cup, Clark had received interest from multiple European clubs. Stade Rennais of Ligue 1 and newly promoted Serie A club Livorno both reported interest in the player, either to sign him during the summer window or once his contract with MLS expired in January. Both moves fell through, leaving Clark with Houston through the end of the season.